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KFC Introduces Meal Box That Doubles As A Smartphone Charger (indianexpress.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the what-a-time-to-be-alive dept.

An anonymous reader writes: KFC has introduced a limited edition 5-in-1 Meal Box to select KFC outlets in Delhi and Mumbai. The box has one mighty special feature: it will charge a user's smartphone while they eat. The company has partnered with a Mumbai-based digital agency, Blink Digital, to make the "Watt a Box" concept a reality. In terms of specs, the box features a built-in 6100 mAh power bank, and two USB-ports with the ability to charge Android smartphones and iPhones. KFC has launched a contest on its Facebook page, giving users a chance to win the box. You can watch the "Watt a Box" promo video here on YouTube.

77 comments

  1. Marketing People by suso · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Just as dumb and out of ideas all over the globe.

    1. Re:Marketing People by mfh · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Batteries and fat fryers. What could possibly go wrong?

      Actually this would also make a nasty attack vector for blackhat people who could easily get employed at KFC during the promotion to rig boxes to steal customer info or brick phones.

      My advice; never trust a fast food place for your wifi or charging needs. Keep those random and personal.

      --
      The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
    2. Re:Marketing People by AK+Marc · · Score: 2, Insightful

      What's the attack vector for plugging in an on, and properly configured phone to a malicious device? Is your concern purely theoretical, or are there actual exploits to attack a (properly configured) phone over USB? Or are these attacks only against improperly configured phones?

      --
      Learn to love Alaska
    3. Re:Marketing People by Tablizer · · Score: 2

      Batteries and fat fryers. What could possibly go wrong?

      They could take "freshly cooked" to the max if you receive the chicken uncooked, and push a button on the box to fry it at your table or in your car on the way home.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    4. Re: Marketing People by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Power on the data pins might hurt.

    5. Re:Marketing People by mark-t · · Score: 2

      Charging wherever you can get power is not an issue if you have a dedicated charging cable that doesn't carry data.

      --
      File under 'M' for 'Manic ranting'
    6. Re:Marketing People by mfh · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I deal with risk management daily. The factors KFC is considering here are pretty interesting but they are probably going to target advertisements to the phones for sure -- I mean that's a given that some kind of phone home device will happen -- permissions or not.

      They may ask you to sign up to something for charging and then pair your device with their network. That's possible.

      All the free wifi networks are kind of tracking people like this now anyway and if they aren't they are missing some interesting fingerprinting.

      One vector is a USB mount attack which leaves the user unable to defend their microsd data. Sure if you're an IT expert you may be able to protect against it with proper configs, but KFC is targeting nightclub people basically who won't go home so they need to charge their phones after the bars. Stop at KFC for greasy food and a quick charge... boom. pwn'd.

      The device this guy is talking about could be rigged to send certain things through an open wifi or on a lower cost budget, the blackhat goes through the garbage later on and grabs all the boxes out to recycle them. KFC may even ask that users recycle the boxes, which would make mr. blackhat's job even easier.

      --
      The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
    7. Re:Marketing People by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      Just as dumb and out of ideas all over the globe.

      And more lithium wasted on a single-use application.

    8. Re:Marketing People by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think, in this case, it's a unique solution to a regional problem. It's not like KFC is testing this for a wider rollout.

    9. Re:Marketing People by ITRambo · · Score: 4, Informative

      The user needs to allow data transfer to a new USB connection, with Android 6. Otherwise, its just for charging the battery.

    10. Re:Marketing People by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Of course people have different ideas of what is important. Some people will argue that a device isn't properly hacked until you can get root access to it and run arbitrary software.
      I'm not particularly worried about that as long as I can shut down and do a clean install on the box. The operating system itself doesn't contain anything they can't just from anybody else.
      What I am more worried about is an attacker getting sensitive data from my phone. If they can read out my phone book from the USB port and/or other personal information that is a larger concern.

      A lot of people seem obsessed with protecting the root account while they use the same account for running a random tool they found on the internet as they use for banking.

    11. Re:Marketing People by lloydchristmas759 · · Score: 1

      True, but then you are limited to charging at 100 mA (or 500 if you cheat the USB spec), as higher currents require data pins so that the device can detect how much it can draw.
      See:
      https://www.maximintegrated.co...

