Google to open ‘Winter Wonderlab’ showrooms to catch holiday season crowd

With Christmas rolling toward us like a giant tinsel-covered boulder, tech companies such as Apple and Microsoft will be hoping to tempt you into their retail stores as you search out gifts for friends and family, or yourself.

Not one to sit on the sidelines, Google, too, is gearing up to offer shoppers a fun experience at one of six ‘Winter Wonderlab’ pop-up stores opening across the US.

Besides trying out Google’s various gadgets and devices, you’ll have a chance to cavort in snow (fake, not real), climb inside a giant Snow Globe, listen to music, watch videos, play games, and, of course, order online the Google products you’ve just been fiddling around with.

Products on show will include the company’s Nexus range of mobile devices – including the new Nexus 7 tablet – Chromebook computers, and Google Chromecast.

Google’s Winter Wonderlab stores will open in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, Sacramento, California, and Paramus, New Jersey (detailed location info here). The Mountain View company is yet to announce precisely when the stores will open, but should post more information on its site when it becomes available.

The Web giant’s pop-up store initiative comes soon after it was revealed that barges in San Francisco Bay and off the coast of Maine are set to become “interactive spaces” (ie. floating showrooms) for Google products, an indication of the company’s growing interest in exploring ways of showing off its steadily growing collection of tech gear.

Intel has also announced plans for pop-up stores of its own, with the first one set to open for business in New York on Saturday. Visitors will be invited to try out various Intel-powered laptops and desktops, attend free tech-related events and, on Fridays, enjoy free movies.