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Get Your iPod Fix From a Vending Machine
burnteternal writes "iPod Hacks reports that new iPod Vending Machines are popping up all over the U.S.; it includes links to pictures and a video of it in action."
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Watching the fight break out when the iPod gets stuck in the vending machine and thirty people claim they were the one who put the money in. Hey, free entertainment!
I thought it was kind of a bizarre concept. I watched it for a while and never saw anyone use it on a very busy day at the mall. It feels kind of risky since it is unattended (what happens if it eats your money and you don't get the product ... flaky vending machines are fine when your risk is a dollar, not so much when you might be making a $500 purchase). This also seems to emphasize spontaneity of purchase ... if you can wait to buy from some more reputable venue, why wouldn't you? And with a $100+ purchase in entertainment, I think most people can wait.
"Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
When buying electronics from machines that are barely passable for distributing candy, make sure not to be surprised when your 300 dollar electronics don't work because they've been dropped from a height of four feet.
I'm still waiting for the French Fry vending machine! Anyways, its gonna be a long line, with people stuffing three hundred $1 dollar bills into a vending machine....
If you watch the video...not only is the iPod NOT being dropped like a standard vending machine it's also not just iPods in the vending machine. The video features your average geek buying a power adapter. It's hard to tell from the video but it also looks like there are some cables and other things in there along with the iPods. I'm much more likely to buy accessories from a vending machine than an actual iPod.
This space for rent...
Hello, here's a non-linkjacked URL:
a chine-133740.php
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/ipod-vending-m
Don't expect to see iPod vending machines on street corners anytime soon. This one appeared in an Atlanta airport, where such a machine would make sense. Your everyday air traveller is an affluent entertainment-hungry impulse buyer willing to spend any amount of money to avoid being bored for the next hour or two. Plus, the machine is simply not going to get ripped off in an airport crawling with security.
From the looks of it, this machine isn't even Apple's doing, but rather some company called Zoom Systems.
oh ! I thought, I would be hooking up my i-pod and getting all the goodies instantly, one sec let me call my VC, this would work with pr0n. © 2006
It states the poor-quality idea right in the article: "This vending machine was spotted at the Atlanta airport. So you're getting ready for your long, grueling flight across the country by purchasing an iPod from the vending machine, then on the plane what do you do? Oh, nothing, because it doesn't have any damn music on it. Lets say by chance you actually have a laptop full of music and iTunes to sync with your new purchased iPod, well then why did hell did you buy it to begin with. Damnit!" ...if these do become popular, I can bet there well be another thing that becomes popular -- breaking the glass and grabbing some iPods to support your coke habit (break the window with some blunt object and grab an iPod or five in less than a minute).
Buying a portable media player should be a THOUGHT-OUT decision, considering is is a substantial investment (well, unless you're Bill Gates... BUT YOU'RE NOT! ohh burn). There is no sense in thinking through the process or research and planning, coming to the conclusion that "the iPod is the best choice for me", then buying it from a vending machine! Any sensible person would be able to plan, research, and - through research - find a good deal on the internet or in a store (somewhere that can actually offer support if you open up your $300 iPod and go "hey, this box just had candy in it"). Vending machines are great for sudden-satisfaction items like candy, soda, and even CD's... but portable media players are not the type of thing they should carry.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
but WTFV!
(that's Watch the frigging Video, BTW)
Next up: mail order Goobers. $0.50 + $4.00 S&H
If you haven't foed me yet, what are you waiting for?
Last February I was in the airport taking the train between terminals and there was one selling video iPods and such right before you took the escalators down to the train didn't see the prices but they had a lot of other things in there too but the iPods kind of stood out.
For a site where people think they are of 'above average intelligence' everyone here has completely missed the point: 1) These things are primarily advertisements. Hey, it worked, we're all talking about iPod... clever eh? 2) You can buy accessories there too, which are high profit items and more likely to be purchased on impulse 3) Half of all people flying will be arriving from the first flight of a round trip. They buy the iPod for their next flight because right now, the only thing they are thinking is "gee, that was miserable, I wish something could have made it better" There, happy?