      --
      I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous.
    12. Re:Marketing People by OakDragon · · Score: 2

      Blackhat people wouldn't tolerate working at a KFC, not even for a little bit.

      --
      Dark Reflection
    13. Re:Marketing People by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      At KFC, I would be a lot less worried about USB attack vectors than I would be about pooping myself before I could get home.

    14. Re:Marketing People by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But will they finally take their poo to the loo?

    15. Re:Marketing People by citylivin · · Score: 2

      "I deal with risk management daily."

      Don't you think that maybe that makes you more prone to seeing problems where none exist? Like a solider who comes back from the war and sees explosive devices everywhere.

      --
      As a potential lottery winner, I totally support tax cuts for the wealthy
    16. Re:Marketing People by AK+Marc · · Score: 1

      So a properly configured phone that's powered on before plugged in, or off while charged has a 0% chance of compromising the device (considering only currently known attacks). Only if your phone is improperly configured, or powered on while plugged in is there any possible attack against it.

      --
      Learn to love Alaska
    17. Re: Marketing People by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      8:28PM, my first laugh for the day. Thank you! Sincerely, Some Random Dude on the Intrawebz

    18. Re: Marketing People by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Black people with hats (on sideways) totally would too work at KFC, especially if there was free bizcuts wig dat fried chicken as a work benefit. Look, I don't like what I'm writing either, just sayin.

    19. Re: Marketing People by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're welcome, fellow anonymous internet user.

  2. yagottabekiddinme by dbreeze · · Score: 1

    wereallgonnaburninhell

    --
    When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law he tore his robes.2Kings22:11
  3. Don't eat this shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Beside the fact their food suckz, they have a terrible animal and human rights record.

    You should really be vegan and not eat any of this shit.

    Eat a vegetable-based diet and patronize establishments that respect human dignity and pay their employees a living wage.

    I'd rather eat out of a dumpster than eat at KFC (and I have eaten out of a dumpster, based on principal, when the situation warranted). There's so much waste in cities. Lots of good veggies in the dumpster if you're willing to get a little dirty.

    1. Re: Don't eat this shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

      Vegetarianism is elitism. Vegetables are very poor concentrators of nutrition, unlike meat, which is an enormously rich protein- and fat-dense food. Per calorie and overall nutritional value, meat packs more value by weight than vegetables at a ten-to-one ratio. If everyone in the US were vegetarian, we wouldn't have enough infrastructure to ship all the food around. And the vegan cry of "grow local" is specious. Many places aren't arable enough to grow local, while others have abundantly fertile ground that would be criminal to waste.

      Vegitarians don't live longer. It just seems longer.

    2. Re:Don't eat this shit by Vairon · · Score: 4, Informative

      KFC in India has many vegetarian dishes to choose from. In addition to fried chicken sandwiches and strips they have fried vegetable "strips" and fried vegetable sandwiches. They have several spicy chicken choices we don't have in US KFC as well that are quite tasty.

    3. Re:Don't eat this shit by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 2

      "... I have eaten out of a dumpster, based on principal"

      Meaning when you didn't have enough money, or was it those spelling errors on your resume?

    4. Re:Don't eat this shit by AmiMoJo · · Score: 0

      I refuse to eat food out of a bucket on principal. What's next, the KFC Feeding Trough, where you and your family can eat and shit at the same time?

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    5. Re:Don't eat this shit by Vairon · · Score: 1

      It's a meal box. Unless you don't eat fast food at all or don't order food to-go from restaurants, surely you've eaten tasty food out of small cardboard boxes before. Personally I don't eat out of a bucket either because I'm snobbish about eating meat on a bone with my hands. I'm not caveman. I don't need to hold the bones of the animals that have been slaughtered for my nourishment. Usually only *that* kind of fried chicken is sold in buckets.

    6. Re:Don't eat this shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You shouldn't post shit like this on the internet, you know, because, well, read it. lol.

    7. Re:Don't eat this shit by mekkab · · Score: 1

      I don't need to hold the bones of the animal slaughtered for nourishment as their rendered fat dribbles down my chin, but it makes the experience all the more satisfying.

      /BELCH So, these charge boxes are grease-proof, right?

      --
      In the future, I would want to not be isolated from my friends in the Space Station.
  4. so by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    the aim is to make your phone smell of greasy chicken as well?

