AT&T Inc., the nation's largest wireless carrier, today debuted Microsoft Surface at its Chinatown store as part of the company's initiative to use Microsoft's new surface computer at its retail stores to help customers figure out which device is right for them. If you haven't seen Surface before, it's literally a touchscreen computer about the size of a tabletop computer that can also sense devices that are placed on it.

For those unfamiliar with AT&T's new flagship store in Chinatown: The store opened March 31 and boasts 5,000 square feet, making it the largest one in the mid-Atlantic, costing the company more than $1 million to renovate. It also turns out that corner _ 7th & H Streets _ is the busiest intersection in Washington, according to Colin Martin, AT&T's executive director of sales, who said about 100,000 people a day pass through the area.

AT&T is Microsoft's first launch partner for its Surface computer, which isn't yet available to consumers. The company's Chinatown store has four of them.

"With Surface you bring all of the elements together that's important to a person in the sales process," Mr. Martin said.

Here's how it works. The computer's home screen is an interactive AT&T coverage map that lets consumers search all parts of the country to make sure the company's network gets a signal where they plan to use the device (they can even narrow it down by whether they need AT&T's third-generation network). The advantage here, company representatives say, is customers no longer need to remember a certain zip code when checking if there's coverage. (See the video below.)

Then, a customer chooses from one of the company's eight most popular devices and places it on the computer. The phone is immediately recognized (through an optical chip, although I'm told AT&T is working with Microsoft to get the computer to "see" and recognize the back of the handset without a chip). A menu pops up, allowing customers to choose from information on features, accessories and rate plans. (See video below.)

"It allows the salesperson to have technology at their fingertips," said Andrew Austin, director of AT&T's retail sales operations. The company decided about a year and a half ago to use technology _ TVs, touchscreens _ instead of brochures in its stores, he added.

Consumers can place two devices on the computer and get a side-by-side comparison of features. (See picture below.)

In addition to the Surface computers, the store has decked out its main windows with a polymer material that allows it to project videos onto the glass (while not obstructing the view). For those of you who remember the Benetton era, the company chose to bump the front doors over to the left so that people walking up the escalators from the Metro would get a moviescreen-like view of AT&T logos and happy people playing around on their handsets.

— Kara Rowland, technology reporter, The Washington Times