Snapchat Spectacles are having a moment… in fact i can’t imagine a better name than “spectacles” with the way they are launching and dispersing their foray into hardware this insane holiday week. When the WSJ article is titled “Snapchat Spectacles Take Video, Cover Mortgage Payments” you know it’s madness. Short story - only way to get them is currently through their adorable minion-esque vending machines that are popping up across America, and you find out where they are on their Spectacles Bot Map, but when they pop up, get there fast, rumors are there are only 200 or so in each one, and they sell out in under 2 hours? Also expect lines around buildings… they are all over eBay for $500-1000 (and you can swipe your credit card at a SnapBot to get one for $130) All this insanity as they get ready for a rumored IPO… and the Spectacles resell bubble may die down as their NYC store restocks more often?

But, lets look at the SnapBOT! It’s adorable, beautifully poppy and minimal, like a giant rectangular minion beeping cute noises and barfing out rainbow receipts (how very snapchat?) So when Shawn woke me up that the SnapBot was just over at Brentwood Countrymart - we popped out of bed and headed over - figuring worst case we could see the madness and grab a coffee. Apparently the bot landed around 7, and the line was already a few hundred deep at 8:30. It was quite the diverse crowd - and people were already scheming what they were going to do with the money they made reselling them… So with cappuccino in hand, we headed to the bot - just follow the balloons! And it was appropriately placed right in front of the toy store! With its big blinking eye that matches the Spectacles logo and the camera/led on the glasses - it’s a great interaction for the buyer and those waiting around the machine. See more pics and video on the next page.

Tags: camera - gifts - robot - shopping - technology