Convenient Consumption
December 2, 2006
Most of us are accustomed to buying Pepsi or potato chips from a vending machine. Sometimes vending machines have useful products like laundry detergent and batteries; but whatever the machine is selling, it’s usually something you can get for less than five bucks. This weekend on a trip to the University of Kentucky, I made an interesting find in the lobby of the student center: an iPod vending machine. Yes, that’s right, an iPod vending machine.
You can buy everything from a 1 GB shuffle to a 60 GB video. Plus, you can pick up extra accessories like headphones, plastic cases and portable travel speakers right at the machine. You can pay with cash or any major credit/debit card. Once you make your selection on the computerized touch screen, the machine dispenses your item similarly to the modern Coker and Pepsi machines.
Its amazing that the iPod has become such a norm in society that it’s now something we are willing to “pick up” from a vending machine in a lobby. Why does everyone have iPods anyway? I have one… and I’m not even sure why. Have consumers been tricked into thinking iPods are now a necessity rather than a luxury good? For most of us, the only difference that an iPod makes in our lives is that we have some tunes to listen to while walking to class or driving to work. Sure, it’s a cool gizmo, there are plenty of those out there. The iPod is definitely the first (and probably only, right now) “cool gizmo” sold in vending machines. What are we going to buy from vending machines next?
You can buy everything from a 1 GB shuffle to a 60 GB video. Plus, you can pick up extra accessories like headphones, plastic cases and portable travel speakers right at the machine. You can pay with cash or any major credit/debit card. Once you make your selection on the computerized touch screen, the machine dispenses your item similarly to the modern Coker and Pepsi machines.
Its amazing that the iPod has become such a norm in society that it’s now something we are willing to “pick up” from a vending machine in a lobby. Why does everyone have iPods anyway? I have one… and I’m not even sure why. Have consumers been tricked into thinking iPods are now a necessity rather than a luxury good? For most of us, the only difference that an iPod makes in our lives is that we have some tunes to listen to while walking to class or driving to work. Sure, it’s a cool gizmo, there are plenty of those out there. The iPod is definitely the first (and probably only, right now) “cool gizmo” sold in vending machines. What are we going to buy from vending machines next?
