Imagine this: you are in the airport travelling across Atlantic. A perspective of watching movies all trip long is not an option. You find a Kindle vending machine and in seconds unbox a new shiny 5th generation Paperwhite.
Well, it could be 2nd generation Paperwhite, and it could be now, not in ten years (or in a sci-fi novel).
Todd Bishop and Taylor Soper from GeekWire have spotted a Kindle vending machine, “Kindle Kiosk”, at the McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.
The machine sells Kindle devices, covers and accessories, for the same price as on Amazon website. You can buy a Kindle e-reader charger, but you can also get here the $379 Kindle Fire HDX.
It’s not the first Kindle vending machine around. Amazon started to experiment with them back in November. They were placed in selected airports and shopping malls.
Buy a can of Sprite in one vending machine, and a Kindle just next to it
At that time it was a part of the Kindle Paperwhite marketing campaign, but could Kindle Kiosks really become a part of the shopping experience and not experiment? You buy a can of Sprite in one machine and Kindle smartphone in the one standing next to it – is this possible at all?
Opposite to Apple, Amazon wants to sell content. The more ebooks, movies, apps, or songs users buy the better. Kindle devices are a means to sell content. They are not meant to make profit by themselves.
Amazon doesn’t have a problem with the image of its devices. A vending machine is as good as a website, as long as it sells products and needs to be filled up regularly.
While I can’t imagine iPads or even iPhones 5Cs to be sold via tools like that, Kindle Kiosk nicely fits into the Amazon territory. Instead of getting a Kindle in airport’s duty-free shop, you get in front of it, from a vending machine.
Would you use Kindle Kiosks? To buy a Kindle, or maybe a cover, to protect the device during a flight?
All images and info via GeekWire.
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