Motorola Unveils Phone Vending Machines 125
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?"
can I (Score:3, Funny)
Just like iPods (Score:2)
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http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/ipod-vendi
ipod.. maybe not so bad. (Score:5, Insightful)
ipod vending on the other hand.. not nearly so many options, and i could see myself using an ipod vending machine in an airport. generally when i am flying, i am in a rush and trying not to forget things, and inevitably i forget something stupid.. like bringing a book to read, etc. this is why periodical shops exist in airports. if the vending machine had an ipod that included the ability to perform itunes purchase + wireless download enabled, that is a combination i can see being very effective in airports; buy ipod, download $30 worth of itunes music, enjoy flight. of course, it's moot because ipod doesn't do wireless download [yet?].
Preloaded content? (Score:2, Interesting)
In Japan I reckon you could make a bit of a killing by preloading the mobiles with "schoolgirl" content! Some text messages, photos, a bit of video, voice mail, and some music... pretend it was an actual schoolgirls mobile that hasn't been deleted and is being resold - executives are doing it already with sensitive corporate data their smartphones and laptops http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/security/soa/_Undelet ed_smartphones_reveal_corporate_secrets/0,1300617 [zdnet.com.au]
Target audience? (Score:5, Insightful)
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The average airline passenger is far above average in income and these and also people on vacation are willing to spend a lot more than they usually would. $150 will often seem like not that much in comparison to the ticket. Also a lot of travelers have to wait a long time in an airport with nothing to do.
An airport is
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Re:Target audience? (Score:4, Interesting)
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.
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I salute you, sir.
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Although if you insist on your rabid fanboyism, the next time you're in my hemisphere please feel free to stop by and pick up the next round or two! :-)
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I actually glanced around in your journal to see a mention of country but didn't find one. Sorry about presuming you were within a few hours of my time zone!
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**Yawn** Nothing new here.
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Phone purchases aren't tracked, but phone-line purchases (mostly pre-paid cards) are.
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Dean
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Robotic Arms (Score:5, Funny)
Causing Riots? (Score:2)
Here's a question. If buying too many pre-paid cellphones from Walmart can get you arrested (terror
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Here's a twist on iPods (Score:3, Interesting)
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much better (Score:5, Funny)
That's much better than the prototype I saw, where the robot arm disembowels the customer and spills their entrails all over the linoleum.
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they found a market for the (Score:2)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_booth [wikipedia.org]
That was... (Score:1)
That's much better than the prototype I saw, where the robot arm disembowels the customer and spills their entrails all over the linoleum.
That was the RIAA/MPAA sanctioned Entertainment Media Dispenser, with Genuine Lawyer Personality, wasn't it?
we swear it was only meant to extract a pound of flesh, the drm was written with our approval by microsoft...
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Dude, I saw that movie [imdb.com]. It sucked.
The sound track rocked, though.
Fast turnaround! (Score:4, Funny)
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Disposable Phones... (Score:3, Interesting)
Yeah, probably the people in charge of this "great idea" are not panhandling now, as I thought they would.
Re:Disposable Phones... (Score:5, Insightful)
For day-to-day use, yeah, they're a dumb idea. But for certain uses, they're awesome.
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The bigger question... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:The bigger question... (Score:5, Funny)
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Looks like an easy way to get the phone itself. But what about a cell-phone service plan and provider or carrier or whatever they're called (like verizon, att, bellsouth, etc)? Do you get to choose that too? Or are you stuck with one you might not like by default?
Ah. That would probably be like the Disembowling one mentioned above.
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And the password is... (Score:1)
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Value of phones for sales tax purposes (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
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001234 (Score:1)
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a vending machine (Score:2, Insightful)
kmart, truck stops, quickee marts.... (Score:1)
New meaning (Score:3, Funny)
Let me be the first to say this gives a whole new meaning to "reach out and touch someone"...
Nooooo (Score:3, Informative)
Depersonify (Score:2)
Where will we end up?
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Have you dealth with any of the winners working at the cell phone store? They're almost as bad as Radio Shack associates (or whatever they're called.)
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Yeah- the idea is that you don't have to interact with a person.
Heh -- I suppose they'll buy the phones to interact exclusively with machines.
We now have a generation or two of people who are perfectly content to talk to an inanimate object. This is just the next step -- people who only talk to inanimate objects
Re: talking to inanimate objects (Score:1)
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Sexbots. (Score:2)
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Here's the thing: interacting with machines is usually more pleasant than interacting with the kinds of people they've replaced. Why? Because the people they're replacing tend to be salespeople, underpaid and commissioned. No one wants to deal with a desperate salesperson who will lie, hassle, and annoy you into buying whatever they're selling. There
Wow, the next thing you know... (Score:1)
What's the point? (Score:2)
This would be great if it truly was an impulse buy. Put money into vending machine, get phone, start using it; Refill as necessary.
But this is no different than the packaged cell phones they sell at Target and other stores -- you still need to go through the hassle of signing up for a rate plan, etc. The only difference is that now you have to pay for the phone instead of getting it free of charge for signing a contract.
en español (Score:1)
I'm not trying to insult anyone. It's a good sales strategy.
RTFA (Score:1)
Soda vending machine (Score:3, Interesting)
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
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Its a pretty simple idea really, but sometimes it doesn't work out and your ice-cream either never comes out or just gets dropped somewhere inside the machine
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Your church has a vending machine?
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10 seconds (Score:1)
My Role Playing Games are coming to life! (Score:1)
Our characters were also always in need of a cell phone. We invented a machine, that for $100 (or whatever currency was being used in game), you could go to a "vend-a-phone" and get one of your very own.
I should sue Motorola for stealing my i
the next level? (Score:1, Funny)
Theoretically, you'd only ever need one at a location, for all of time. (Well that...and a lot of floor space.)
This is a dup article, almost. (Score:2)
Not only has this been around for a while, it was written up on Slashdot. "Get Your iPod Fix From a Vending Machine" [slashdot.org] back in May covered the same vending machine, but loaded up with iPods instead of cell phones.
Easier or harder? (Score:3, Funny)
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No.
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Well... (Score:3, Interesting)
I bet the terrorists will just love these.
Get Real (Score:1)
Huh? Nothing new here. (Score:1)
I just read the /. ATM post... (Score:1)
hmmm... nope, I'm not saying anything...
How about travellers? (Score:2)
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id (Score:2)
How often do you need one? (Score:2)
The thought of getting through so many phone upgra
what about my change? (Score:1)
Something feels wrong (Score:1)
Product Name? (Score:1)
Not a completely new idea (Score:1)
Unlocked Phones? (Score:1)
Returns? (Score:1)
Wasn't there just a huge problem with people buying a bunch of prepaid phones at wal-mart? What is going to keep someone from buying these phones, with stolen credit cards?
Tempting Target? (Score:1)