Yeah, mine won't play any CDs either, and it never harasses me for the date and time, even when it has been unplugged for weeks.
When I bought my kiosk, I noticed a couple differences right off the bat, specifically that it uses a non-polarized (XBOX style) power cord instead of a polarized (PSX style) one, and it is made in japan instead of taiwan or wherever the normal DC was made.
The tv included in the NA kiosk is also interesting in that it always displays the composite input, even though it has a coax connection. I'm not sure if it has no tuner, or just a custom bios, but there doesn't seem to be any way to watch tv on it.
The controllers included with the kiosk are assembled with security torx screws instead of philips screws, but I don't think they have any internal differences itself.
FYI, you can unplug those noisy kiosk fans as long as you run the kiosk without the clear window on the front.
BTW, Does anyone know if these Kiosk units are the same as the pre-launch BB rental units?