New Arlington Heights Store to Be AT&T's National Retail Center of Innovation and Technology Education

CHICAGO, Nov. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T* today announced the opening of a new high-tech retail store in the Chicago area unlike any other AT&T store in the country: The AT&T Retail Innovation Center in Arlington Heights. The store will both showcase the company's most innovative products and serve to gather customers' feedback on new retail concepts – all designed to help shape the ultimate customer experience across AT&T's more than 2,300 stores nationwide.

The store occupies 10,400 square feet – more than twice the size of a conventional AT&T store layout. The large, open design lets customers get a hands-on experience in an engaging, interactive environment that helps them explore the latest innovations for their individual lifestyles. This unique environment is designed to support and educate every customer from the most tech-savvy smartphone user to the first-time tablet buyer. The store will open to the public at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

"Our customers want to learn how they can make the most of today's technology to improve every aspect of their lives," said Kent Mathy, AT&T President, North Central Region. "Our Retail Innovation Center is uniquely designed to provide that education. Customers will interact with our products and get a first look at our most innovative customer service strategies at this location before we launch them nationally."

Features of the store include:

• Demonstration stations. Get hands-on with the new Jawbone® UP™ – an interactive wristband that guides customers to healthier lifestyles. Try out the latest in LTE-capable smartphones and tablets, such as the 4G LTE-enabled HTC Jetstream™ tablet and the Samsung Galaxy SII Skyrocket™ smartphone. Or see how cloud services can provide access to photos, music and movies in any location and from any device.
• Interactive, touchscreen walls. Check out the latest apps on a large scale and see how to make the most of any smartphone and tablet wherever customers live, work and play.
• Small Business Center. Meet with our business consultants, who are specially trained small business representatives, to customize the full range of AT&T products and services for small business owners and their employees in this dedicated space.
• Solutions Center and Device Support Center. Learn about devices and services, find answers to billing questions or account changes, receive technical assistance, and get help with any hardware related needs.

The Retail Innovation Center is one more dimension of the AT&T Retail Promise – a commitment to ensure that customers have the very best in-store shopping experience. Customers not only will find products best suited for their needs, but also become informed on how best to use them – and their feedback will directly influence the retail design, as well as the products and services offered in AT&T stores nationwide.

The new location builds on AT&T's heritage of an ongoing commitment to invest in the communities where we live and work.

"This store is great news for consumers and our local economy," said State Rep. Sid Mathias. "As consumers and businesses rely on mobile broadband to connect to their lives and their customers, we need to ensure Illinois is a good place for investment in telecommunications."

State Sen. Matt Murphy agrees. "As wireless phones, tablets and other devices grow in popularity, this new AT&T store brings incredible technology for consumers and businesses to experience. This new investment in a large retail store demonstrates just how much consumers and businesses want the latest wireless technologies and why the wireless industry is critical to the local and state economy."

"This new state-of-the-art AT&T store is great news for our consumers and businesses, our city and for our local economy," said Arlington Heights Village President Arlene Mulder. "New telecommunications technologies are changing the world and driving the economy. We truly welcome the AT&T investment in Arlington Heights. It is a real tribute to our city."

"This store will offer Chicago-area residents an unparalleled shopping experience where they can get a first look at our newest products, latest technologies and our most innovative approaches to customer service," said Vice President/General Manager of Illinois/Wisconsin Dave Fine. "We encourage everyone to stop by and see what the future holds."

To help celebrate the opening of this new store, AT&T will offer a free Motorola Atrix™ 2 to customers who purchase a two-year service agreement and data plan.

Located at 585 East Palatine Road, the store hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Store Manager Dennis Foster and his knowledgeable sales consultants are ready to assist customers–both businesses and consumers–with purchasing decisions and technical support.

There are more than 70 AT&T-owned stores in Illinois. AT&T's products and services are also available at a number of authorized dealer and national retail locations.  

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest mobile broadband network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile broadband and emerging 4G capabilities, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse® and AT&T |DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T Advertising Solutions and AT&T Interactive are known for their leadership in local search and advertising.  

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SOURCE AT&T Inc.