Have you heard about Sony selling electronic products in automated kiosks?
Yes indeed! Reminds me of the amusement park game (or diner lobby game) where you put your buck into the machine and you get to operate a giant claw that tries to pick up a stuffed animal or some other goodie.
(Please, if you have ever won that this game, let me know. I am sure to be impressed.)
Actually, what Sony is doing is installing branded kiosks in three shopping malls this week that will allowing purchasers to see the selection of electronic items behind glass walls, touch the screen to read about product information or watch movie trailers and then make a purchase delivered by a robotic arm.
According to the New York Times, Sony hopes the vending machine-like kiosks, called "robotic stores," will help boost sales by offering consumers a way to combine the immediate gratification of a store purchase with the ease of buying products online.
Only time will tell ...
(Oh, and if you come across one of these things, please let me know.)
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I saw a machine that sounds like this a few months ago at the Atlanta airport (concourse C or D, I think). Big machine with a touchscreen selling iPods and accessories. Someone else was playing with the screen, so I didn't get to really explore it.
Next time you are there, check it out and let me know more details.
I went through ATL this week and found the machine in terminal A. It's not Sony or Apple, but it does sell iPods and PSPs. See the (crappy cellphone) picture at http://www.clutter.com/tom/ZoomVend.jpg.
Interesting how Atlanta gets all of this cutting edge stuff ...