iPod; iPad; iPhone .... " i-pub" order through tablets - responsible drinking !

The standard scene in any local hotel – is on entry – the customer would ask – ‘what is available’ … the waiter would reel out the list of items available, ‘idly, vada, dosa, poori, parotta, rava dosa ….. coffee, tea, masala milk’…….. and the customer would ask for a cup of coffee.  In olden days, the not so tidy waiter would take out the pencil tucked between the head and ear and write on a small piece of paper, the value to be paid – later days came the printed bill (which itself was a novelty those days). Couple of years ago, the neatly dressed waiter in a famous chain restaurant – took the orders on his handheld device and had the order printed out from electronically connected device !

When released in Oct 2001, iPod took the World by storm.  It is a line of portable media players designed and marketed by Apple Inc, that came after iTunes (Macintosh version) was released. iTunes itself was a media player, media library, and mobile device management application.  Through the iTunes Store, users can purchase and download music, music videos, television shows, audiobooks, podcasts, and movies.   The most recent iPod redesigns were announced in Sept 2012. There are three current versions of the iPod: the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle, the compact iPod Nano and the touchscreen iPod Touch. Like other digital music players, iPods can serve as external data storage devices. Storage capacity varies by model, ranging from 2 GB for the iPod Shuffle to 160 GB for the iPod Classic. ………but cheap MP3 players are available in the market, which have taken lot of air out ..

iPad is the line of tablet computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., - the first version was released in 2010;  second generation iPad Mini, were revealed in Oct 2013.  The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard. An iPad can shoot video, take photos, play music, and perform Internet functions such as web-browsing and emailing. Other functions—games, reference, GPS navigation, social networking, etc.—can be enabled by downloading and installing apps. There have been five versions of the iPad.

The other stylish ‘iPhone’ is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It runs Apple's iOS mobile operating system. From 2007 model to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, unveiled in Sept 2014 they have been a big craze in the market. 

Some of you may be possessing the various  “-i-” apple products – have you heard of this “-i-” – the iPub that  allows drinkers to pull pints at their table after ordering on iPads ?

Daily Mail reports that punters at Britain now would be able to pull their own pints is a pub-goer's dream,  as barmaids have been ditched for iPads. Landlord Mark Lingwood has cut the queues The Westbourne pub in Swansea, South Wales, which allows drinkers to help themselves to lager on pumps - as well as snacks from the bar.

The tablets are fixed to tables at the digital-friendly boozer, which cost the 33-year-old £20,000 to develop. Drinkers at the newly refurbished pub first have to buy a special card to use the iPads. There's an app for that!  This is then placed under a sensor on the iPad to allowing them to pour themselves pints using the pumps fixed to three of the bar-room tables. Bar staff can see how much punters are drinking using a central system - and they check up on them to make sure they are getting on OK. The pub currently has Sagres and Amstel beers on the self-service taps. The pub's staff aim to bring snacks and other orders over to drinkers within two minutes of them placing an order.

~ and elsewhere in the Globe a recent survey titled "International Outlook on Responsible Serving and Selling of Alcohol Beverages, the first of its kind, highlights important, new findings across gender, age and culture. The research, conducted by Brunswick Insight and commissioned by AB InBev, polled adults of legal drinking age in eight countries — Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, China, Germany, Mexico, the UK and the U.S. It asked about the prevalence of activities such as checking identification to verify legal drinking age and also attitudes toward responsible serving and selling of alcohol beverages. More than one in three adults across the markets surveyed (36 percent) said they would welcome responsible drinking tips from servers and sellers. This includes listening when a seller says to slow down, eat something or even stop drinking.

………… So a technology driven bar that improves drinking ! – can happen where there is the concept of responsible drinking !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

15^th Oct 2014.