It’s no secret that Japan is the country of vending machines (they even have models like this one now), but this is new: Tokyo-based beverage company Asahi Soft Drinks took the wraps off a vending machine [JP] that not only offers drinks but also sends out Wi-Fi signals within a 50m radius.
The Wi-Fi will be available for free, is accessible with multiple devices, without registration, and for anyone to use (meaning users won’t have to buy any drinks to go online through the machine). It’s possible to use the web for about 30 minutes before the machine cuts you off (re-connecting is possible, however). → Read More
There can be no doubt that Japan is the country of vending machines, and this newest model is perhaps the most advanced yet. Developed by Japan-based tech companies Sanden and Okaya (and Intel), this “vending machine 2.0″ features a 65-inch see-through display with full HD resolution as the biggest selling point.
When there are no potential customers around, the display shows a digital clock and various animations to attract people. Once a person is standing in front of the machine, a facial recognition system determines the gender and approximate age and serves up personalized ads. → Read More
It’s no secret the Japanese love their vending machines, but this is extreme: a man from Sapporo has been taking pictures of the same vending machine (almost) every day since August 2005. The man, a person called Ikeda, is still uploading each picture on a blog he set up more than five years ago just for his strange hobby – just for fun. → Read More
We have covered the one or the other obscure vending machine in the past, but this one’s a first: a vending machine that sells live crabs. This model is located in a subway station in Nanjing, China, and keeps the crabs at 5°C at all times. In other words, the crabs inside are alive, “hibernating” in a frozen state. → Read More
You go to Japan and their vending machines are pretty much Prothean technology come to life. You go to a Wal-Mart in Florida and the vending machines are powered by steam. Is that changing? Maybe. The local Fox affiliate has a fun story about Next Generation Vending and Food Service, a Mass.-based company that specializes in, yes, next generation vending machines. Biometrics, credit cards, touchscreens, the works. → Read More
Last year, we’ve shown you Yahoo Japan’s digital signage system that scans passersbys to put up personalized content (ads, news, and other information). And today, railway operator JR EAST showed a very similar device that’s actually a mix between digital signage system and vending machine. → Read More
If you needed more proof that touchscreens are becoming ubiquitous, look at these new vending machines Coca Cola is planning to set up in all over Japan by year-end. They feature 46-inch LCD touch panels (1m high, 57cm wide) instead of buttons or knobs. → Read More
…vending machine.
And you thought our government was low-tech. Capital Hill staffers now have a huge iPad-like vending machine featuring a large touchscreen system that lets you choose your poison and then watch a little animation as it is vended.
It’s kind of dopey but I guess its better than the big open spring system they use currently. After all, who wants to see a bunch of ugly candy in a machine when you can watch a little video when you buy. The system comes from the National Automatic Merchandising Association and it seems that it might be some sort of demo system for the staffers instead of a real product. → Read More
You’d usually find the best vending machines in Japan… until now! There are plans to introduce vending machines in Germany that sell gold. That’s right: 100 percent pure gold. → Read More
Let’s not split hairs: the United States of America is an awesomely fat country. A full 26 percent of Americans were considered obese in 2007—by 2048 nearly every single American (statistically, at least) will be obese. We’re not even talking about “yeah, I can stand to lose a few pounds,” but medically obese. And this is just a guess, but could things like this be part of the problem, a pizza vending machine? → Read More
Everybody’s most loathed favorite electronics retailer is putting its already-sticky fingers into the airport pie to see if it can wring a little more cash out of uninformed gadget buyers. They’re installing gadget dispensers in airports across the country come September, probably a lot like the ones already there, but the Best Buy ones will also dispense injustice. Actually, to be honest, last time I was at an airport I could have used an extra SD card and a micro-USB cable. One of these machines might have hit the spot. → Read More
What this photo doesn’t show is the car salesman, who’s in the back getting the keys and a fistful of quarters from his manager to take this thing for a test drive. Ha! You can’t actually buy this Smart Car from a vending machine (yet?). It’s just a marketing gimmick. The machine doles out brochures about the car – cruddy, non-candy brochures – and I can’t tell if you actually have to put money in the machine to get the brochures. If you do, let me be the first to say to the people at Smart Car, “You magnificent bastards.” Oh well. We’ll always have London’s sneaker vending machine and the entire D terminal of the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. via TreeHugger → Read More
Apparently there’s a Coca-Cola robot running wild through the streets of Tokyo, ostensibly promoting the sugar water drink at passers-by. The initial write-up has more than one quip that made me chuckle: “…lumbering around Tokyo pinching the heads of people who prefer a different brand.” What is it with Japan and vending machines? → Read More
If the thought of sticking your dirty-ass feet into a new pair of shoes that you bought from a vending machine because you somehow lost your regular pair of shoes doesn’t appeal to you, then maybe this machine’s not for you. Shoppers, hobos, and late-night footwear forgetters near Carnaby Street in London will be able to pick up a pair of emergency shoes at the new Onitsuka Tigers vending machine. It holds two dozen pairs of shoes spanning half a dozen different sizes. I’m not sure how much they cost, but I’ll be in London in two weeks so I’ll try to swing by, snap some photos, and get prices. I will not, however, be purchasing these shoes. via Geekologie → Read More
I recently missed a connecting flight from Vegas to Dallas to Boston, so I had some time to kill at DFW. My flight was leaving out of the D terminal and let me tell you, there are some strange and wonderful things there. From weird vending machines to massive structures right in the middle of everything, here’s some cool stuff I found. → Read More
Dude… so cool. Let’s move to LA where they have vending machines for weed. You get your prescription and you go up to the machine and you get some sticky bud including Granddaddy Purple. Then you go home, smoke up, and watch SportsCenter. Seriously. Madison sucks. Let’s move. Available at: Melrose Quality Pain Relief, 4906 Melrose Ave, Mid-Wilshire; 323.957.7777 Herbal Nutrition Center, 1435 S. La Cienega Blvd. Suite G, Mid-Wilshire; 310.855.9484 World’s First Weed ATM → Read More
[photopress:ipods.jpg,full,center]Though things like this are common in Japan, you don’t see them much here in the States. I snapped this iPod vending machine in McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, as I prepare to board a plane to San Francisco to attend MacWorld. The prices were the same as retail, which was good, but I don’t understand something. Things out of vending machines are impulse buys, at least usually. The draw here seems to be getting an iPod before that long trip, in case you forgot yours or don’t even have one. But it comes out of the machine naked, with no songs or video. So, really, what’s the point? Am I missing something here? → Read More
Ah, Engrish Yes, another Japan > USA post from me. This time, vending machines. At the average vending machine here in America, you’ll find the usual assortment of candy and soda and potato chips, each healthier than the last. Over in Japan, yes, you’ll find that stuff, but you’ll also find coffee, ice cream and various health drinks with funny names (“Coolish” comes to mind—yeah, it’s not completely cool, just sorta OK). You’ll also find a healthy dose of Engrish. → Read More
, there is a line between easy and greasy, and we’re afraid the Pizza Vending Machine has crossed it. On the surface, it’s a fine concept: pop in a few bucks, and 2 or 3 minutes later, you’ve got a piping hot pie with the toppings of your choice. But how good could a 3-minute pizza really be? We’re guessing not at all. Even the cheap-o stuff we fill our bachelor pads with take more then 3 minutes to microwave, so unless these red and black auto-Pizzarias utilize some sort of saucy sorcery, we’re calling Papa John’s. WonderPizza [via Crave, via TasteSpotting] → Read More
