Intel Interactive Kiosk

Intel hung a new name -- Retail Interactive Fashion Experience -- on an old theme -- web page catalog based on inventory databases. Its new 'digital out-of-home' touch-screen kiosk, which stands about six feet tall or so, displays a store's apparel wares with e-mail and social network access. Shoppers can scroll through inventory based on price, style, and so on, save interesting items to a 'favorites' area for later review, try on those favorites on a virtual mannequin, e-mail friends an image of the clothes for opinions, and purchase the items. There's even a button to summon a live salesperson, who, in the demo anyway, will bring your selections to you in the dressing room. A swipe of a loyalty card brings up personal shopping history.

One drawback: Jack Sprat, who could eat no fat, and his wife Mrs. Sprat, who could eat no lean, apparently use the same virtual mannequin. One would think that if you could sort by size, the mannequins would enlarge and contract for Mr. and Mrs. Sprat based on that size.