Androidland — The Android Store

One of the advantages iOS users have over Android is the Apple store, a brick and mortar place where you can bring your malfunctioning technology and have people trained in its repair deal with the problems for you. While you can bring your Android device, if it’s a phone, to your carrier’s repair center, most often than not, you will be asked to simply replace your phone, even if it’s just a software issue.

All too often, the individuals staffing these centers really only know a little bit more about your device than you do. But even with repair issues aside, having one place to go to for accessories, the ability to try out new devices, and chat with retailers whose only job is a particular system and set of devices is a major advantage. Currently, only stores like Best Buy, with their Geek Squad repair team and multiple carrier support for mobile devices, comes close to providing a similar experience for Android.

However, if a prototype store in Melbourne Australia is any indication, we might soon see the rise of “Androidland” stores, filling in that void for Android users that Apple users currently enjoy. The store in Melbourne originally opened with the intent to stay open for six months to see how it does. It is decked out in full Android robot regalia and features not just Android devices and accessories, but fun stuff such as working robots and a capsule in which you can play games like Angry Birds on a widescreen TV and a UFO in which you can access Google Maps and explore the globe as if you were truly in outer space.

A YouTube video gives a quick walk-through of the store, and admittedly, it looks like a lot of fun, but also ripe with educational opportunities for a newbie to learn about the Android system. With the kind of resources Google has at its disposal, surely a few stores such as these across America wouldn’t be too much of a stretch?  Android land in Australia is currently a store within a store, but certainly the interest in an Android-specific store exists. Android devices are fun, but so inc, by which some specialized experts in the area would be appreciated, rather than having to send your phone off by mail for repair.

The potential for brick and mortar Android stores is immense. There could be previews of upcoming hardware and software, educational classes to instruct new users in the optimal use of their Android devices, special release events and any number of things such as Apple stores offer to iOS users. It is conceivable that such events would go even further with Android, given the system’s openness and multitude of ways in which it can be tweaked.

But even beyond that, there is no denying that Apple stores are cool and fun to play around in. Why not the same love for Android? A store in New York, Los Angeles and perhaps one other city would be great test locations to see how well the public responds. Android land in Melbourne demonstrates how much fun a store devoted entirely to Android can be.