Nokia shows off using interactive furniture

I'm not sure if this one should get chalked up as a kiosk project or a digital signage project, since there are definitely interactive elements, but the device looks more like a digital sign. Regardless, AdAge is running a story on what they say is the, "world's first interactive street-furniture installation," a project advertising the Nokia N-90 phone. As the article notes:

[T]he moment it detects a pedestrian it springs into life. The monolith-like installation first swivels either right or left to ensure that the creative message is directly in front of the consumer. It then snaps a photograph of the person and displays it on a screen.

What would be really clever is if the device could somehow interact with the user's current cellphone -- perhaps by sending an SMS or a Bluetooth message -- but there's no word on what the display actually does, aside from follow you around.

Unrelated (though from the same article), we now have a new front-runner for dumbest advertising-related statement: "The technology inside mobile phones is now so complex that it deserves an advertising medium that reflects that processing power." Yes, AdAge, that's it. What people have been crying out for is a way to better harness the power of their cellphones so they can be advertised to.

Tags: Nokia, interactive furniture, kiosk, digital signage, airport signage, airport advertising