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    Gadget Watch: ATM turns your old phone into cash

    By PETER SVENSSON | Associated Press – Thu, Jan 12, 2012

    LAS VEGAS (AP) — The International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is all about the latest smartphones, tablet computers and other devices. But what about the old gadgets? Don't they get any love?

    Actually, one machine at the show is designed to help recycle gadgets, giving old phones a fitting end, or a better home.

    Drop your phone into the EcoATM, and the machine will pay you what it believes the handset is worth. The cupboard-sized machine has a large touch screen and a big metal "mouth" where you can place your old phone or MP3 player. It takes pictures of the device to figure out what kind of shape it's in. Then, you choose one of the machine's many cables to connect your device. The machine will figure out if the device's internals are working.

    When its analysis is complete, it gives you a quote on the spot, based on what a network of hundreds of electronics-recycling companies are willing to pay for it. If you accept, it spits out cash. In a demonstration by EcoATM founder Bill Bowles, it said a Verizon iPhone 4 was worth $221.

    An older phone might not be worth reselling, but the machine will take it anyway, and give you a dollar. The company will melt down the phone in an environmentally friendly fashion to extract the precious metals from it.

    WHY IT'S HOT: It's tough to recycle old electronics. Collection bins are few and far between, though some electronics stores accept items for recycling. You can sell newer phones on eBay, but it's a bit of a hassle.

    THE UPSHOT: A fast way to deal with old electronics that keeps your conscience clean and might give you a bit of extra money.

    THE DOWNSIDE: The EcoATM's quote probably won't match what you can get for your item on eBay. On the other hand, you avoid eBay's seller fees. You have to physically go to the ATM. It's a big machine, about twice the size of a regular drugstore ATM. It has a lot of complicated moving parts, and could be prone to breakage.

    AVAILABILITY: There are about fifty of them deployed right now, mostly in grocery stores and malls in California. The San Diego-based company behind the machine says it plans to have about 500 out at the end of this year, spreading eastward.

     

    12 comments

    • PCShogun
      PCShogun  •  4 mths ago
      Sounds like a great way to fence stolen phones to me.
      • Green Arrow
        Green Arrow 4 mths ago
        The ATM machine will check the device's ESN to see if its on the lost/stolen list.
    • Chris
      Chris  •  4 mths ago
      I agree with Jim. Sounds like an easy way to crooks to get rid of a stolen cell phone and a huge incentive to steal more. I bet boat loads of cell phones will be on their way to china just like stolen bikes and cars are now. We have a recycling program in my city. You can drop off anything electronic or hazardous there. It will be completely naive to think that crooks won't jump on this opportunity to cash in at the expense of the rest of us.
      • Alan
        Alan 4 mths ago
        I don't see why a crook would "get rid of a stolen phone" using such a device. They'd be able to get much more selling it themselves.
      • Fenix
        Fenix 4 mths ago
        @ Alan- This makes the risk almost non existent to fence stolen phones without leaving a trail back to you. Might not get as much for the phone, but turning it over quickly and not having to wait for a buyer is better then waiting and getting busted with the phones.
      • AUSSEA
        AUSSEA 4 mths ago
        alan you are a IDIOT--no way to trace it you IDIOT
    • Glenmorangie
      Glenmorangie  •  4 mths ago
      And where exactly will the old phones be melted down in an environmentally friendly way? From what I've seen and heard, it's usually somewhere in Asia. I'll just store my old electronics till they invent a molecular vaporizer! That's the ticket...
    • BenL
      BenL  •  Troy, Michigan  •  4 mths ago
      Well where the heck is the closest machine to me!?
    • Martin Rundstedt
      Martin Rundstedt  •  Manila, Philippines  •  4 mths ago
      great i hope that thing buys my walkie talkie
    • SilverAcorn
      SilverAcorn  •  4 mths ago
      A little bit of software, and the serial numbers / instrument bar codes should be able to be checked against a stolen property database. If the item is "hot", a candid photo is then taken of the person trying to "fence" it, and is forwarded to the local police! Sooner or later, the "perp." would get caught based on their ID for even a driver's license application or simple traffic stop.
      .
      It might also make a great deal of sense to enlarge the machines for installation at landfills, and perhaps even for recycle bins in strip malls or recycle centers. Old TV's, Stereos, PC's and other electronics filled with valuable metals and other "rare earth" materials could be efficiently collected, and recycled.
      .
      COWABUNGA! These developers might really be on to something here!
      .
      This could be a BIG win-win for a lot of folks! The people recycling would get cash for their items, the recyclers would get money for their recovered materials, and the materials would get recycled into new products reducing our dependence on the ongoing earth extraction and control of such "rare earth" materials as is currently happening with China.
    • MrPeanut12345
      MrPeanut12345  •  Dallas, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      I've seen a machine like this in a local mall food court. I've never seen anybody use it, aside from kids having fun pushing buttons on it's display screen. One time I went I saw a woman, who I guess works for the company that owns the machine, sitting next to it to help or entice customers. Still, nobody came. I'm unsure who really walks around with old cellphones that they're thinking of selling for a few dollars.
    • Jim
      Jim  •  4 mths ago
      Will it sell me back my phone that someone broke my car window to take?

      Will it keep a picture of the person that sold them my stolen phone?

      They've got some kinks to work out.
      • Alfred
        Alfred 4 mths ago
        Always someone that is just not satisfied. Ps. Why didn't you ask if it will give you back youth to start life all over again while you were at it?
      • George
        George 4 mths ago
        Jim
        I sold your phone via eBay, so no luck getting it back ;-)

        This is a great way to avoid them ending up in landfills!
      • WB
        WB 4 mths ago
        I'm with Jim 100%. It is rewarding thefts of cell phones and mp3s all the way.
    • Lordh
      Lordh  •  Elmhurst, Illinois  •  4 mths ago
      Bring them to Chicago NOW!
    • Stranger
      Stranger  •  St Joseph, Missouri  •  4 mths ago
      Sounds like a good idea some body tell me why it's not.
      • Karl Jones
        Karl Jones 4 mths ago
        One thing that popped into my head right off. I steal your phone, and even if you call Verizon and tell them its stolen, and the MEID locked, I *STILL* got my cash out of the machine, and you never see your phone again. I can imagine there would be a ton of stolen phones deposited into this piggybank.
      • cj
        cj 4 mths ago
        What about someone going through the process with a working phone and then inserting a same brand broken phone.
    • RL
      RL  •  4 mths ago
      People give them to a church here.
    • A Yahoo! User  •  Cincinnati, Ohio  •  4 mths ago
      Sheeeit son, can I trade yo ma in???....CAPT AHAB
     Post a comment
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