Supermarket Rolls Out Shopping Carts with Built-in iPad Docks

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We’ve all been there; wandering aimlessly up and down the grocery aisles, silently screaming, “My kingdom for an iPad dock on this shopping cart!”

One supermarket chain in the U.K. is looking to do the unthinkable by rolling out (pun intended!) shopping carts—or “trolleys” as they’re charmingly called across the pond—with built-in iPad docks.

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We now go to the Telegraph for more:

“The trolleys come complete with a tilting iPad holder and speakers. Their front bumpers are fitted with a sensor which lets off a warning beep if an engrossed shopper gets too close to another customer, while an onboard battery with a self-charging solar panel ensures that the iPads never run out of power.

The trolleys have been developed by broadcaster Sky to highlight its Sky Go service, which allows iPad users to watch live sport or news on their portable devices. The iPads themselves are not included.”

On the one hand, not being able to go shopping without watching live TV is a little on the sad side. On the other hand: Hey, live TV while you shop! The crash sensor is a nice touch, too, and the solar panel should play well with just about every demographic.

The supermarket chain, Sainsbury’s, will be testing the carts in one of its West London stores and if everything goes well, the project may be extended to the rest of its locations across the U.K. No word on whether we’ll see something like this in the U.S., but this is America. Go start your own supermarket chain and order some of these if you want them that badly.

[via The Telegraph]

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