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Wii Kiosks
We could have named this post "Wiiosks", but we have more respect for you than that. Anyway, in IGN's generally uninformative "Nintendo Minute" section, George Harrison takes the opportunity to reveal a few of the more specific details about the upcoming Wii kiosks. The rumored Gamestop/EB Games exclusivity might still be true, as it appears that the pre-built, completely self-contained units will only go toward "certain retailers". However, many other retailers will simply receive a Wii console and Wiimote or two, and will be left to their own devices in regards to display and setup. Also, despite some worries about safety and theft, it appears that the Wiimotes will indeed be wireless. This could be some clever wordplay--a Wiimote tethered by a non-electrical cord is still technically wireless--but we'll give George the benefit of the doubt. Now, when will these kiosks be rolling into stores? Your guess is certainly at least as good as ours.[Note: the picture shown is not necessarily of the final unit, or in fact in existence at all.]
GameStop to have only authorized Wii kiosks?
So if you think that you're going to pop down to your local store and play the Wii on a big kiosk when it comes out on November 19, think again. According to The Dallas Morning News, the only retailer to have authorized playable Wii kiosks will be GameStop, much to Wal-Mart and surely every other big box retailer's chagrin. That said, as our brethren at Joystiq point out, many shops may open up their own Wiis and set up a playable demo unit or three, but official blessed-by-Nintendo kiosks apparently won't be widespread for some time.[Via Joystiq]
Best Buy PS3 and Wii rollout plans?
Images detailing Best Buy's Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii rollout plans surfaced on the web today, although the general consensus is that they are fakes. Images show kiosk rollouts for the Wii on October 29th, with pre-launch marketing sales happening the same day. "Demo Area" rollouts reportedly on October 20th for the PS3 will have gamers trying that system out more than a week before.With the launches of both consoles less than two months away, don't they get your blood pumping (even if these are fake)?
Rumor: Wii kiosks in your local Best Buy in October [update 1]
Over at GWN, there is some speculation pointing towards Best Buys getting Wii kiosks set up on October 29th. The information suggests that the Wii area will have two Wiimotes, Wii Sports, and a Phillips 480i, standard definition television set hooked to surround sound. Sounds good to us, but we would've liked to see them sooner! I guess we're just selfish like that.Check after the break for the images.[Thanks Nushio!][Update 1: Turns out the second image is fake, as we initially thought. We're still holding out for the date though. Thanks Neko!]
Welcome our phone-dispensing robot overlords
Say you're zoning out in SFO (that's San Francisco International Airport for the lay folk), waiting for a connecting flight, and you start to daydream about that Motorola PEBL you've had your eye on for the past few months. Wouldn't it be great if you could get the phone, like, right now, all without having to interact with a human being? Motorola has started pilot testing of its "INSTANTMOTO" automated kiosks in SFO and Macy's flagship State Street store in downtown Chicago (pictured above), offering a variety of phones -- both the unlocked and carrier-locked varieties -- and all manner of accessories. The pilot program will be expanded to a total of about 20 airport and mall locations by year's end; we're guessing it feels a little weird to feed a vending machine with a couple hundred singles, but fortunately, the vend-bot happily takes plastic.
A peek at this fall's Wii kiosks?
Alert the rumor patrol -- our big daddy blog Joystiq stumbled across pictures on the Internet and they may be news. This time it's the (possible) demo kiosks for the Wii. Note that this picture does not feature a widescreen television. If real, this could reflect part of Nintendo's marketing to mainstream consumers rather than just gamers, as mainstream audiences tend to be less likely to have the best and brightest tech. A display like this would give regular folks a good idea of how the Wii could look in their living room. On the one hand, we think that the best marketing scheme for the Wii is the console itself -- just let people play it, as Nintendo has pledged to do. But after discussions of interference from other electronics at E3 affecting the exchange of data between the Wiimote and the console, we've gotta ask: how will the Wii play at your local Best Buy or Wal-Mart? They can't exactly ask everyone shopping to turn off all wireless devices, now can they?But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Despite the poor quality of the image, this seems like a good possibility.
Commodore's Gravel In Home and In Public MediaTower
Just in case one Commodore product wasn't enough, the company will announce two other new hardware products at IFA. As a sister item to the Gravel In Pocket, Commodore will also demo the Commodore In Home, and like the name says, it's for the casa. The Gravel In Home comes with an 80GB drive to give you access to video on demand, Replay TV and streaming music services. Like the Gravel In Pocket, it too will be available in a few months. The Los Angeles-based company also announced the Commodore In Public MediaTower, a kiosk to download music, ringtones, games and the like from "high traffic public areas" via USB, WAP or Bluetooth -- something we're surprised that Apple didn't come out with first. Then again, maybe Stevie J.'s already got one in the pipeline. [Warning: PDF link!]
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]
PodBuffet - an iTunes Kiosk on its way?
How many times have you found yourself out and about somewhere when 'the iTMS itch' strikes? You know, that catchy song playing over the mall speakers, or a kid's headphones at the airport blaring loud enough for you to jam along. But how are you supposed to scratch that itch if your computer and iTMS account are sitting at home?Fortunately, 22Moo, an Australian hardware and software company, hopes to lend you a hand with the PodBuffet, an iTunes Kiosk they're developing that is powered by a Mac mini with a 15" touch-screen LCD and a "customised application for timed access to iTunes". Their press release doesn't reveal much more information, so we're assuming they're working out a method for allowing those itchin' for a fixin' to purchase music and load up their iPod on the go, without having to deal with any of that library-linking silliness. 22Moo's site isn't very forthcoming either, so here's hoping these kiosks don't join the ranks of countless other vaporware.[via MacMinute]
Download-and-Burn movies getting closer
Download-and-Burn might just become the new mantra of the MPAA yet. Recently, the studios dropped their asinine controversial demands to retrofit set-top DVD players and DVD-ROM drives with expensive watermark detection technology. Instead, the demand is now limited to new devices with enhanced features such as the ability to burn downloaded movies or support managed copy; not to your run-of-the mill living room DVD player. Under the proposal, these so-called "enhanced devices" would also have to incorporate HDCP on all digital outputs as well as CGMS-A on analog outs in an effort to curb piracy. Something to keep in mind with your next TV purchase, eh? Sure, the watermark technology must still be chosen along with a new method for CSS authentication. But this clears the way for an overall download-and-burn agreement for standard-definition DVDs (not Blu-ray or HD DVD folks) which would allow the likes of Walmart, Target, and Best Buy to implement their download kiosks and enable the good peeps at Netflix to finally stream their flix into our homes for that sweet, sweet burn. [Via Digital Media Thoughts]
Commercial Kodak scanner digitizes, tags old photos
In much the same way that Coinstar machines have revolutionized the way we deal with accumulated change, Kodak has unveiled a new commercial scanner that promises to batch-digitize stacks of old photos and assign them rudimentary chronological metadata. Introduced on the occasion of the EasyShare line's fifth birthday, the so-called "Scan the World" technology will be incorporated into modified check-scanning machines for initial deployment as stand-alone kiosks or behind the counter at drug stores, which can currently turn your bits into atoms, but not vice versa. According to Kodak, the scanners use software which is able to identify different photographic paper for estimating the decade in which the picture was shot, and can even group pictures featuring like individuals through facial recognition. Future versions of the application will also incorporate OCR capabilities for reading watermarks or handwritten notes on the back of photos, further improving the accuracy of the tagging engine.
