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An algorithm is attempting to block drug deals at UK WiFi kiosks
The InLink kiosks installed throughout the UK were meant to replace payphones and provide free calls, ultra-fast WiFi and phone charging. But it wasn't long before they became a hotbed for drug dealing. Rather than do away with the free phone service, British telecom company BT and InLinkUK developed an algorithm to automatically block and disable "antisocial" calls.
Amazon is shutting down its US pop-up stores
Amazon is re-thinking its physical retail strategy, and will reportedly start another chain of grocery stores later this year alongside Whole Foods. But not all of its concepts will stand the test of time -- the company closing down its 87 retail pop-up stores throughout the US, perhaps because they're too limited in scope for Amazon's ambitions.
New York City's WiFi kiosks have over 5 million users
New York City's high-speed WiFi kiosks have been around for a while, but just how many people are using them? Quite a few, in fact. The LinkNYC team has revealed that there were over 5 million registered WiFi users as of September 2018, with over a billion sessions spread across the 1,700-plus units in the city. People make over 500,000 calls every month, too, although it's not clear how many of those were ice cream truck pranksters. You can safely presume that there's plenty of demand.
Cruel pranksters made NYC internet kiosks play ice cream truck tunes
New York City is in the midst of a heatwave, and some pranksters are taking advantage of technology to twist the knife a little more. LinkNYC has confirmed to Motherboard that someone is making its internet kiosks play ice cream truck music, taunting hapless New Yorkers looking for a cold treat on a hot day. It's incredibly cruel (or wonderfuly clever, if you're the mischievous sort), but there's no hacking involved. The perpetrators phone a kiosk, play the mouthwatering tunes from their phone, and switch to the kiosk's home screen to hide that there's a call in progress.
New York City's WiFi kiosks now offer real-time bus arrivals
Numerous cities display real-time bus arrivals on public screens, but New York City? Not so much -- you'll probably have to pull out your phone to know if you have a chance of making your ride. That shouldn't be a problem before long, as the city has launched a pilot program that puts real-time bus info on LinkNYC's gigabit WiFi kiosks. Visit one of 29 kiosks in Brooklyn's City Council District 39 and you can see arrival times for nearby stops at a glance, letting you know when you need to hustle.
CaliBurger’s new kiosk uses facial recognition to take orders
Cashier-less ordering kiosks are becoming more and more commonplace at fast food restaurants like Wendy's and McDonald's. But Golden State burger chain CaliBurger is taking that one step further: its new self-ordering kiosks use AI and facial-recognition technology to order, pay and log into the chain's loyalty/rewards program. It'll even remember your crazy custom order to boot.
Redbox deals with Sony and Lionsgate bring discs with no delay
This year Redbox is trying to make a resurgence, adding kiosks after a few years of shrinking availability. Of course, if it's going to draw people in for disc rentals over streaming, it will need to provide the movies they're looking for and renewed studio licensing deals will help make that happen. This week it renewed an agreement with Sony Pictures that secured its movies, once again, for rental at Redbox the same day they go on sale, while Lionsgate made a similar arrangement a couple of weeks ago. As Home Media Magazine notes, recent renewals with Warner and Fox bring their movies to the box a week after they go on sale, leaving Universal as the lone holdout still insisting on a 28-day window. The simple fact is that physical media isn't bringing in as much money as it used to, and studios are more flexible about methods that will keep people using discs instead of Netflix. Of course, Redbox still trails the availability of streaming video-on-demand in many cases, but it's also much cheaper, at just $2 or so for a Blu-ray copy.
Subway hopes touchscreens will bust up its sales slump
It couldn't be that their bread used to contain the same chemicals as yoga mats. It certainly isn't the fact that their high-profile spokesman of 15 years is now serving 15 more in federal prison on charges of sex with minors and child pornography. No, no, no. Obviously the reason that Subway's sales have been in a three-year slump, one of the worst in company history, is that their restaurants aren't sufficiently high tech.
Walmart takes on Amazon's grocery pickups with automated kiosks
Walmart isn't letting up in its quest to one-up Amazon whenever possible, especially when it comes to in-person pickups. The retailer is testing a kiosk in Oklahoma City that lets you pick up your online groceries at any time of the day or week. Instead of parking and waiting for a staffer to bring out your food, you enter a pickup code and wait for the kiosk to automatically fetch the order from bins inside. You need to spend at least $30 and order during store hours, but there are no special fees or other limitations. If you can't fetch your groceries until 3AM on Sunday, you're fine.
Redbox bets DVD rental kiosks are making a comeback
Redbox has spent years trying to reduce its dependence on disc rentals, and not without reason. You don't have much as incentive to rent from a kiosk when online video (including from Redbox) is just a heartbeat away. That doesn't mean the company is giving up on the idea, though -- in fact, it just made a fresh commitment to the concept. CEO Galen Smith has revealed that Redbox will add a net total of 1,500 new DVD kiosks across the US, and will add more still in 2018. Don't think of this as an attempt to pretend the internet doesn't exist, mind you. Instead, it's about a smarter use of resources.
