Screen grabs: David Rossi's top secret RAZR2 gets concealed

Screen grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com.

During the first episode of the new season of Criminal Minds, FBI agent and resident neat-freak David Rossi just couldn't shake the unsolved double homicide that he never could close a score ago. Oddly enough, that wasn't the only mystery involved, as we're still scratching our heads trying to figure out what's so important on the lid of Mr. Rossi's RAZR2. Maybe a super-secret 4G icon? Tommy Tutone's most favorite dame's number? The infamous Sad Moto face? Whatever it was, we're fairly certain a highly concealed RAZR2 is superior to the lowly RAZR Derek Morgan is still getting issued. What's a man got to do to get a leg-up, anyway?

Gallery: Screen grabs: David Rossi's top secret RAZR2 gets concealed

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[v3xx @ Apr 5th 2008 7:06AM]

in other news..... oh wait its the weekend.

[mike @ Apr 5th 2008 7:29AM]

Criminal Minds is a good show. I really like it.

[Tim @ Apr 5th 2008 7:38AM]

it seems pretty customary to tape over logos if a piece of electronics is used in a scene like this where if it had not been taped it may have seemed like a product endorsement. you see it all the time on macbook pros/ powerbooks. i mean, its definitely not the original razr, but there are other thin phones like that; could it be one of them?

[Sheepman @ Apr 5th 2008 7:39AM]

Slow news day?

[Drew @ Apr 5th 2008 8:05AM]

My cat's breath smells like cat food.

[Kurian @ Apr 5th 2008 8:12AM]

I dont understand this post. I'm not kidding. Someone please explain what this is.

[nh @ Apr 5th 2008 8:23AM]

Someone used a telephone on TV.

[Matthew @ Apr 5th 2008 8:23AM]

Slow news day? Engadget readers are more interested in the future of airplane toilets than the "screen grab" posts.

[BigD145 @ Apr 5th 2008 5:45PM]

TV? What is this "TV" you speak of?

[Ed @ Apr 5th 2008 8:23AM]

Well, the volume buttons look similar to those on current RAZRs, from what I can tell. In addition, the top face, although covered, is identical in shape to that in other (official) shots of it.

[Ed @ Apr 5th 2008 8:31AM]

That should've been a reply to Tim. Fix Commenting, Engadget!

[Ryan @ Apr 5th 2008 8:37AM]

Unless I'm missing something, this story is the worst I've heard in my life...

...Yes, this is horrible, this idea.

[jholdaway @ Apr 5th 2008 8:46AM]

Agreed,

And it's not that they don't want product placement. Its just to get the logo or coveted mention they want the money.. Why pay for the cow if they give out the "Got Milk" for free??

Anyone noticed CSI: Original this week had a iPhone used with a logo censoring case? Why pay for cool after film effects when the iPhone has built in picture emailing animation built in? It's hard times, even the big shows need to find ways to save some bucks.

[jholdaway @ Apr 5th 2008 8:50AM]

mine also should have been a reply to tim..

[d @ Apr 5th 2008 9:47AM]

Tim said it. You always black this stuff out, the slang is to "greek" it. Of course now with branded content, product placements galore, etc., the ones paying get better than un-taped treatment. But everything on the set like that gets the tape treatment. I can think of probably a dozen times seeing an older PowerBook with the light up Apple logo painfully blocked - on Sex and The City wasn't there always a post-it-note there?

[Biomech @ Apr 5th 2008 11:22AM]

Is he wearing a Super Bowl ring?

[Oskin @ Apr 5th 2008 12:35PM]

So? I still don't get how you came up with Razr2 just because he's using a thin phone... As Tim said, we see that often with other products (Macbook pro's in extreme makeover home edition for instance!)

[nizzy1115 @ Apr 5th 2008 12:45PM]

Yeah, the razr 2 with its center faceplate covered up looks nothing like that!

...

Try again?

http://www.hitechlive.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/motorola-razr2.jpg

[JamesT @ Apr 5th 2008 3:08PM]

Yea, on network and non-premium cable channels we have to greek any prominent logo's. On rare occasions we can show them or when there is a multitude of different logos then we don't have to. Most pay channels (HBO, Showtime, etc.,) we generally don't have to greek them.

[Shane @ Apr 5th 2008 3:23PM]

Since you seem to work in the business, James, can you tell me what the deal is with products that actually have BIGGER logos on them for TV? For example, the phones used in the series "House" have HUGE Cisco logos on them (much bigger than the actual phones). In "The Office" all of the Dell gear has massive Dell logos on it. Did these companies just pay MORE for product placement while the ones that have their gear 'greeked' didn't pay anything?

[The Dude @ Apr 5th 2008 3:53PM]

I'm pretty sure I've seen Detective Lupo (from Law & Order) use a Toughbook in 2 or 3 episodes this season. I bring this up because the dude in the framegrabs above looks a lot like Chris Noth...who plays Detective Logan on L&O: C.I.

[PeterF @ Apr 5th 2008 4:59PM]

uhhhh.... what?

[tomas @ Apr 5th 2008 5:40PM]

in other news... wait, there is no other news apparently, like, c'mon, this passed as news

[natsume @ Apr 5th 2008 9:30PM]

Maybe it's just that this phone was a dummy.
I mean, it's really cheap to get them, find them on ebay for 50 cents a piece at the most.
And the outside of the this phone (many assuming that it's a RAZR2) looks like it's either covered or made out of bristle board, that or the quality of the image sucks, because that's what I get from what the texture of the phone looks like.
Check out the area that's suppose to be glossy on the top half of the flip, and the matte part of the back of the phone.

Otherwise, I think many are over speculating it, because this is a RAZR2 no matter how you look at it.
I work at a partnered store in Canada and we carry both Telus and Rogers here so we've been working with a lot of RAZR2s; The button ARE where they are suppose to be.

[RandomUserX @ Apr 6th 2008 1:20AM]

NERDS!

Seriously. First, it's likely to be covering the carrier's logo (whic is often shown on the external display) and the manufacturer's logo as so many more astute posters have noticed, and secondly - why would anyone spend time getting a screenshot of this? Personally, I'm here just wasting time and keystrokes (thus I feel obligated to point all of this out), but I still haven't sunk to levels such as many of you deprived souls. Please, for your own good, GO OUTSIDE! Breathe fresh air!

[v3xx @ Apr 6th 2008 1:22AM]

tomas

Gee how original. *points to first comment* dont steal my posts.

[sceptic @ Apr 6th 2008 1:59AM]

@v3xx: Chill, dude. You didn't discover relativity: other people might just have noticed independently that this post was spectacularly pointless. But it did make for some amusing reader comments, and one informative one (d's), so I can't complain.

[JamesT @ Apr 6th 2008 2:09AM]

Yea, sometimes networks will work out deals with certain companies. For the most part there are product placement companies we deal with. Some do put larger logo's on their products to be seen ( I generally don't like to use those, too blatant)