A Wifi vending machine in Japan

One of the trends that didn't make it to my '12 Trends of 2012' was vending machines.  It ended up being just a small part of 'mobile payments', but I do think that there is a lot of scope for unusual vending machines, often activated by mobile, this year.

One of the best ideas in this area I've seen recently is this one by Asahi Beverages in Japan.  In addition to snacks, this vending machine has wifi, and users can pay for a code for 30 minutes connectivity.  The wifi is built into the vending machine, and works on a radius of 50m.  This would be so perfect for cafes, pubs, sports halls or whatever.

It could even work for train or tube carriages.  30 minutes is all you need in most cases, but if not you could buy a second portion.

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