  5. E-waste by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Great... More e-waste buried in the earth.

    1. Re:E-waste by ITRambo · · Score: 1

      You could always drive a nail in the battery and enjoy the result, which might be a small fire or just some sparks. Fun either way.

  6. Video Violates Physics by sexconker · · Score: 0

    Watch the video.
    Notice the height of the box before it is opened.
    Notice the height of the tallest item in the box after it is opened.
    Marvel at the box of holding.

    1. Re:Video Violates Physics by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Notice the height of the box before it is opened...Notice the height of the tallest item in the box after it is opened.

      Whadda deal!, you get:
      1. Fried chicken
      2. Phone charger
      3. Mini-TARDIS

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  7. Dynamo Bikes... by tonywestonuk · · Score: 5, Interesting

    We do this in the UK also.... ...except the power is already in the KFC chicken itself, rather than a lipol batter pack. This project puts free to use dynamo bikes for the public to use. Plug your phone in, then burn a few calories charging it..... ideal if you've pigged out and want to burn at least some of it off! http://eastdevon.gov.uk/news/2...

    1. Re:Dynamo Bikes... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ... a lipol battery pack.

      There's a reason KFC is selling battery packs to poor (and hungry) people: Profit.

    2. Re:Dynamo Bikes... by binarylarry · · Score: 1

      There's a reason why every company sells products: Profit.

      --
      Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
    3. Re:Dynamo Bikes... by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      We do this in the UK also.... ...except the power is already in the KFC chicken itself, rather than a lipol batter pack. This project puts free to use dynamo bikes for the public to use. Plug your phone in, then burn a few calories charging it..... ideal if you've pigged out and want to burn at least some of it off!

      This is a far better idea. After the big vote, will you still invite Europeans to come over and ride these?

    4. Re:Dynamo Bikes... by jedZ · · Score: 1

      ... a lipol battery pack.

      There's a reason KFC is selling battery packs to poor (and hungry) people: Profit.

      They might be hungry but are not likely to be poor! Not too many poor people eat at KFC in India. Fast food brands are positioned rather differently here.

    5. Re:Dynamo Bikes... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Biking burns 35 calories per mile. Have fun.

    6. Re:Dynamo Bikes... by ZorglubZ · · Score: 1

      [...] a lipol batter pack. [...]

      Lithium Polymer batter? Now that's a quick energy charge!

  8. I'm confused by bobthesungeek76036 · · Score: 1

    To you get to keep this watt-a-box after you have eaten your food? The article is not clear on that point. If not then it's not that practical. For fast food, I sit around 20min to eat. That's not very long on the charger. Probably give you 10-15% battery maybe? But if you get to keep this box then that must jack up the price???

    --
    Karma: Bad
    1. Re:I'm confused by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm more concerned about all these spent battery-containing boxes getting sent to the landfill.

      Also, that commercial was pretty bad even by commercial standards.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    2. Re:I'm confused by Vairon · · Score: 2

      You can keep the 6100mAh charger. The meal, including charger, costs about 149 rupees ($2.20).

    3. Re:I'm confused by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      How likely are the staff to ensure no one accidentally throws away the box when they're done?

    4. Re:I'm confused by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Like you, I'm not exactly certain watt they are talking about. I am pretty amped up about it, but I predict the idea may meet with some resistance.

      Still, I'd like to get one of these boxes and take it ohm.

    5. Re:I'm confused by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      delete your account

    6. Re:I'm confused by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can keep the 6100mAh charger. The meal, including charger, costs about 149 rupees ($2.20).

      And you get one week of your very own outsourced programmer, complete with hacked chromebook and 90 day Java or C++ Wunderkind certification from Motorola...

    7. Re:I'm confused by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      done.

  9. I TAKE IT MIKEY D'S IS FROWN UPON THERE !! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Or can they eat beef?

    1. Re:I TAKE IT MIKEY D'S IS FROWN UPON THERE !! by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

      I believe they sell mostly chicken and vegetables.

      There was a scandal a few years ago when it was discovered that the grease that they use to cook their fries contained beef fat.

