How Much Is That iPod in the Window?

Earlier today, while at the International Terminal at San Francisco's airport, I walked by a most interesting vending machine.

In addition to the normal things you might find inside a vending machine at an airport--snacks, drinks, aspirin, and batteries--the Zoom Smart Shop also sells iPods.

Yes, iPods. In a vending machine.

The vending machine had the Shuffle and the Mini models on display, but the Minis were sold out, according to the touchscreen computer built into the device. Apparently, the boxes on display were just a tease.

International travelers (or the people who come to pick them up from the airport) can also buy iPod accessories, voltage converters, WiFi cards, noise cancelling headphones, and airplane power adapters for laptops from the vending machine. Prices are comparable to what you'd pay in retail.

Apparently these Zoom Shop vending machines aren't all that new. Some blogs have referenced the one at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport. But I hadn't seen this one until today. Perhaps the biggest problem with the one at SFO is its location: You'll find the vending machine in a dark hallway that leads from the international arrivals area to the parking garage elevators.

I actually like the vending machine concept as a way to buy consumer electronics. Vending machines provide the immediate gratification of retail buying--something you can't get with online shopping--without the annoying salespeople you get in a retail store. I wish the Zoom Smart Shop had a better selection of MP3 players and headphones. I could also see these used to sell DVD movies, or even videogames: Game Boy cartridges, or UMDs (the discs used by the PSP) would fit perfectly into the Zoom Smart Shop's loading trays.

And no, you don't have to bring along 796 quarters to the airport, or feed 199 crinkly dollar bills one at a time into the vending machine's bill exchanger, in order to buy a $199 Mini: Zoom accepts credit cards, as well.

So, savvy travelers, what's the most unexpected thing you've seen in an airport vending machine, at an airport in the United States or Canada? Post your reply in the comments field, below.