Where would you buy your mobile phone from?

On a recent trip to Chicago, I came across two rather diverse mobile phone retail outlets. The first one was the new Nokia concept store in Chicago (this is actually the second one to open in the world since the opening of the Moscow store last December). According to Nokia, these stores are designed to inspire and educate consumers about the latest mobile communication trends and products by making the visit experiential and interactive. The Chicago store is designed to look more like a lounge bar than a typical mobile phone store. In the store there are ‘stations’ with ready to use phones plugged in and the staff offer advice or information to the customers of the latest brand innovations and technologies. The other outlet I came across during the same visit in US, was not really a store as such but a vending machine; the InstantMoto - obviously Motorola branded. You swipe your credit card, choose the number that corresponds to your preferred model, and wait by the slot to get your new handset in a course of few seconds. No hassle, no time wasted. From a European, Asian or even African point of view Motorola's approach is heresy. A fashion accessory, status symbol 'my lifeline' from a machine that sells chewing gum and Mars bars? But of course we've talked on this blog before about the commoditised American mobile phone climate, in which the vending machine superficially make sense. On the basis that Motorola is the most successful mobile phone brands in the US, introducing the ‘easiest’ and ‘quickest’ way to access the device could be seen as a ‘clever innovation’, fully branded but also tailored to the type of relationship consumers have with the device in that market. But being European one can't help but wonder whether Motorola are doing themselves - and the whole US market - any favours with this latest initiative. Aren't mobile vending machine likely to lead to further commoditisation? Does Motorola really want people to think of their phones as disposable? How do vending machines phones reflect on expensive, higher tech models that surely they will also want to sell? Interesting one to watch!