Nail Art Machine: Manicure "vending" machine

Serkan Toto

Dr. Serkan Toto is an independent consultant and advisor focusing on Japan’s web, mobile and social gaming industries. Based in Tokyo, he works together with financial institutions and startups worldwide. Serkan has been the Japan contributor for TechCrunch.com since 2008. He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics. → Learn More

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

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As everybody knows, Japan is the land of vending machines. Dozens and dozens of these things are standing right in front of my house in Tokyo, offering everything from drinks, to cup noodles over to fresh rice 24 hours a day. But I’ve never seen or heard of the Nail Art Machine [JP], a machine that (obviously) takes care of your nails – to some extent.

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Apparently, this nail “vending” machine has been out since 2002. Pay $3.40 and it will beautify two of your nails for that price within about 5 minutes, meaning the machine measures your nails and produces a fitting nail stamp (hope that’s the right term) based on that analysis.

You can choose between 15 different colors and it’s possible to combine up to four colors with a base color. The machine also lets you choose between different designs through a touch screen.

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A reason for the machine being so rare (and a bit of a letdown tech-wise) is that it requires humans (Nail Art Machine staff) to finish your nails and make sure they really look beautiful with what the machine produced. But I’m not sure if too many women would want to stick their fingers in a machine in the first place.

Via Kirainet

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