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Google just launched a new retail experience, a Winter Wonderlab holiday pop-up stocked with Google gadgets. The pop-ups are only in six markets in the country, and D.C. made the cut. Actually, District of Columbia denizens will have a bit of a drive to experience the Winter Wonderlab for the Washington market, which is out in Annapolis at the Westfield Annapolis Mall. The Washington Post thinks that Google signed a deal to collaborate with Westfield, as all the Winter Wonderlab locations are in Westfield malls except for the NYC outpost.
The Winter Wonderlab experience includes a "Play Zone" retail space stocked with products shoppers can try out, like the Nexus 7 tablet, Chromebook, and Chromecast. There's also a snow globe component, where visitors can create slow motion videos with fake snow.
WTOP reported on Monday that the pop-up store in the mall's atrium near Crate & Barrel and Adidas is currently open, but that the giant snow globe is still being built. Racked DC called today to see if the snow globe is up and running, so stay tuned. The Google pop-up will be around through December 24, according to the Washington Post. ETA: A Westfield Annapolis Mall rep said that the Google snow globe is now built, and is expected to be operational tomorrow.
· Google opens Winter Wonderlab holiday retail store in Washington and five other markets [WaPo]
· Google opens showroom to show off gadgets in Annapolis [WTOP]
· Google Winter Wonderlab [Official Site]