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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!
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.
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.
Maybe you should watch the video?
Are you suggesting that one should be aware of the reality of the situation before commenting? Forsooth!
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?
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.
Here's someone's photo blog with a picture of one of the machines.
Barcelona also had a gigantic inflatable swarthy Santa Claus with a black beard with his arms stacked high with a giant mounded assortment of raw meats. That has no relevance to this discussion, it's just one of those things that's too weird not to mention when my trip to Spain comes up.
Can anyone tell me how to set my sig on Slashdot?
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.
Risky? That's why credit cards have a thing called "charge backs". It's not like you're stuffing hundreds of pounds (literally) of coins into that thing...
Charge back is great, if it works. You don't always win the dispute. If they say your ipod was dispensed, and there's nothing they can do, you'll probably lose.
"Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
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.