Coffee fans can bank or make presentations while sipping lattes, thanks to eight iPad kiosks in the newly opened ING DIRECT Café in downtown San Francisco.
A bar serving coffee, tea, pastries, sandwiches and salads has replaced the traditional teller's window, and each staff member can make lattes, assist with depositing checks and answer questions about checking accounts and mortgages.
The 17,000-square-foot, three-story café also has a built-in PA system for karaoke and iPad kiosks that control audiovisual (A/V) equipment throughout the retail space. Bank customers often meet at the café for business meetings, using the equipment to provide visual aids, said Nick Ames of iPad enclosures, the company that helped to create the kiosks.
About the kiosks
Each A/V iPad kiosk, designed and manufactured by iPad Enclosures, is mounted on a table below a multiscreen display. They each feature a stained wood finish reinforced by a steel enclosure secured with a key lock. The installation of the iPad-controlled A/V stations involved connecting each display to an iPad via Apple's HDMI iPad connector, controlled by an A/V application. The end result is an interactive experience allowing customers to switch between watching TV and surfing the Web, Ames said.
"Customers are amazed by the unique opportunity to have touchscreen interactivity with these iPad kiosks," he said. "For the first time, customers can walk into a public venue like this and set up a business meeting with everything at their fingertips. With the ability to switch between watching TV and projecting Web content, these iPad kiosks are offering an entirely new coffee shop experience."
In the far corner of the main floor, customers will find a four-screen wall display that combines into one large screen, providing an ideal place for local presentations and events, Ames said.
The wooden iPad enclosures with stainless steel mounts cost the cafe about $3,000.
Watch below for a demo or click here for a slideshow of photos.
Read more about display technology.
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