In Ethiopia, pirate movie kiosks hide in plain sight
With the rise of cheap, easy and legal streaming services, actually pirating a movie or song seems like way too much effort. But in those places where high-speed internet may not be as prevalent, and those services are too pricey, other methods are required. In one Ethiopian shopping mall, for instance, there's apparently an ATM-style kiosk that enables locals to purchase illegally-obtained movies for cents.
New York City's free gigabit WiFi comes to Brooklyn
LinkNYC's free, gigabit-grade WiFi is all over large chunks of New York City, but there's a conspicuous Brooklyn-sized gap... or rather, there was. The communication network has switched on its first two Brooklyn kiosks, both of them on Fulton Street in the Bed-Stuy area. Don't worry about having to visit a small part of the borough to get no-cost internet access, though. There are nine other Brooklyn hotspots due to go online in the weeks ahead, including some near LIU-Brooklyn and Prospect Park.
Uber's breathalyzer kiosk gets you a ride home if you're drunk
Uber sees its ridesharing service as an ideal way to get you home safely when you're drunk, and it's trying out some relatively unique technology to prove its point. The company recently set up an Uber Safe kiosk in Toronto that gave sloshed Canadians a free ride if they blew into a breathalyzer -- much safer than stumbling on foot or struggling to hail a cab, if you ask us. The Toronto device was largely a promotional stunt, but Uber tells us that it's "thrilled" with the early response and to "stay tuned" for the possibility of more kiosks going forward. We can't imagine that Uber would continue to offer the Safe service free of charge if it catches on, but it's easy to see systems like this popping up in bar-heavy neighborhoods.
Want to test drive an Xbox One? Go to a Microsoft store
If today's deluge of Xbox One news has you itching to try it out yourself ahead of this month's launch, Microsoft has good news for you. Redmond's retail stores will have demo kiosks of the new console set up, and you can play any game you want, as long as it's Forza Motorsport 5. Want more? If you kick the next-gen console's tires, you'll be entered to win a Forza prize pack that includes a Polk soundbar, Ferrari racing wheel and a $2,000 gift card to use toward a new TV. Sure, Microsoft stores might not be as ubiquitous as Sony's PlayStation 4 demo locations, but at least these preview spots stay in one place.
Gen 2 lilitab adds easy on/off, MagKey to iPad kiosk
When we last checked in on the lilitab tablet kiosk product 18 months ago, the sturdy and economical stand delivered a sleek, minimalist look for retail and exhibit environments. Rolling forward to new tablet models, however, required replacing the entire head unit, and the fixed viewing angle wasn't ideal for some environments. It was also not particularly easy to turn off a tablet at night when it was encased with the high-security faceplate on the original lilitab. Now creator Adam Aaronson and the lilitab team have rethought the entire product for the lilitab Gen 2 kiosk, which began shipping late in Q3 of this year. The lilitab Gen 2 works perfectly with the iPad 2, which many kiosk implementations choose for its lower price; it also works great with the 3rd and 4th gen units, and iPad Air support is on the way soon. The lilitab kiosks are assembled in California under Apple's "Made for iPad" certification program; the company claims to be the only tablet kiosk manufacturer that has achieved Level 6 MFi certification in the program, allowing it to put together final products featuring the Lightning device connector. (Of note, as the lilitabers have been working on supporting the iPad Air, they discovered that the new Smart Cover for the Air follows the example of the iPad mini model and uses two reverse-polarity magnets to trigger device sleep, versus the single magnet sensor on the older iPads. That config, says Aaronson, means that almost all pre-release "works with iPad Air" third-party cases will actually not sleep the device properly -- if you bought one, be sure to test it out.) In rethinking the lilitab kiosk, one of the first things that got improved was the setup process. Gone is the complex threading/wedging of the power adapter into the support base; now the stand includes a straightforward USB pigtail cable, which can be attached directly to power or to an extension cable. The overall assembly process is quite a bit faster, as the baseplate attaches much more easily than before. In addition to the self-standing floor models, there are countertop, surface and wall-mount options. It's on the business end of the kiosk where you'll find the most noticeable improvements in the Gen 2. Rather than a cable passthru from the stalk to the iPad head unit, the Pro version of the head unit sports a custom, lockable magnetic connector. Need to pack up your kiosks for the night? Simply unlock them and pull them easily off the stalk in seconds. Another advantage of the custom connector: you can quickly spin your tablet from landscape to portrait mode. The head unit and connector also now sit on an articulated joint, so it's much easier to adjust display angle when needed. The company also offers a basic, no-tilt version of the head unit. Inside the cradle, adjustable brackets, silicon bumpers and a swappable power module support the use of most full-size tablets with minimal adjustment (with the exception of the iPad 1, which is too thick to fit properly under the top cover). The really magical gadget, though, is the MagKey; this slender magnetic strip can slide into a slot on the back of the lilitab cradle, where it triggers the iPad 2/3/4 Smart Cover sleep sensor. In a snap, the iPad is asleep for the night, and can be awoken for business the next day just by pulling out the MagKey again. For point-of-sale or commerce applications, the lilitab head unit can be expanded with either a Square reader mount point or the liliswipe secure card reader. In fact, lilitab is teaming up with credit card processing giant VeriFone to deliver the Pro-V kiosk with an integrated VeriFone card reading solution. The big advantage there is the ability to leverage VeriFone's end-to-end security model, which reduces the effort involved in certifying the retail environment for PCI-DSS compliance (the industry standard governing the handling of payment card data). The lilitab Floor Basic model starts at $245, while the Pro comes in at $395. Beyond the standard black or white, the company offers a full line of custom skinning and branding options to help your kiosk match your business look.
