Facebook Parent Meta Is Opening Its First Store. Here's What It's Like Inside
This story is part of Making the Metaverse, CNET's exploration of the next stage in the internet's evolution.
At Meta's first store, I enter a well-decorated room to try out a portable video chat device known as the Portal Go.
On the device's screen, a friendly worker -- he calls himself Casey, a name many of the store attendants have used -- walks me through everything you can do with a Portal Go. He describes the device's smart camera, which pans and zooms as you move. He reads an augmented reality-enhanced version of a Dr. Seuss book as if he's a traveling parent saying goodnight to his children.
I pull out my phone to record a video of my video call with him. He flashes me the peace sign.
It was all very meta.
Portal Go is just one of the devices you can try out at the Meta Store. Located at Meta's campus in Burlingame, California, the shop also displays virtual reality headsets and smart glasses. The campus is where Meta employees are working on the company's vision for the metaverse, the virtual worlds in which people will be able to work, play and socialize. Meta, formerly known as Facebook, gave reporters a peek this week before the store opens to the public on Monday.
The 1,550-square-foot space underscores that Meta is getting increasingly serious about creating consumer hardware. The company is following a path of opening physical stores that Apple has made a success. Google and Samsung are also trying the approach, as have other companies.
Still, Meta has an uphill battle when it comes to turning its vision of the metaverse into reality. Products such as smart glasses and VR headsets aren't as popular as smartphones and laptops. Facebook is well known for creating the world's largest social network, but some people don't even know the company also makes consumer hardware.
Meta hopes that as more people try out these gadgets in the store, they'll understand why CEO Mark Zuckerberg thinks the metaverse is the successor to the mobile internet.
"Once people experience the technology, they can gain a better appreciation for it," Martin Gilliard, head of the Meta Store, said in a statement. "If we did our job right, people should leave and tell their friends, 'You've got to go check out the Meta Store.'"
The way it's tucked away between reflective buildings, you might pass right by the Meta Store if you aren't paying attention. It doesn't look like a traditional storefront, and it isn't in a shopping center. A blue-and-white sign for the Meta Store sticks out among the futuristic-looking vertical fins that line the building. Inside, the space is filled with earthy tones, beige pottery, plants and tranquil music. The industrial ceiling looks intentionally unfinished. Crane your neck up, and you can see white pipes.
Lining the wall on one side of the store is a shelf of Ray-Ban Stories, smart glasses that allow you to snap photos, record video and listen to music. You can try out different pairs, but you won't be able to buy any at the store. They're only available for purchase directly from Ray-Ban.com. A worker pulls out the charging case and a pair of glasses, showing me how to use the smart glasses.
Meta's Portal video chat devices and Quest 2 headsets are available to buy in the store.
On another side, a wall-to-wall curved LED screen displays what you're seeing in virtual reality when you place the VR headset Quest 2 over your head. You can play games such as Beat Saber, Golf Plus, Real VR Fishing and Supernatural on the device.
Retail workers, dressed in dark blue shirts with Meta's infinity sign logo, also seemed ready to answer questions customers could throw at them. Worried about privacy? Portal's video chat device has a camera cover as well as a way to switch off the microphone and camera. Too expensive? There are different options for different budgets.
The Meta Store will be open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Source
Tags:
- Facebook Parent Meta Is Opening Its First Store Here S What Freakonomics Gets
- Facebook Parent Meta Is Opening Its First Store Here S What S Happening
- Facebook Parent Meta Is Opening Its First Store Here S What We Should Do
- Facebook Parent Meta Is Opening Its First Store Here Management
- Facebook Parent Meta Is Opening Its First Store Here Mt
- Facebook Parent Meta Is Opening Its First Store In The World
- Facebook Parent Meta Is Opening A Gym
- Facebook Parent Meta Cuts Innovation
- Facebook Parent Meta Responsible
- Facebook Parent Dashboard
- Facebook Parent Crossword
Blog Archive
-
▼
2022
(203)
-
▼
December
(95)
- Samsung Galaxy S II (AT&T) Review: Samsung Galaxy ...
- Facebook Parent Meta Is Opening Its First Store. H...
- 2020 Honda Gold Wing DCT First Ride Review: 'Wing ...
- Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Early?
- Galaxy Watch 5: All The Notable Rumors Ahead Of Sa...
- Best Buy Knocks $200 Off All Configurations Of The...
- Trouble Making Your NCAA Bracket Picks? There's He...
- VO2 Max: The Fitness Metric That Can Help You Run ...
- Netflix To Release 3 More Mobile Games In March
- You Can Now Listen To Apple Music On Waze Audio Pl...
- Photoshop And Lightroom Super Resolution: How To Q...
- Ditch Your Apple Watch Series 3 And Grab A Series ...
- Lenovo's Updated IdeaPad Duet Chromebook Might Be ...
- Ultra4 Introduces Spec EV Off-road Racing Class At...
- You Can Finally Use Snapchat On Your Computer, But...
- Acer Adds Quartet Of Chromebooks To Its Lengthy Li...
- 2022 Honda Civic Si Debuts, Features The Type R's ...
- Studio Ghibli's Movies Ranked To Celebrate Totoro ...
- Google Policy Effectively Bans Outside Call-Record...
- This IPad Deal Saves You $50 On The 10.2-Inch IPad...
- Chinese Phone-maker Xiaomi Sues US Government Over...
- Save Big On Popular Samsung Smartphones Like The Z...