  10. Fred's Fill Dirt And Croissants by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cabrillo.edu%2F~dambrosini%2F50Web%2Fimages%2Ffredsfilldirt.gif&f=1

  11. Indian Chicken Landfill Gimmicks /. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Slashdot you have lost your fucking minnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnds.

  12. KFM by Tablizer · · Score: 2

    Kentucky Fried Marketers

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re: KFM by ememisya · · Score: 1

      Watt a box this is! Most exciting!

  13. stupid and wasteful by Martin+S. · · Score: 1

    Now this doesn't just include the food.

    Do they recycle the box after each customer or is it throw away after use.

    FFS Just put an induction charger in each table.

  14. Re:stupid and wasteful by Vairon · · Score: 1

    You keep the 6100mAh charger.

  15. What kind of name is Rohan? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    People name their kids that these days?

    1. Re:What kind of name is Rohan? by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

      A perfectly cromulent Anglo name, sometimes spelled 'Rowan'.

      Also not uncommon in the Indian subcontinent.

    2. Re:What kind of name is Rohan? by Plus1Entropy · · Score: 2

      His older brother is named Gondor.

      --
      Only crack the nuts that crack. You don't put the ones that don't crack in the sack.
  16. Re:stupid and wasteful by ChunderDownunder · · Score: 1

    Powerbanks are great for on-the-go.

    But I'm just not sure what benefit enclosing it in disposable cardboard brings, that's the gimmick - over just bundling a free 6100mAh powerbank with every purchase.

    Great for westerners who get off the plane in Delhi and head to their nearest KFC, I guess - cheaper than buying one at the airport.

  17. Rechargeable? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are these rechargeable or one time use? In either case I do not like this idea, it is not effective use of our finite natural resources.

    1. Re: Rechargeable? by AmazingRuss · · Score: 1

      It will be a nice layer of lithium for future landfill miners.

    2. Re: Rechargeable? by Ilgaz · · Score: 1

      If it doesn't pollute the soil and water resources. Lithium in form we use in batteries is nothing more than poison for the environment.

    3. Re: Rechargeable? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When has that ever stopped us?

  18. win THE box by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "KFC has launched a contest on its Facebook page, giving users a chance to win the box."
    I did not read the fucking article, but the above statement certainly does not seem to suggest the chargers are in all or any regularly distributed boxes.

    1. Re:win THE box by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, I had to read all the way down the page to this post to find somebody with a clue, and you still haven't been modded up. There is absolutely no way they can include a power pack for free with a $2.20 meal (the price someone above listed) and not make a huge loss. Something everyone else in the thread seems to be oblivious to.

  19. Watt the fuck? by Plus1Entropy · · Score: 1

    That's all I got.

    --
    Only crack the nuts that crack. You don't put the ones that don't crack in the sack.
  20. They plan a USB firewall by Ilgaz · · Score: 1

    Kaspersky Labs tries to crowdfund a USB charger "antivirus/firewall" which will ship for $25
    https://blog.kaspersky.com/pur...
    Google has taken some precautions with the mighty powerful ADB interface such as warning users and disabling even the option to display the screen where you enable it but there are several ordinary end users who wonder around with it enabled.
    I recently had to help a hotel bar's laptop computer, it had like 10-20 complete strangers private iPhone data backed up! Right, it didn't have passwords I bet but all the personal photos, browsing history etc are there. Just imagine what a person who does it on purpose can do with SSDs and SD cards reaching TB range .

    1. Re:They plan a USB firewall by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      After eating KFC, I need a firewall in my pants.

    2. Re:They plan a USB firewall by macs4all · · Score: 1

      Google has taken some precautions with the mighty powerful ADB interface

      Wait, what? Google is using the Apple Desktop Bus?

  21. Se7en by 742Evergreen · · Score: 1

    They should get Brad Pitt as a spokesperson. "Watts in the box?"

  22. Disposal? by um...+Lucas · · Score: 1

    So let me guess, when you're done eating, you just throw the box (and electronics inside it) away?

    At least it's already in india, rather than needing to be shipped back there from here.

    1. Re:Disposal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We already have too much waste, now we're going to put e-waste into something that will likely not be recycled? Why?

  23. Wonderful! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How about introducing meat that doubles as food?

  24. KFC Meal Box by MichaelEdits.com · · Score: 1

    Why not? They quit serving edible food before I was born.

    --
    http://www.michaeledits.com