Viva Las Virtual Vegas!!!
Hello from Vegas! The Surface and Harrah's teams have been burning the midnight oil for the past few days getting everything set for our next public deployment.
Today, Harrah’s will become our second partner to deploy Surface. They will have six Surface units operating in the iBar, located inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.
Harrah’s will deploy a suite of their own customized applications and be the first to install Microsoft Surface in an entertainment venue, providing guests with uniquely personalized and engaging social experiences. Their most ambitious application is “Flirt” which uses strategically placed video cameras to create an exciting new way to initiate conversation, flirt and meet new people from one Surface to another. Additional applications include a series of play-for-fun interactive games like bowling, a challenging musical memory game, and multi-player pinball with a twist. There's even a cool mixologist app that lets you design and order your own drinks.
In addition to the applications that Harrah's created, they are also using the photos and concierge apps that the Surface team built. Harrah's has taken those apps and customized them to the Rio/Las Vegas environment with photos, video, maps and attractions info to help guests plan their stay all within the comfort of the iBar.
If you can't make it to Vegas then check out the video we shot. Last week we came into the iBar to capture the unique experience that Harrah's is offering. It really shows off their "Flirt" application nicely...only in Vegas.
This is an exciting next step in the Harrah’s relationship. Just a little over a year ago we announced our partnership with Harrah’s at D, since then they've been busy thinking about Surface, where it will go (Harrah's has a ton of great properties to chose from) and then creating the actual applications themselves. It's fun to see it all come together.
So deployment #2 is done...up next #3...stay tuned...more goodness ahead.
Cheers from Vegas (I'm not finding fortune on Wheel of Fortune slots right now...ugh),
K Robert Warnick