If you want to set up iPad kiosks in-store there are a number of factors to consider, including physical security, how you’ll charge them and whether you’ll need to sync them remotely. Here are some ideas...
So you know you want a snazzy interactive kiosk where your customers can find out more about products, staff can present rich content and - gasp - contactless payments may even take place. What you don't know is how to stop customers running off with your devices and how to make sure they're always fully charged. Never fear - our retail team have found three ace kiosk-makers with solutions that will sort all of this for you. Here's the rundown...
Maclocks
There are two solutions we really like from Maclocks - the Space Desk Enclosure and the BrandMe Floorstand (both compatible with iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4 and iPad Air).
The Space Desk Enclosure is a padded aluminium enclosure that stops anyone tampering with your iPad's home, volume and lock buttons, but still allows data, radio and WiFi signals to filter through, so you can enjoy full access to whichever app you lock the iPad into.
If you fancy keeping your iPad on a tabletop, the Space Desk Enclosure can accommodate a cable lock to hold it down, or you can mount the whole thing flush against your showroom wall (you won't be able to rotate iPad once it's mounted, though, so pay careful attention to whether your app works best in portrait or landscape mode).
If you want a freestanding kiosk, the BrandMe Floorstand is, as its name suggests, brandable, with dedicated space on the column for your logo. As well as being able to show iPad in portrait and landscape mode, it allows you to hide the charging cable in the base of the stand, so you can charge your iPad discreetly and securely at any time.
Your iPad can attach to the BrandMe stand using a Space enclosure or an 'Executive Enclosure' made of tamperproof aluminium screws, which has the advantage of being chic and incredibly thief-resistant.
Bouncepad
If Maclocks' offering isn't doing it for you, try Bouncepad. They have a slightly swooshier design (that's a technical term) and their tabletop option, Bouncepad Desk, has a short 'stalk', so that you can display your iPad devices at a conveniently tiled viewing angle without taking up too much space or giving customers the chance to yank the screen around too much.
Bouncepad Desk is available in black or white as standard, though you can add a custom finish if you want a more branded feel, and can be mounted from above or below a surface depend on said surface's depth. You can also choose from a variety of faceplates that cover different combinations of buttons, depending on how much you want customers to be able to do.
There are a range of extras available that allow you to rotate, tilt and even add headphones to the stand, so that you can customise each Bouncepad Desk to the activity you want it locked to.
In terms of uprights, we like the Bouncepad Floorstanding. Nice and simple and the perfect height at 114cm, its weighted base and lack of complicated setup mean that it's an ideal solution for exhibitions, event spaces and other temporary displays. (Don't worry, you can secure it to the floor so that no-one runs off with it.)
A charger cable can be concealed in the base, so you're able to enjoy continuous power, and the stand will work with the same tilt and rotate add-ons that you can get for the Desk, if you still want that functionality.
Griffin
Look, we're just really big fans of Griffin gear, OK? And their Kiosk Desktop range is as sturdy as their mobile one, offering you a sleek, stable enclosure that you can mount on any flat surface without having to look at any unsightly mounting screws.
The Kiosk Desktop gives you a shock resistant iPad enclosure and high-strength steel arm, which can also house the cabling and power supply for your iPad. The Kiosk Desktop comes with three faceplates, so you can choose whether to allow customers access to the iPad home button, camera or neither. And as all the faceplates are part of your initial purchase rather than extras, you can swap out plates if you want to repurpose the iPad in a location where users are given more freedom.
There's also a 119cm Kiosk Floor available, for anyone who wants a freestanding iPad solution. Both can run the Kiosk App (£2.99 from the App Store) that you can use to manage and sync multiple devices, set home pages and iPad behaviour while idle, and even make sure staff are alerted if a device is damaged, unplugged or otherwise brought low by a heavy-handed customer. So useful!
The only downside is that the Kiosk range currently only supports iPad, iPad 2 and iPad 3, but hopefully and iPad Air-friendly version is in the offing.
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