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MP3s From The Phone Box
An Economist writes "The .com bubble has come and gone, but the great ideas and implementations are starting to come through thick and fast now. The BBC reports on a planned development in the UK - download MP3s (or the like) from the phone box. Walking along the street and fancy a song - just plug in your iPod/MuVo/iRiver/whatever... awesome! Perhaps the lauded benefits of eCommunication are just beginning to be felt - plus it increases the viability of old-tech phone boxes, which are socially beneficial but financially challenged."
I'm envisioning someone figuring out how to boot off an iPod and using spare hard drive space to trade pirated software.
Hmm... Warezchalking?
That what was all this school was for... to teach us how to solve our own problems. -- janeowit
Can somone say $hit or get off the pot? Geeebus, as if people don't take long enough at the phone booth.
Think about it - they are tergetting a niche market (Ipod owners) with an even nichier product (downloading songs on the road). And, to top it off, how often will a given person do it? Maybe once or twice, for that one time you are own the road and need a particular song. Otherwise, you'd get most of your music at home. I mean, they are losing money with telephone calls (where you might actually get repeat customers), and that doesn't even require them to pay for a high speed connection. No, I suspect this project is doomed already.
To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
--E.C. Stanton
Cause its so more practical to load music at a phonebooth, in public, than in the comfort of your home. I don't see the point here, honestly. An Ipod hold so much music that you'll always have something non-boring to listen to anyway.
Eureka Science News - automatically updated
"Under the plans, anyone owning an iPod or portable music player would be able to go into a phonebox and download a song while out shopping or on a lunch break."
Well, just about every player has a different method of song transfer. Many require databases to be constructed, and there are so many obscure models out there... Most don't have Line-Ins to record off of, so what are they going to do?
Can't say that I speak for everyone, but I really can't imagine using this service. How often do you find yourself walking down the street thinking "man, I'd pay anything just to listen to some Moby right now"?
And it's not so much the cost. Who wants to stand there, navigate a bunch of menus and wait for a download just for a 3-minute song?
Maybe I'd pay for general internet access, but I can do that at a coffee shop. If I'm tired of what I've got on my iPod, I can always listen to the radio. The concept just doesn't seem to fill a desire.
The last time I used a public phone was probably only a couple months ago, when I was out without my cell phone and needed to phone somebody. Believe it or not, not everyone has a working cell phone on them at all times, and the ability to make phone calls from a public place at a nominal fee really is useful.
Too much repetition my too much repetition!
On their recent tour, the Pixies offered CDs of the show recorded and mized live to fans walking out the door. I could see a kiosk at concert venues allowing fans to downlaod the night's show to their iPod. It would proably be faster than burning CDs. A phone both however, is not something I currently associate with music, and I don't thing it would catch on, but i buy most of my CD's at concerts, where I know the money is going to the artist. Apple is going to realse a U2 special edition iPod next week, and is rumored to be working on A sub $200 flash player. How long till digital complete overtakes cd's?
sorry 'bout the mess...
Up take for niche services like these requires very low entry requirements - like low price, little registration hazzles, ultra convenient - in order to gain momentum.
And btw, if wireless internet over cellular ever gets realistically cheap - it should just kill off this phonebooth music downloading idea easily.
Sunset over the lake, cool mist over the bridge; A leave upon the ripples, the snow reflects its glow.
Sometimes when you're traveling you find out that your provider dosen't work in a certain area. That or your phone decides to die. Not everyday happenings, but they sure as hell seem beneficial to you then.
From the product offering it sounds like the idea was given life from a bunch of yes men, and not things like demographic surveys and similar technologies that are currently in place.
I'm not suggesting stifiling innovation, but to me, this sounds like a sales pitch that will prove worthless in the long run, and come to think of it, in the short run. People just don't need instant gradification under every circumstance. Imagine that, Mr. marketer.How about being able to download old episodes of Dr Who from a phone booth... how cool would that be?
Other possible things to dispense from a phone booth:
Phone booths are for making phone calls. I don't want to download mp3s, read my email, or order takeout from my public phone. For starters I'd like to be able to make calls. With mobiles so prevalent public phone boths are being scrapped and falling into disrepair everywhere. There aren't many places in my local area I can even make a public phone call from a booth anymore.
.com bomb thinking all over again. "I know. Lets put in lots of infrastructure for a small return and wonder why the share price doesn't continue to skyrocket while our losses mount."
What advantage does public phone mp3 offer over at home internet access? If you're on the road there are Internet cafes everywhere already - many of them with 24 hr acces - and provided they'll let you hook into their computer you're all set.
I'd be more excited about wireless broadband downloads on a small mp3 player like the ipod. All you'd need is the wireless modem built in, plus a simple interface to have a music store in your pocket. THAT would be more worthwhile.
Phone booth mp3 downloads are old
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
Not all of us either care to or can afford to carry a cell phone with us everywhere we go.
I'll give you an example - in English sports, there are several competitions involving teams from throughout the WHOLE COUNTRY, and not one of them is known as the 'World Series'.