One for the Books
05/15/2010A few months back, I mentioned a new use that had cropped up for cigarette vendors in the Art-O-Matic. Now, another revival of the cigarette machine is being seen overseas.
In Hamburg, Germany, tiny books are available for 4 Euro each at the university, all written by authors from the city. A wide range of genres appeals to pretty much anyone who walks by, but it is definitely another novelty (no pun intended) machine. How will the book vendor fare in a world that has paperbacks competing against the likes of Kindle and the iPad? Will there be regular customers, or just those intrigued by the concept once? I have to mention that, apparently, all of the titles available in the machine are also available online.
Maybe it will be well received, and the concept will begin to pop up in the US in trendy neighborhoods and colleges where there may be a market for it. What do you think? It’s certainly has carved out a unique niche.
christine.papesch@veii.com
