Are pushy salespeople preventing you from getting an(Amazon link) iPod? Still scared of using your credit card online? Don’t feel like paying inflated shipping costs? The list of excuses for not owning an iPod is slowing coming to an end. Thanks to these new iPod vending machines, buying an iPod is now as easy as buying a soda.
The unique concept allows people to buy iPods and related accessories 24/7.
Known Locations With iPod Vending Machines
These vending machines aren’t absolutely everywhere yet, but they are starting to show up in some high pedestrian traffic areas, like hotels and airports. So far, consumers like them, and more and more iPod vending machines are starting to pop up every month.
I ran a quick search on Flickr and found photos of iPod vending machines in the following locations:
- San Francisco International Airport
- Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport
- Concourse A of the Atlanta International Airport
- Las Vegas Hilton Hotel
These locations seem to target travelers, but they are also located in secure areas. Airports and hotels usually have 24-hour security and lots of people around. Someone trying to tip over the vending machine and pull a “smash and grab” would have a tough time not getting caught.
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How Practical Are iPod Vending Machines?
An iPod is probably not a good “impulse” purchase. If you were to buy an iPod right before getting on a plane, how would you fill it with music and videos? You would need a laptop computer and WiFi Internet access to the iTunes Store. Loading an iPod via an airport WiFi network isn’t necessarily a quick process, so hopefully you have a long layover between flights.
So how many quarters would you need to buy an(Amazon link) iPod Video anyway?
What Will These Machines Look Like In The Future?
Regardless of the practicality, installing iPod vending machines in airports seems to be a growing trend. Right now, these vending machines look crappy. Since these machines are not officially supported by Apple, they lack Apple’s design style. So we created this concept image of what an official Apple iPod vending machine might look like.
What’s next after vending machines that sell iPods? It’s probably just a matter of time before you can buy an iPod everywhere. The Japanese already sell iPods at 7-Eleven.
NERD NOTE: The first iPod vending machine was built by Zoom Systems and was located in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Frank Wilson is a retired teacher with over 30 years of combined experience in the education, small business technology, and real estate business. He now blogs as a hobby and spends most days tinkering with old computers. Wilson is passionate about tech, enjoys fishing, and loves drinking beer.
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