Thread: Business Investment, opinions?

I've seen and used them before Prince. I think they are a great idea... and can make some serious revenue... given that you find excellent places to locate them. If you find a hot spot to locate them then you can make some good money. Place them in a dud location and you're screwed. Well, only screwed so much... since you'll own the machine itself, you could move it to another location if one was bust.

However, I've used them and spent a good bit of money on them when I was away from home and couldnt find an internet connection.

cool, where did you use one?

Ummm, I've used a couple. One in Canada, one in an airport somewhere, etc.

The limiting factor on not using them more when I'm out and about is that there usually arent more of them. I obviously dont necessarily like to spend the extra money, but if I dont have access to the internet I'll do what I have to.

I think one of the places they would be a huge hit is in towns/cities with a large tourism element. Most of those people want to be able to write a little note home and say hi to the family, and these days most family members will have access to the internet. Thats generally when I've used them... on vacation.

I enjoy internet cafes, but where they are not available or when you're in a hurry these are a superior option.

I saw some at the airport in Washington DC I would have used em, but they were all taken Not sure if it was the very same kind, but you were supposed to slide your credit card and then you'd get access to it I think it's a good idea
People are getting more and more portable things like palms and mobile phones with internet connection though, that's a thing you might want to remember too

yeah, one of the features on this model is:

Wi-Fi Hotspot - A turnkey Wi-Fi Hotspot that can be used by up to 64 laptop or PDA users concurrently.

Wi-Fi is a globally accepted wireless technology that allows users to connect to the Internet without the use of wires. In the home that means that users can stay connected whether on their couch or in the back yard. Away from home, users visit Wi-Fi hotspots to wirelesses surf, work and play.

Oh, okay, I guess I didn't read up enough

We have something like that here at home and I can take my laptop anywhere in the house I like it We've had some problems with it not working 100% and it's been sorta slow, but my dad is a tech geek so he'll fix it

I don't know about these things, it is becoming increasingly easier to hop on the web with even just a cell phone. I would think these things would have a very short life cycle with technology growing as it is. I suppose the wi-fi aspect of it is great and would prolly bring in a bunch of cash, I just don't see the need for the kiosk/terminal part other than to raise the cost of upkeep.

What I would like is a kiosk where I could plug in my mp3 player and get different music whenever I travel, that would be rad.

Edit: We have wifi at my house and I absolutely hate it, they need to fix this technology.

Interesting concept and I am also always researching new business ideas/ventures.

I would get some referrals from this company to see where they have these kiosks set up. Then I would go there to see how much traffic they get. Is there enough people using them or would people be using their own cell phone/PDAs instead? I know you said there was a wireless feature for upto 64 users but if I am travelling and I already have internet access on my phone or PDA, I am not going to pay to use a kiosk. So I would try to get a feel whether there is a demand out there first.

Also, it said that there is a 3 year warrantee. What happens after 3 years? How expensive is it to maintain after that?

I have used the kiosk before too in a hotel lobby in Aruba. There would be the obvious places, like the site mentioned, hotels, train stations, airports, bus terminals, campus, etc.

Good points!

I have not spoken to anyone yet, but I do have a lot of questions before I hand over $10k for one.

One thing to remember is it will be a long time before "everyone" has laptops/PDA's, etc., especially with wireless internet. Also, the kiosk has a camera enabling users to send video messages, and it can also sell/dispense prepaid phone cards.

As far as after the 3 year warranty, I am not sure if they offer an extended warranty, something I had planned on asking. Although based on the PC hardware and the fact that I have spent the last 8 years working in IT it would be no problem for me to fix them if needed (provided I installed close to home). They are standard PC's with an LCD touch screen.

Dale & Lina - Would you use a cell phone or PDA over one of these devices even if they had reasonable pricing? The downside to cell phones and PDAs is that in my opinion they just arent as convenient as a full size computer is. Perhaps the day will come when they are... but lets say if you want to check out some stuff real quick and want to access a couple pages at a time. It'll be much easier via a computer. Or if you want to write an e-mail, its much easier to do on a full size keyboard.

Which reminds me Prince, two of the things that I didnt like about the kiosks that I used were that for the mouse they had the ball in the center of the keyboard and it just wasnt as convenient. Perhaps theres another way to do that so that its easier to use and yet makes it so the mouse cant be stolen.

Then the keyboard was undersizes I think. Made it a little weird typing for me. If they had full sized keyboards I think that'd be better.

Lina had some great points as far as the business side of the venture would go. Definitely important to see if there is a demand, what kinds of complaints people have about using the kiosks, etc.

Originally posted by Eggs
...two of the things that I didnt like about the kiosks that I used were that for the mouse they had the ball in the center of the keyboard and it just wasnt as convenient. Perhaps theres another way to do that so that its easier to use and yet makes it so the mouse cant be stolen.

yeah, I guess the reason for the trackball is they are much more "vandal proof" than a mouse, every kiosk that I have looked at uses a trackball.

my gym has one....i've never seen anyone but the front desk employees use it though. (could be that a gym isn't the right spot to put one)

Justin, I think the answer goes back to demand and what kind of demand. Personally, if I am away from home I would probably be too busy having fun and would only have time to check emails to take care of business and would not do much surfing. So in that case my cell phone/pda would do. I have been to those kiosks and looked over my shoulder and most people were mainly checking their email too. When you are in a train station or airport, you really don't have much time. I do see people using the phone cards though. At that price, it is cheaper to use a phonecard at home too!

There are several types of kiosks out there where the ball would be located on the right side of the keyboard but then you would leave out anyone who is a 'leftie'. So I guess that's why the ball is in the center.

Robert, $10k is a chunk of change! Another thought to research, is if there are big competitors out there that would have the monopoly on the market. Let's say company XYZ has 50 of those machines and have been given the exclusive rights to put up their machines in a hotel chain and another one ABC in the metropolitan train stations, etc.... you know what I mean?

I dunno.. I always thought those things were kinda corny..

Never used one, the issue of privacy comes up.. who can see what you're doing from behind your back, but even moreso, who can read the data you're sending? Is your password safe?

Also, during my vacation in Florida, I used the free internet computer that was in the business center of my hotel

Just my thoughts that's all

10 grand!

Youd almost be better building one yourself... $500 for a cheap box, find some kiosk software, hook up a digital CC reader, and throw it all into a fancy looking kiosk. It'd cost way less than 10 grand.

And re: pda's... to access the internet with one, you need a wifi hotspot. Phones can sort of browse the internet on their own, but its extremely slow and afaik extremely expensive.