Spotted (by Mahmood Al-Yousif) at Atlanta Airport has been the first of what could maybe one day be many iPod vending machines. While not a 100 per cent iPod-dedicated device (the machine also sells batteries, phone cards, prepaid phones and printer cartridges), the existence of the vending machine does underline the mass market commoditization that's taking place around the product.

Apparently, when a customer inserts their credit card to acquire a music player on an impulse buy (or to placate spouses or progeny after a long trip), a robot arm selects the device and drops it gently to the serving hatch.