New iTunes kiosk in development

After you've dropped more money in a vending machine than you ever thought possible, you're left wondering how to fill your new iPod with media to escape the monotony of your 10 hour layover. Enter 22Moo, an Australian hardware and software designer who is developing an iTunes kiosk -- dubbed PodBuffet -- to place in airports, train stations, hotels, shopping centers, and who knows where else. The prototype is powered by a Mac mini attached to a 15-inch touchscreen display that allows users timed access to the iTunes Music Store. Equipped with WiFi and all the appropriate USB, FireWire, and dock connectors, the PodBuffet won't refuse service to any iPod. The idea is to provide convenient access (and satisfy those cravings) to Apple's media mall when your laptop is MIA, and we can imagine this setup creating quite a few impulse indulgences as well. 22Moo hasn't announced a launch date nor any plans to bring these stateside, but hopefully the famished can enjoy the all-you-can-afford PodBuffet sooner rather than later.

[Via Macminute]

[Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Jul 27th 2006 11:44AM]

I'd like to see how they're going to work their way around the iTunes software. Don't most people tie their iPods to one machine, which means that if you connect your iPod to another computer that you lose your music?

[z @ Jul 27th 2006 11:45AM]

Yeah, well, why not if it's neatly done? You can always buy one or two albums when on vacation and listening to some good new tunes on the radio. What inboard iPod radio?

[Wilson @ Jul 27th 2006 11:51AM]

To Conrad Quilty-Harper,
Not really, you set up your ipod to manually manage your songs, so when you connect your ipod to another computer for the first time it doesn't do anything but display your songs. Personally that's how i have mine set up and i connect to any computer i want without fear of loosing data.

[scott @ Jul 27th 2006 11:54AM]

I'm not a fanboy, but I'm honestly sick of everyone complaining that the iPod doesn't have a built in FM tuner. Radio is dead.

[cap'n @ Jul 27th 2006 11:54AM]

I think it's a great idea. I could see myself swinging by one of these at an airport and making a purchase or two. At least it's one thing the airport can't overcharge you for! As for being able to transfer your purchased songs back to your home base computer, I'm still wondering why iTMS hasn't established a proper user log-in that will maintain your playlists, purchased and non.

[js @ Jul 27th 2006 12:09PM]

Zune fanboys to your battle stations!

[chuck @ Jul 27th 2006 12:09PM]

@ cap'n:

don't be so sure about them not overcharging you for this service. i doubt it'll only cost $.99 to download a song from this kiosk. if it did, the company developing the kiosk wouldn't make any money...

[Jimmie @ Jul 27th 2006 12:12PM]

Maybe the machine could spit out a simple "Data" CD-R with the DRM'd files on it. That protects Apples DRM and give the customer something to take back to their own computer. CDR's are cheap enough and it could easily be automated through some scripting.

[BDC @ Jul 27th 2006 12:15PM]

how is this any different than using a computer with WiFi?

[UKO @ Jul 27th 2006 12:24PM]

@js

"Zune fanboys to your stations" oh come on. Some of you Apple fans make the lamest people known to man itself, at times I feel ashamed of owning a MacBook and dread walking into the Apple store. On that not this is not a bad idea, a digital vending machine would be very convinient for those who consider purchasing a song on the go.

[StreetStealth @ Jul 27th 2006 12:31PM]

I think Jimmie's got the only likely solution.

While there are workarounds out there to get music off your iPod onto the hard drive (like Senuti), I can't see 22Moo telling users that they'll need to install new software when they get home or else they'll lose their purchases.

Most likely, the kiosk will automatically turn off automatic sync, then copy the newly-purchased files to the iPod (of course you'll have to sign into the kiosk to authorize them), and burn you a disc like Jimmie suggests.

[macstibs @ Jul 27th 2006 12:55PM]

What's going to be really funny is how their business model goes poof! when Apple releases the 6G ipod with built-in wireless access to the iTMS. Yeah, I know... they'll still be able to service iPods 1-5G and maybe there won't be an access point near the kiosk... great. This all assumes no one sues.

Wake me up when these guys go bankrupt.

[Wonderboy @ Jul 27th 2006 1:04PM]

Jimmie... that kind adefeats the purpose, cause then you'd have to use a laptop to transfer from the CD-R.

Personally I think this is stupid, if only from an "ideal society" standpoint. My opinion is, if you didn't think ahead to buy the song before you went to the airport, then you'll just have to suffer through listening to your other 10,000 songs. Seriously, the need for instant gratification is disgusting.

On the other hand, this is genius for Apple, music companies, and the kiosk owner. There's no better time to get stupid people to spend money than when they're bored and immobile.

[John Stracke @ Jul 27th 2006 1:07PM]

Um...if I've got an iPod, I've probably got my entire music collection on it, which means it's *really* unlikely there's any song I want desperately enough to pay airport prices for it.

[Jeff Foster @ Jul 27th 2006 1:07PM]

UKO: dont get all pissy. it was just flame-bait.

this idea... seems kinda flimsy. They'll have to make a totally new interface to the iTMS, because this just wont work using iTunes and scripting. (maybe, but that might be ugly.)

And if they're charging $0.99, that's what, 5 cent profit per song? (affiliate program $) doesn't seem like enough to pay the overhead at an airport.

i smell vaporware.

