Snap's Spectacles make their debut in wacky vending machine

By Heather Somerville

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Snap Inc on Thursday debuted its video-camera sunglasses in its usual quirky style, setting up a big yellow vending machine on a beach boardwalk where fans could plop down $130 for the "Spectacles" glasses.

According to postings on Twitter, a line of more than 100 people quickly formed in front of the wacky vending machine, referred to as a "Snapbot," that appeared in Venice, California.

"This looks like something dropped from a cartoon UFO, with balloons attached to slowly float down," Twitter user Ajay Mehta wrote.

The glasses quickly sold out, Twitter users reported. They reappeared on sites such as eBay for $1,000.

Snap, an $18 billion company which makes the popular messaging app Snapchat, has made its foray into hardware with glasses equipped with a camera on it that connects wirelessly to a smartphone to take and send "snaps" - the company's terms for video and photo messages sent on its app.

The Spectacles will remain a bit elusive. The Snapbot vending machines will land in new locations for about a day, and that location will be shared just 24 hours in advance. The machines are the only way to buy the glasses directly from the company.

(Reporting by Heather Somerville; Editing by Alan Crosby)

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