Motorola Unveils Phone Vending Machines

DaveWick79 writes "The 'Instantmoto' is being installed at 20 malls and airports nationwide and will carry about 30 products including 12 phones and 18 accessories. Included is the popular Razr and you can choose whether or not to purchase with a service plan. Instead of being dropped into a tray, apparently a robotic arm will 'gently deliver' the product to consumers. The only question now is, will we be able to pay for these items using our cell phones?"

Comments

Value of phones for sales tax purposes

[whoever57]

It's going to be interesting to see what price they put on the phones without a service plan. I suspect that the phone companies inflate the value of the phones that they discount, leading to inflated sales tax payments in most states in the USA (for those who don't understand this, when you buy a phone with a service plan, because services are not usually subject to sales taxes, the state insists that the vendor collects and pays sales tax based on a nominal full price of the phone, even if the price paid for the phone is discounted, sometimes to zero).

If the price without a plan is less than the price that the phone company would normally quote for the phone, one could argue that less sales taxes are due on a new discounted phone.

Soda vending machine

[dochood1966]

I first saw a soda vending machine similar to this in Germany. A little elevator moved up, a robot arm gently pushed the soda onto the elevator, and it brought it down to the door. I chuckled at the ingenuity, but I really started to appreciate it after coming back and using the soda machine at church. It unceremoniously dumps it down the shoot. When you open it, it, well.... SHOOTS!!!

That soda machine ranked up there with the self-cleaning toilet seat for pure engineering coolness! Third runner up was the radar that told you how close to the curb you were. That was the first time I had ever seen that!

Those danged German engineers! They think of EVERYTHING!!!

dochood

Re:Target audience?

[ArcherB]

Which brings me to an interesting thought (for which I'm sure my Karma will suffer):

How is the Prez, CIA, NSA or whoever supposed to get FISA warrants for every one of these phones? I mean, if I were a terrorist, I would never make a call from the same phone twice, and never for more than a few minutes per call. Sure, you spend a bit more money, but by the time the Prez gets a FISA warrant, you three or four phones past the one they are listening to.

Just a question I've pondered and would like answered.