[ChillyWilly @ Jul 27th 2006 1:18PM]

I'm with others on how it's possible to download songs from this kiosk to your iPod if you have your iPod setup to sync automatically to your computer. If you have it in manual mode, how do you get the songs off the iPod and onto your computer.

Maybe this is where Apple is ready to finally open up the iPod enough to make it flexible to moving songs from the iPod back to the computer.

[zune @ Jul 27th 2006 1:29PM]

"Zune fanboys to your battle stations!"

That was cute. Anyway, I dont think the zune haz a fanboy yet. Except me of course.

[Jimmie @ Jul 27th 2006 1:30PM]

@Wonderboy

I mean't you jack in you iPod, load a song and then the machine could also spit it out on a cd for you to take with you for adding to you library at home later. This solves the whole song stuck on your iPod-only issue without bypassing the DRM. Though for music this is kind of a waste resources. I could see this biz model really working with video as an impulse buy. Like jacking into a kiosk to download a movie or tv show before a fight. What to watch is much more of a spur of the moment decision and also would also work well with the rumored, "movie-rental" format that Apple may launch. http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0607itunesmovies.html

[Gary @ Jul 27th 2006 2:10PM]

With an idea like this you'd expect them to be aiming for as wide a market as possible rather than just the iPod section of media players.

On my last flight to the US earlier this year I counted 7 other passengers using mp3 players and only 2 of those were iPods (8 including my iRiver).

Chances are good I missed several other users, but my point is the portable audio market is not just iPods, sure its quite a chunk and certainly the most widly known, but setting up a business like this you'd expect the company to attempt to cater for as many players as possible.

I don't really see this idea taking off, perhaps the odd impulse buy but most will fill up prior to heading to the airport and have countless hours of music/podcasts to listen to.

A varient on the idea providing movies might work, but then again if they just target iPods capable of movie playing I think they're limiting the market again. Also those with portable media players will likewise have pre-stocked up.

[andrew @ Jul 27th 2006 2:59PM]

Can you say "free iPod charger?"

[Falsoman @ Jul 27th 2006 3:02PM]

Well, my brother has a nano, a centrino laptop and an AMD desktop... he uses iTunes on the laptop to sync the ipod and Winamp on the desktop, and when he load songs trouhg Winamp and then conect the ipod to iTunes... iTunes not only doesn't delet his songs, it load the ones that weren't into the library to iTunes. I don't know if this is unusual.

I belive that iTunes erases your ipod songs only if the songs were already on iTunes and you delete them there.

[Harbinger @ Jul 27th 2006 3:50PM]

Ads you watch when you log into it, ads when you log out. Solves the 99cent a song problem.

You just gotta be sure to always have 1 computer slot open in your itunes account.

[Taylor @ Jul 27th 2006 4:33PM]

Finally, it's stupid it's taken this long for someone to do this. They also need to create a coke bottle type machine where you swipe your card and out pops your selected iPod. You open it up and connect it to the kiosk and download your music or video. They need to figure out a way to either block podcast (b/c they are free and it would take up bandwidth, plus someone using the machine) or charge a fee for doing so, even though iTunes doesnt' charge anything.

As I think more about it, they probably don't even have a deal with iTunes, they just add a surcharge per download, which would cover the podcast issue.

[Zhao Wen Xio @ Jul 27th 2006 5:02PM]

No one noticed that all of of the generations of iPods used in photographs that the 3rd gen is the most famous. (the one pictured above in the story, with the seperate buttons) Maybe Apple should re~think the whole new image of the next one.

[Gio @ Jul 27th 2006 5:38PM]

Cant wait for a Japanese hack program to allow you download 600 songs in one shot right to your ipod.

[SHEiK124 @ Jul 27th 2006 8:48PM]

"Can you say "free iPod charger?""

Why yes I can, these things are SO going to be abused :P

[jason H @ Jul 27th 2006 9:51PM]

you knwo i was pndering this idea for a while and submit this idea to them then i heard that Mc Ds was dong that and i was like shoot cant do that cuz of paten laws etc. but i was thinkn or places like apple store because not everyone has a computer that wants n ipod or someone might be getting a tune in thier head and want the song in thier ipod and that are not home to buy the song dang i should of sent steve a letter a yr ago..

[Greg @ Jul 27th 2006 10:53PM]

I've got an even better idea than the cd-r idea. Your iPod must have on it somewhere your music store account number and password, so when you plug the iPod into this kiosk, it will instantly download the song to your iPod, but it will also tell your account that the song has been purchased. The next time you open up the music store, the song will automatically download to the computer. This could also work for billing. Instead of inserting money or a credit card, it could charge, say, $1.49 directly to your iTunes music store account, $.99 in apple's pocket and $.50 in 22moo's wallet.

[zoara @ Jul 28th 2006 5:39AM]

Jason H, please learn to write before sending any letters to Steve.

[jordan @ Jul 28th 2006 1:20PM]

Followed by: New iThief chair kiosk in development. As if we haven't heard enough about people being assaulted in broad daylight for having the signature white earbuds, now the thieves can just sit at a table near the kiosk, watch the customer get some songs, then follow them for a short while before doing a quick snatch'n'grab to their iPod (because now they see exactly where the user puts their iPod after they're done buying their songs).

[cracovie @ Aug 28th 2006 1:38PM]

Would the cost/song really be higher? I don't think it would be. I think it's a good idea: another music store to browse in airports etc if you have an ipod.