This is the Atlanta Airport they're talking about... seriously, if you've ever been through there, you know they sell EVERYTHING! You want a new Dell to use on your flight? Sure, aisle 327. Oh, you wanted a LAPTOP? ...the upshot is, I am not at all surprised at a measly iPod being sold from a vending machine where they don't have to hire a full-time cashier to babysit it.
--
like 2 years ago in an chain hotel in Oakland. They also had overpriced electric shavers, and pay as you go cell phones... *yawn*
e.
Build Your Own PVR/HTPC news, reviews, &
What about receipts or warranties? I'd rather purchase the iPod from a store, just in case something does go wrong or I want to purchase an extended warranty.
If you're a criminal, easy access to thousands worth of easy to sell hardware behind a glass is a dream come true.
Actually they are robotic vending machines. Nothing actually drops. Heheh.. I've seen this things dispense coke before and the sounds and movements it makes is cool. Here is there website.
http://www.zoomsystems.com/index.html
Ooo man the floppy drive is broken. No wait. The computer is just upside down.
Whoever came up with this idea should be fired, bankrupted and exiled.
I'm developing a French Fry vending machine that stores residual oil in a hold tank for a Vegetable Oil car gas pump.
I'm calling it the Pump and Fry.
Skot Nelson music is my saviour / i was maimed by rock and roll
That machine has been in the Atlanta airport for over a year. I flew through there a couple of weeks ago and saw it again. I even remember saying to my wife, "That iPod vending machine is still here."
TPJ - Founder, The Amazon Basin
The Gizmodo article brings up a great point:
So you're getting ready for your long, grueling flight across the country by purchasing an iPod from the vending machine, then on the plane what do you do? Oh, nothing, because it doesn't have any damn music on it. Lets say by chance you actually have a laptop full of music and iTunes to sync with your new purchased iPod, well then why did hell did you buy it to begin with. Damnit!
I'd be surprised if they didn't have Ipod vending machines in Japan. Next to the Pocari Sweat machines, the Pocky machines, the Ice Cream machines, the Manga machines, and the ... uh ... never mind.
[Insert pithy quote here]
There's a vending machine with some iPods in it at the Sony Metreon in San Francisco. It's in the store on the second floor that sells laptop cases, jelly beans, and video projectors.
Apple doesn't make you buy the extended warranty at time of purchase. when you register your iPod with Apple they will offer you an extended warranty. if you use a real email address they will remind you when your initial included warranty is almost up. you can add AppleCare at any time during that period.
i know some people instead get a warranty through the store they bought the hardware from as opposed to manufacturer. that's why Best Buy/staples/circuit city/etc employees will always promote how much awesomer their warranty is. as to which is really better is up to you. you can hear happy&horror stories about any of them.
i am sure the machine can print you a thermal receipt, not unlike an ATM. how you would return it may be a little squirrelly though? i am also guessing it uses a credit card for large purchases and not $100 bills, so there is that record of the transaction.
Is that in addition to the other one in the Atlanta Airport mentioned in the article?
Just poking fun at you.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
that may be a lot of the point. if i saw an iPod vending machine i would maybe look twice. the iconic packaging would probably draw my eye on some level and if i needed a cable then i would think of that. otherwise i would probably ignore the whole machine as one that sold snacks or nail clippers.
ever left home without a charging or sync cable? i can't tell you how many times i have been traveling with people that forgot their phone charger. maybe they also sell those adapters to power your gearo from the airplane power port.... or at least your iPod (airplane to USB adapter?).
I wouldn't expect the iPods themselves to be big sellers (not going to do you a lot of good on the flight with no music loaded onto it), but you could make a killing selling accesssories out of that thing at an airport. How many times have you packed your bags and forgot your charger? Just buy a new one at the airport. Tired of all that loud airplane noise? Get some noise cancelling headphones before your flight. Plus, having seen these high-end vending machines in use before, most of the time they don't even have a money slot. You have to use a credit or debit card.
It's not stupid. It's advanced.
