• by Aaron Baar , March 16, 2009

Comcast and Sony--two of the biggest names in telecommunications and consumer electronics--are teaming up to open a retail channel in Philadelphia.

The new store, Sony Style Comcast Labs, is intended to be a destination to showcase emerging technologies and new digital devices in one place. "This is a place to provide one full solution, where the customer can touch and feel and interact with services," Dennis Syracuse, svp of Sony's retail division, tells Marketing Daily. "The point is to demystify the technology."

The store, which opens today, is designed like other Sony Style retail stores. However, each section of the store will showcase the Comcast technology that goes together with it. A display of Bravia televisions, for example, will be connected to Comcast's High-Definition programming. The PlayStations and personal computers will be hooked up to Comcast's high-speed Internet.

The outlet will also feature new technologies and services available from the telecom company, such as faster Internet services and an advanced home phone service that includes a handset from which one can IM, text and browse the Yellow Pages. Consumers will also be able to buy Comcast services and schedule installations at the store, much as they can from big-box electronics retailers.

"Innovation has been the cornerstone of all that we do at Comcast, and this new interactive space is the perfect showcase for our current and future technology," said Tony Werner, Comcast's chief technology officer, in a statement. "We're thrilled to have this unique space to anchor our corporate headquarters as a clear demonstration of innovation. It's also a terrific hands-on way for consumers to experience how all of our products work together."

For now, plans are only to have the one store in Philadelphia. However, the companies will be gauging consumer demand to determine whether more will be warranted. "It's really about how the consumer responds," Syracuse says. "They will lead us as to whether we should open others."