Behind the Tiles with Windows Phone events are coming to Best Buy

By George Ponder
published

Just a quick reminder that Behind the Tiles with Windows Phone is heading to Best Buy. Well, twelve Best Buy locations to be more precise.  The events will be held through mid-May in the following locations (and yes, Birmingham is left out again).

  • Charlotte, NC
  • Chicago, IL (Yorkshire Plaza)
  • Dallas, TX (Farmer's Branch location)
  • Houston, TX (Galleria Mall)
  • Costa Mesa, CA
  • Minneapolis, MN
  • New York, NY (Union Square)
  • Portland, OR
  • Seattle, WA (Lynnwood location)
  • San Diego, CA
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Waltham, MA

What is Behind the Tiles with Windows Phone you ask? It's an opportunity to spend some quality time with Windows Phone and learn more about the system. There will be free food and drink along with training sessions such as,

  • Hands-on deep dive with the Nokia Lumia 900
  • Windows Phone for IT and Developers
  • Metro UI and the Future with Windows Phone

Plus you'll have a chance to play with different Windows Phone devices. Rumor has it that there might even be a few Nokia Lumia 900s given away.

The events are invitation only with a limited number of open seats still available. You'll need to register here (opens in new tab) to be eligible for an invite and use mscust as the RSVP code.

It's nice to see Best Buy getting on board with Windows Phones. Let us know if you get an invite and how it goes. Good luck everyone!

Source: Windows Team Blog

George Ponder
George Ponder

George is the Reviews Editor at Windows Central, concentrating on Windows 10 PC and Mobile apps. He's been a supporter of the platform since the days of Windows CE and uses his current Windows 10 Mobile phone daily to keep up with life and enjoy a game during down time.

44 Comments
  • Nice!
  • Houston Galleria....Yes Baby!
  • Yay, Houston! Hopefully I'll get a free 900.
  • Tv Johnny at that mall?
  • Aw, no San Antonio. :-/
  • Damn, MS never has any events in Las Vegas. But glad to see these kinds of events, regardless.
  • I guess we shouldn't count their presence at CES, or the yearly Microsoft Management Summit, or their Sharepoint Conference, or Mix. all of which are held in Vegas. Though this event seems less "why did my boss send me here"-ish. ;)
  • Nope we shouldn't, lol. I get that, what I'd meant was a few general public Windows Phone events. I don't expect anything on the level of NYC, but a little fun hackathon or even some contests/giveaways on the strip would be huge. Remember Vegas has people from all over the world here everyday. That's a lot of potential exposure.
  • I bet if this goes well, they will expand it to other cities
  • I'm in the Portland area so I went ahead and registered for the event... Impressively long at 3 hours (6pm-9pm). The registration also noted that there is a chance to win a Nokia Lumia 900 or 1 of 2 XBOX Star Wars Kinect bundles at each event.
    I'll be getting a WP at some point so this event is a nice way to get an introduction to WP before I actually drop the money on a device. If I find that WP doesn't suit my mobile needs I'll save myself some cash and hastle!
  • Out of topic.. I love my WP, TitanII now, so much that I'm on a mission to demand apps from big companies. I'll start with my bank.. no WP love? then I'll have to take my money somewhere else thank you. Baby steps...
  • I did the same thing with Chase. I told them if I don't see a WP app in the near future, I will be moving my money. Obviously, I am a small fish, but if others do the same, it can change. And I am serious about moving. There is nothing keeping me at Chase except laziness (changing auto pays, direct deposits etc).
  • Yea, BoA has had an app for quite a while, and a good one at that. Its one of the few reasons I use their services ;-) but it seems all the good banks have merged into large sucky banks anyway :-(
  • Then BoA it is, since Citi can't even give me a "it's in the pipeline" excuse. Pathetic :-/
  • Houston,Tx lm there...
  • Still no official marketing outside of the US. Thanks Microsoft.
  • what about all the nokia marketing and events done in europe. seem totally clueless about those,  yet had the nerve not to look them up and to post such an ignorant comment.
  • The registration process asked for mainly corporate related info like my business address and title. Very curious.
  • Once again Las Vegas is shafted. I don't know why Microsoft misses the opportunity to be in Vegas. I mean it's Vegas, why wouldnt you wanna be here? :p
  • Because Vegas is a small market
  • Definitely not smaller than Portland or what was it, Waltham?
  • Well, I am assuming Waltham is supposed to be for Boston. Though it's weird they listed Waltham as I am almost certain the Best Buy listed is actually in Watertown.
  • they already did vegas during CES,
  • I will be at costa mesa on the 25th.
  • I will be at costa mesa on the 25th.
  • on a per store capita basis, I bet these events will draw no more people than say Tulsa.  People are not going to drive out of their way to go to one of these in Houston.  The totality of people buying Windows phones outside these major cities outweighs the ones in these markets.  Microsoft needs to get it through their heads to get out and see the rest of the country.
  • So how do you register
  • Mscust
  • Houston!
  • NYC YES!
  • I have attended a few of the Microsoft sponsored events, the last being the Windows Phone Inner Circle event (at which I won a Titan).
     
    Definitely worth the time and you can network with other people/companies you normally wouldn't cross paths with.
  • Wow. I literally work across from the Massachusetts location which is Watertown and not Waltham (the next town over).
  • Thank you, lol. I knew I wasn't crazy. Not sure how they got that wrong. Though I guess with Waltham being right next door, it might have caused some confusion
  • I tell ya for an event in Boston, the Best Buy down near Fenway would have been an awesome spot. Especially during a game where you'd have a crap load of foot traffic
  • Anybody going to the one in charlotte?
  • My local Best Buy is closing :/ Why not have the events with the device carriers or at the Microsoft store??
  • They do. Everyone who comes in for a phone gets a mini tutorial of the phone, and there are also classes every weekend.
  • It seems odd that it's invite only, essentially removing any potential new customers as the people signing up for this are already planning on buying one or own a WP. They should invite Android and iPhone users to let them see some of the advantages of the platform on an informational environment.
  • I was confirmed to join in NYC :D!
  • Yep, got an invite and will be at the BB on Harrison in San Francisco! Woo!
     
  • For you Dallas people, I just got a call from Microsoft that they are moving the event to their Microsoft Tech Center in Irving - so be on the watch for a call from them...
  • I just went to the Houston event last night. Lots of fun and informative. I actually learned 3 things I didn't know, and have been using WP7 for 2 years now. My friends and I each had about $50-$75 in Microsoft Store gift cards, and my other friend won the Cyan Lumia 900. Free pizza & sodas too. It was a fun night! :)
  • Yay! I won a Cyan Lumia 900 athe Microsoft Store in San Diego.
  • such kind of events and activities gives benefit to users to know more and learn more about the system or  particular product , I really impressed with this information.
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