...too. It's in the main lobby of the middle building, just across from a Starbucks.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
What happens if the iPod you get doesn't work? I'm guessing you can't bring it back to the vending machine.
We have one of these at our local Pavillion's supermarket. They're a division of Vons, who are owned by Safeway. You can buy all your iPod stuff long after BestBuy and Radio Shack have shut for the night.
Funny thing is that the same machine started out selling general office stuff like ink jet cartridges, as well as a few iPod things. Then suddenly it was all iPod all the time.
They've had this around San Diego for a while. From talking to the employees at the Vons(Safeways for the rest of the country) where the machines are located, they said that a lot of the purchases have been with stolen cards. And that is exactly what happened my friend this weekend when her purse was stolen. $800 in less than in hour from the super market down the street.
Not sure who takes the loss, but its probably going to be the biggest problem for the company running the machines.
Now, that would be cool.
"Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
( Don't get it? See this portion of a screenshot of an old Apple website page. )
"Everything worth innovating today will go to court tomorrow."
I first saw one of these at the Argent hotel in San Francisco. I can't say I felt that the Ipod was useful, but they did have wireless cards and some other hardware that you might need if trying to get ready for a demo the next day.
Invalid Checksum. Retrying.
There's also one at one of the side entrances to Perimeter Mall. I don't know who they think would buy from that one, though.
I had been meaning to buy an iPod forever. I'd finally decided to get one but hadn't had time before leaving for a 4-day vacation in Florida. I had an hour layover in Atlanta (from Seattle) and -- there it was -- the iPod machine gleaming in the artifical light. I SMS'd a friend to ask what the price was online to make sure I wasn't getting gouged, and it was the same. So, bang, I swiped my card and got to watch the robotic dispenser feed me my new Nano.
It sold a lot more than iPods -- laptop power adapters, 802.11 cards, etc. The 4GB nano, which is what I bought, was the most expensive thing in the machine, though.
You guys aren't thinking straight! How many times have you come home form a business trip or travel trip and someone back home is expecting something when you get back. This is the perfect way to get that last minute gift for people waiting back home...Say you are coming home for little timmy's bday and you dont have that gift yet...Why go to the mall or best buy and wait through lines..Or better yet for all those christmas travelers!
~~"Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong." ~~Dennis Miller
I'd like to see an iPod accessory vendor release a dock-connected Wurlitzer-type jukebox that would turn your iPod into a vending machine. To wit:
1. Insert coin.
2. Select your track.
3. Profit!
Seriously -- put a Mac mini inside a Wurlitzer, connect it to the Internet and you can update the tracks remotely. Cool! (I'll accept 10% of the gross if you want to run with the idea...)
-- Gary Goldberg KA3ZYW 301/249-6501 AIM:OgGreeb Digital Marketing Inc., Bowie, MD
I saw one of these monstrosities in a freakin' supermarket. You know - eggs, butter, video iPod. While I admit it was a nice display of every accessory available for the iPod, swiping a card for a $300 toy from a machine just seems totally whacked.
It's another one of those occasions where I see what the human race has "accomplished" and fervently hope for an asteroid come by and clean the slate.
Now if they had a way to preload it with tunes, *that* would be something.
From one of these machines.
They used to have them in Zürich (where I live). I've been to Berlin last week, and they still have them in train stations.
I bought french fries from such a machine once. It cost about five US$, and I got a tiny paper cup thingie with like four small french fries and a few crumbs inside. They were four damn good french fries, though :-)
mod you up, can I just say: Hahahahaha!
;-)
Nice find
Do these iPod vending machines remind anyone else of the Replicators (vending machines) in System Shock 2? hehehe... ;)
Believe or not but to fix iPod is the worst thing ever! Firstly, it is impossible to fix battery, you have to send iPOd back to Apple and it cost around $60. Secondly, there are no way to replace any parts. Even headphones, it is impossible to buy them! All you can find, headphones with some tricky remotes or holders with the price $40, $50. P.S. Never buy iPod in Best Buy. Their customer service is a pain in neck. 99% they don't even know what to do and how to help!