Toshiba bakes TransferJet file transfer and wireless charging into touchscreen kiosk, charges phones and credit cards
In an effort to make Toshiba's TransferJet more... business, the company revealed a touchscreen kiosk that allows you to buy (and immediately download) music, videos and more. Just in case that alone wasn't enough, the kiosk, which is adorably petite, also uses NFC to pair the device and (if you have the appropriate account or software) pay for downloadable content. The kiosk even throws in Qi wireless charging for your handset as you select, buy and download that new anime episode. Of course, if you don't have wireless charging (or TransferJet to grab the downloads in the first place), you might not get the most out of what Toshiba's offering here, but the idea is to place the device in places like airports and convenience stores, where people are likely to have time to kill and want something to watch or listen to right away. Darren Murph contributed to this report.
Google readies Chrome OS for all comers at the kiosk
If you've yet to lay your hands on a Chromebook or Chromebox, that could change shortly, as the computers may soon find a new life in libraries, hotels, retail stores and even the break room. Today, Google announced an update to its management console for Chrome OS that allows for Managed Public Sessions -- in other words, a kiosk mode. Central to the idea, users will be able to login to the computer without supplying credentials, and their data will be automatically cleared at the end of the session. The setup has plenty of appeal for system administrators, too, as they'll find the ability to set the default web page, block access to specific sites and apps, configure device I/O operation and manage timed logouts. Google has tested Managed Public Sessions with Dillards, The Hyatt in San Francisco and the Multnomah County Library in Oregon. If anything, it's a good reason to keep a keen watch on your surroundings... you might just spot a Chromebook in the wild that's begging for some attention.
Design studio creates modular multiple iPad kiosk arrays: Functional art
iPad kiosk enclosure design house nClosures has come up with a fascinating and beautiful way to attach multiple iPads in artistic kiosk arrays. One of the firm's designers, William Coburn, came up with the idea that the company could build arrays of iPads that would "mimic the form of what is being studied, developed or even conceptualized." From some initial ideas, nClosures created a modular and scalable Display Array that can be configured in a number of ways to "visually emulate specific ideas or phenomena being presented." As an example, the company used the design to come up with a kiosk display that looks like the DNA double helix that could be used with DNA-related content or apps on the iPads. Another example (seen below) shows the modular array set up like a tree of iPads, something that could be used in a museum or public display focusing on trees. nClosures invites those who are interested in creating a custom display using the Display Array to contact them for more information.
NYC MTA to install 90 futuristic touchscreen kiosks across the subway
Replacing those unused telephones that still dot the streets of NYC with high-tech kiosks is just the start. Control Group, one of the companies looking to Reinvent Payphones, has been hired by the MTA to bring its touchscreen and app-driven vision to the New York City Subway system. All told, 90 of 47-inch panels will be installed in stops from Grand Central to Bedford primarily near booths, but also on the platforms themselves. At least initially the rugged displays will primarily be used to feed information about delays and outages and, of course, serve up ads. Eventually, the stainless steel-encased kiosk will be able to run apps approved by the MTA, but the star of the show will be the navigation system that offers a mastery of New York public transportation that Google could only dream of. Sadly there's no concrete timeline for the rollout, we'll just have to keep an eye on the platform. There's one more image waiting after the break for the truly curious.
NYFi wins NYC's Reinvent Payphones 'Popular Choice' award, would serve free WiFi (update)
Although six designs were awarded in New York City's Reinvent Payphones competition, it remained to be seen which of the six would be the people's favorite. After about a week's worth of voting on NYC's Facebook page, the people have made their choice: NYFi will serve is their favorite concept for street-side payphone overhauls. It's not hard to see why, as the proposal would theoretically solve several urban hassles at once. Each NYFi hub would dish out free WiFi, taking the load off of the cellular network. It would also use open, smartphone-like software and easily adaptable touchscreen hardware to consolidate many of the boxes that clutter the sidewalks, such as ticket machines and bike sharing stations. We'll admit that most of the concepts sound a little optimistic to us -- we wouldn't be surprised if any finished city project fell short of the ideas. Even if we don't get a WiFi hotspot on every corner, though, the reinvented payphone will likely be a welcome replacement for landline phones that have mostly collected dust in recent years. Update: We've adjusted the post to clarify that NYfi is not, per se, the overall winner. During the initial demo event five awards were up for grabs from the city, and a sixth award, Popular Choice, was to be chosen by the public. Whether NYC ends up using one of these designs as a direct inspiration will remain to be seen. The awards are more or less a way for the city to see what the public would propose and potentially use those ideas when it comes time to request for designs within a mandated set of specifications. Check out our post about the event for more details.