- Melania Trump Launches Her Own NFT Platform
- Pay $29 For Farberware's 3-quart Air Fryer And Sna...
- How To Change Your Windows 11 Wallpaper In 5 Easy ...
- Inflation Isn't Slowing Down. I Bonds And Other Sa...
- Acer Swift 3 Review: A Better-looking Budget Laptop
- Crypto Market Plunges More Than $200B In 1 Day
- A $60 Digital Air Fryer And A Super-powered Blendt...
- Save $140 On The Already Budget-Friendly Acer Chro...
- AMD Radeon RX 6600 Tested: A Gaming GPU That Level...
- How To Clean A Car Seat In 6 Easy Steps
- How TikTok Songs Make The Most Intense Earworms Ever
- 'The Offer' Review: This Stylish Drama Is A Fun Lo...
- Twitter Unveils Plan To Combat Misinformation In 2...
- Elon Musk And Grimes 'semi-separated' After Three ...
- Microsoft Store On Windows To Allow Third-party St...
- How To Avoid Pokemon Go Malware
- Fly The Stranger Skies With These 12 Oddball Drones
- Save Hundreds On Already-Discounted Refurb MacBook...
- How To Find Help After Hurricane Ida
- Justice Stephen Breyer To Retire From Supreme Cour...
- How To Tell If An AirTag Is Tracking Your Location...
- ADT's LifeShield Adds A Video Doorbell To Its DIY ...
- Alex Jones Sandy Hook Trial: Jury Finds Jones Must...
- Ford Is Testing Robot EV Chargers To Help Disabled...
- Asus ZenBook 13 UX333 Review: New Asus ZenBooks Pa...
- Great Features, But It's A Bargain For A Reason
- How To Stop WhatsApp From Sharing Your Data With F...
- 'Jurassic World Dominion' Review: Franchise Finale...
- 2023 Honda HR-V Moves Upscale While Remaining Affo...
- NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Sees Carbon Diox...
- Energy-efficient Mortgages: How They Work, Who Is ...
- Apple Watch SE: Who Exactly Is An 'affordable' $27...
- Acer Aspire 5735-4624 Review: Acer Aspire 5735-4624
- Mortgage Underwriting: How Long It Takes And Every...
- Get $43 Off Arguably The Best 360 Action Cam
- Apple Is The Only Gainer As Smartphone Market Shri...
- HexClad Review: A Hybrid Stainless Steel Nonstick ...
- Samsung E550 Review: Budget TV Done In By Soft Images
- India's Ratan Tata Takes Slice Of Phone Maker Xiaomi
- FDA Approves COVID Vaccines For Kids As Young As 6...
- Star Wars TIE Silencer Wheelchair Costume Conquers...
- Asus DB31 Review: Asus DB31
- GoPro Opens Up Its Labs Toolbox Again With New Exp...
- Alphabet's Wing Unveils XXL And XXS Drones For Mor...
- Wordle Starter Words: Why I'm Finally Saying Adieu...
- Save Up To 53% On New And Used Samsung Devices At ...
- SoftBank And Nvidia Call Off $40 Billion Deal For Arm
- New Members Can Save 60% On Peacock Premium
- Facebook And Instagram Turn Off AR Filters In Texa...
- 'Stranger Things 4' Crosses 1 Billion Hours Watche...
- Squat Mistakes: Fix Your Form For Squats And Other...
- Dual Messenger For WhatsApp - Chats - Free Downloa...
- Jeff Bezos Thanks 'The Lord Of The Rings' Showrunn...
- More People Need To Watch The Absolute Best TV Sho...
- Evil Dead: The Game Perfectly Captures The Cult Fi...
- Get A Refurbished Acer C710 Chromebook For $139.99
- 'Morbius' Review: Jared Leto Vampire Flick, Now On...
- Netflix Aims To Add Cheaper Tier With Ads Before Y...
- This Week's Most Exciting Crypto News: UK Announce...
- Motorola's Edge Plus Puts A 60MP Selfie Camera Up ...
- Apple TV Plus, Store, Maps, Music And Other Servic...
- Samsung Unpacked Event Recap: Every Announcement Y...
- 'Winning Time': Kareem Abdul-Jabbar And Jerry West...
- Windows 11 Looks A Little Different. Here's What's...
- Facebook Reportedly Exempted High-profile Users Fr...
- Looking To Refinance Your Mortgage? Now Is The Tim...
- Coinbase Embraces NFTs With New Peer-to-peer Marke...
- Stephen Colbert On Amazon's Crazy Photo Patent: A ...
- Smartphones In 2018: The Biggest Winners And Losers
- Bezel-less Oppo R7 Leaks On Chinese Social Media
- IOS 15.4: What You Should Know About Apple's IPhon...
- Alexa With Better Audio? At CES, Lenovo Introduces...
- Apple, Long A Champion Of Consumer Privacy, Now Si...
-
▼
December
(95)
Total Pageviews
Search This Blog
Popular Posts
-
Contoh skripsi, contoh skripsi perpajakan, contoh skripsi pdf, contoh skripsi keperawatan, contoh skripsi pgsd, contoh skripsi e learning, c...
-
Contoh discussion text about handphone samsung, contoh discussion text about handphone terbaru, contoh discussion text about handphone acces...
-
Contoh form data karyawan, contoh form data karyawan baru, contoh formulir, contoh formulir kesediaan, contoh formulir bahasa inggris, conto...