Tether systems to provide security for higher end products are pretty common now, even more advanced systems like MTI’s Freedom Universal which is able to deliver variable power to devices so people can truely interact with products.
What is new however is to integrate these tether systems with intelligent information systems which detect the product people have picked up and provide relevant information on that product – or indeed cross-compare the different products they try. MTI’s “Intuition” product does just that and it really has some pretty amazing applications even without using tethers.
Firstly you need an RFID tag attached to your display products. Once that’s done, the Inituition system will detect that product being moved and provide information on a screen about the product. Customers can, using the touch screens, save that product information for comparison or simply move onto the next product. The 
information on the screens of course is totally customisable – it can be price, info about the product, a movie on the product or for that matter the system could talk to the customer (which in an of itself could serve for a rather amusing security system).
An extension of this technology is to dynamically price product on the shelves based on the SKU which is sitting in front of (or above) each price sign. That means that even if product is moved by the customer, the price showing will always be correct. Or for that matter, it means you can dynamically move product around the store very quickly without needing to update price signage or even product signage as larger signs can detect what product is on the display and show appropriate messages.
For more upmarket stores, it means you don’t need to litter the store or product up with ugly price signage, your signs can show brand related images which change to show the price if the customer interacts with the product.
Another application of the product of course is in upselling. If a customer selects a product, the system can show related merchandise and add-ons which may be of interest to them. This is critical these days in electronics & technology where the margins are inherantly low on the product itself and the real money is made on accessories. With a system like this, the customer can be quickly shown exactly which accessories are available for that device, their price etc. Similarly I guess with other items such as clothing, shoes etc, it becomes possible to show on the displays other items which would go with the item they are showing interest in.
