Raising the mall e-xperience

If you think that cybercafes have taken the Web as far as it would go, think again.

There’s the e-Lounge at the third level of Glorietta 2 in Ayala Center, which offers free use of state-of the-art technology and equipment and free Internet hours to mall customers.

Started last December, e-Lounge is a partnership between mall developer, Ayala Land Inc., and IT companies such as GlobeNet, Compaq, Intel and Microsoft. ALI provided the space. Compac provided the 20 personal computers which are powered by Intel’s Pentium processors and run on Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system. GlobeNet is the Internet service provider.

"The e-Lounge was conceptualized to raise the shopping experience to the maximum level. We want to make Ayala Center more shopper-friendly, to give its patrons full value for their money and, most important, to expose them to technology which otherwise would not be accessible to them," said ALI senior division manager Francis Roxas.

To get into e-Lounge, proof of purchase from retail shops in Ayala Center must be presented. A P200 receipt entitles the shopper to 30 minutes of free Internet time or an hour’s free use of the PCs.

On the average, the daily turnout of computer users is 200. The average 30-minute waiting time to use the computers could be spent in e-Lounge’s reading nook or dining area. Peak hours are between 5 p.m. and closing time.

"Most of our visitors are office employees who check their personal e-mail and surf the Internet and students who spend the time chatting or playing Internet games," according to an article that came out in Ayala’s internal newsletter.

High tech

"Most Internet cafes don’t have the equipment and the infrastructure that we have. We have CD-ROMs. We have web cams and a card that you can slip in the card reader of your notebook, which allows you to log on to the Net from a remote PC so you don’t have to use the PCS here if you prefer your own laptops," said Roxas.

In the works are accessory upgrades such as desktop photography, printing and editing and CD writers. These are productivity and creativity tools to create and edit documents and images and to download or exchange music and video.

"We have facilitators to teach those who cannot handle the high-tech computers," said Roxas.

This early, there are plans to put up e-Lounges in other Ayala malls like Alabang Town Center and Ayala Center Cebu.