Finally, A Hand-Cranked Digital Sign

February 11, 2013 by Dave Haynes

The only time I’ve written about kiosk-maker Zivelo was to slap them around on some really goofy PR, so I am happy to this time instead reference something a little out there, but nonetheless pretty interesting.

The Marion, Indiana-based company (small town, 3 hrs south of Chicago) has launched what it calls the X-Eco kiosk, which has an optional solar kit and even a hand-crank to fire up the screen and connection.

The solar kit has a power management system that would allow the unit to run off nothing but collected sunlight. There are are also battery-powered and electrically wired options.

“The X-Eco is the apex of green self-service technology, with each kiosk deployed saving an average of 9.5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year when compared to traditional outdoor units,” says Ziver Birg, CEO of ZIVELO. “Not only do these solar kiosks eliminate electricity costs, they also offer unlimited outdoor placement options — breaking down the barriers of today’s conventional kiosk installation limitations.”

The company says it has more than 100 resellers and distributors throughout North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa, and a client list that includes Coca-Cola, Nike, Hilton, CVS, NASA and the U.S. Army.

The units START at $10K and that is for a 21-inch LED. You will pay another $6K for the solar panel and $1K more if you want the hand crank. And so on. This has a limited buying audience, to put it mildly. But it addresses a particular challenge and I strongly suspect it was designed that way because there were prospects looking for that.

I like the idea of the solar panel and I like how the screen is recessed in the enclosure to also deal with harsh sunlight. I would probably spend the extra $1K on the hand-crank even if I didn’t need it, just because it’s novel and will get people trying it for that alone.