The Digital Kiosk

More and more people are using tablet computers and e-readers to read books, magazines and newspapers. So, what will the kiosk of the future look like? To which extent will newspaper racks change? A possible answer was given by Cynergy’s Todd Clare at the SXSW Festival. This future newspaper stand enables people to purchase favorite books by creating a physical connection between a personalized tablet computer and the kiosk itself, as represented in the video. A simple act transfers a book, magazine or newspaper to an e-reader.

Although critics are doubting the effectiveness of this innovative way of selling books, we can imagine this to be the future of newspaper stands at certain places like train stations and airports, but also as new forms of plug-in retail such as sidewalk merchandising. Anyhow, it saves a lot of trees and diminishes distribution and logistic efforts. Most of us still consider the experience of buying and reading a real paper book decisive, but it’s interesting to see firms experimenting and creating new experiences with these new technologies — in this particular case the experience of doing a digital purchase on the street.