There are a few strange things about this interview with Sean Maloney, Intel's top wireless bod, on Cnet News.com (via Simon Waldman). Maybe it's Maloney's assertion that wireless is the "next big thing" - seems to me this was the case exactly 12 months ago, when it was still the preserve of us chalk sign-making geeks, and now it is the big thing. Maybe it's Maloney's apparently unironic use of the word "road warrior" to describe himself. But the worst bit is his description of a new Minority Report-style shopping experience in some (unnamed) US stores...
"What Hyundai has done in its stores is to give all the store assistants PDAs (personal digital assistants). So when you come in the door, the guy says, "Good morning. What's your phone number?" and you give your number, he says, "Oh. Hi, John. You bought so-and-so here last week."
Now, I don't know about you, but I tend to do all I can to avoid shop "assistants" when unhappy circumstance finds me shopping for anything other than gadgets (when tech shopping, sometimes it's fun to chat to someone just to see how long it takes for them to try and sell the extended warranty. I was recently offered one on a £25 tape recorder). But in what way would the scenario outlined above be useful to the shopper?
Maloney goes on to explain (my italics): "The PDA will automatically suggest what you want to buy today. So, by giving all the assistants PDAs, all the assistants become personal shoppers. You don't have to check out, because he's got your credit card detail there, so he just ticks off that you've got it, and you walk out the door. The experience for you is smoother, and the store has the opportunity to get you to buy more stuff."
Like the charity "canvassers" who now assail you on every other London street corner, thus deterring you from donating to the charity they represent, this PDA-enabled hard selling would put me off even entering the store. In this high-tech future, I'm going to be a hermit shopping at home from the Littlewoods catalogue.
