Is Keurig 2.0 cracked?
Keurig’s decision to apply DRM to their upcoming 2.0 coffee machines was, originally, met with scepticism. Whilst some quarters may have been happy with the decision to secure their market position, a large opposition immediately presented itself; locking away rival pods and capsules wasn’t warmly met by those in favour of a free market, and the ability to buy cheaper non-brand products.
It was always going to happen though. At some point it would get hacked or circumventing dismissing the idea of digitally managed coffee and reopening everybody to ride the Keurig wave.
That time could be now.
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Months, not years, until Keurig 2.0 is cracked
If Keurig thought that the implementation of digitally restricted coffee pods would clamp down on ‘coffee piracy’ and secure them a market leading position, they better thing again – that is the warning from other rival companies.
If we look at retail sales in the American market then Keurig are the largest coffee brand in the United States, but that hasn’t stopped them worrying about losing revenue to those who sell unlicensed K-Cups for their machines.
…continue reading Months, not years, until Keurig 2.0 is cracked
Keurig are planning digitally managed coffee
The single cup craze has been gathering momentum for several years now and has become a lucrative portion of the home-based coffee industry. The traditional heavy hitter in this area, Green Mountain with its Keurig brewers and K-Cup pods, have run on a business model that sees profits in refills and not so much margin on the machines. Much like the ink in a traditional inkjet printer, for example.
However, recently, unlicensed companies have been able to jump on this bandwagon and offer third-party pods thanks to the expiration of some crucial patents in 2012. That meant that customers were no longer locked in and high-profile brands such as Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts could be circumvented. It didn’t help Green Mountain that these generic K-Cups retailed at a much lower price.
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