Screen Grabs: Nathan Petrelli gets heroic with Samsung Instinct

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.

For those who haven't already overloaded their DVR with the plethora of fall dramas, Heroes is looking to be a pretty solid bet. For one Nathan Petrelli, this season's about more than just discovering who he really is. It's about more than just being there for his baby bro. It's about strategically placing the phone that supposedly needs no product placement smack dab into one of NBC's hottest shows. Oh, and is it just us, or is he pretty perturbed about the lack of updates available for this thing too?

[)law( @ Oct 1st 2008 6:01AM]

I don't know much about the insticnt but dosnt it have a landscape mode when turned on it's side? Also it would be pretty funny if you got a screen grab of him holding it upside down when answering it.

[Blackstar @ Oct 1st 2008 9:08AM]

But does it have a mode to open up people's skulls? That's the only new feature I'm interested in.

[David Russell @ Oct 1st 2008 11:51AM]

Did anyone notice in the garage scene... just before Ali Larter's new identity turned The Greatest American Hero (look it up) into a popscicle... she appeared to be using an HTC Touch HD w/Sprint logo? Could have been another HTC Touch model... but the camera "housing" on the back looked more like the pics of the HD model. Exciting if true (no confirmed Touch HD for Sprint... yet).

[sweet greggo @ Oct 1st 2008 7:27PM]

The Instinct does have a landscape mode, but not in the dialer. It doesn't have an accelerometer btw.

[Err @ Oct 2nd 2008 4:49AM]

@David
Nope. She's using the Samsung ACE
http://i36.tinypic.com/2lwxjeq.jpg :)

[Sublime @ Oct 1st 2008 6:02AM]

Haha, what really disturbed me was when Matt Parkman met with the African man.

First, I thought it was sort of dumb that the man referred to Parkman being in Africa... apparently it's a country now. Second, he said that "[he] should have gone with Sprint," due to the poor service in the area.

I just had to roll my eyes at that one... and say, "REALLY?"

[Sublime @ Oct 1st 2008 6:31AM]

Oh and I have nothing against Sprint or anything. I miss Sprint and want to get back to them ASAP. I was an early adopter of the iPhone 3G and regret it.

Anyway, my only problem with the product placement in Heroes is that their tactics are sooo, for lack of a better phrase, blatantly obvious... unless it was intentional. To me, it sort of takes away from the show.

[jakem @ Oct 1st 2008 6:41AM]

I was watching Smallville last night (don't ask) and they had the most blatant product placement I've ever seen. Chloe held her Sprint branded LG phone up to the camera, brought up a map and then made some comment about having everything at her fingertips before handing the phone to Clark. When Clark reached his destination we got another close-up of the phone with the maps just in case we'd forgotten about it.

With such obvious obscene advertising taking up time in TV shows how can the producers complain when their shows turn up on P2P sites?

[Ryan @ Oct 1st 2008 7:50AM]

I noticed the 'Sprint' comment on Heroes, too...... it was very shameless.

[Poke4Christ @ Oct 1st 2008 9:25AM]

personally, I thought it was funny. However, I agree that it was pretty shameless. It seems like NBC has been the worse with the shamless product placement. If you watch the Biggest loser it's even worse. Also, it seems commercial time just keeps getting higher and higher. It's got to be over 1/3 now. I'm just glad I've got my xbox extended windows media center DVR.

[Cornelius @ Oct 1st 2008 10:37AM]

I'm beginning to think that the show is being almost entirely funded by sprint and nissan.

[Johnny @ Oct 1st 2008 11:29AM]

I liked it last season when Claire was given the Prius (that she never drives). It was such awkward and obvious product placement. They even zoomed in on the tag on the back of the car for a moment and there was a strange moment of silence. I half expected a voice-over to start talking about the Prius in the middle of the show.

[David Russell @ Oct 1st 2008 12:19PM]

@ jakem... I noticed it too... but realize if you're a big a fan of Smallville as I am... Chloe has ALWAYS had a "powerful" Sprint phone (not just a cute one) for all her activities. In years past, she's had (and very much displayed in close-ups) such phones as HTC Mogul (the big, bulky silver one), a Palm Treo (Lex picked it up off the cave floor when she & Clark teleported to the fortress), and several others. It's not just a one-time event. I agree it's a big of a shameless plug... but in MODERATION can make the charatcers seem more "real" by using regular products like us. My 2 cents.

[Bill @ Oct 1st 2008 4:46PM]

So Sprint has cell coverage in Africa now? LOL

I suppose product placements are the price we have to pay for circumventing commercials with our DVRs (which I do judiciously).

[Ethan @ Oct 1st 2008 6:34AM]

Not dead then?

[jimb @ Oct 1st 2008 6:47AM]

Here in U.K the first episode of Heroes Season 3 airs tonight and everyone is anxiously waiting to see if Nathan suvives after hes shot at the end of Season 2.

Thanks Engadget for ruining what I have been waiting months for there should have been a spoier alert.

[Liam @ Oct 1st 2008 6:47AM]

My first thought too. Could be a flashback... oh and hi by the way.

[Pc_Madness @ Oct 1st 2008 7:11AM]

Here have a tissue.

As if they would kill off Nathan for good. He survived a nuclear explosion for petes sake (ha!), a little thing like bullets isn't going to stop him. :p

[B @ Oct 1st 2008 9:13AM]

After 2 seasons, I would think that you know that no one actually dies on the show.

[GaryZ @ Oct 1st 2008 3:33PM]

@B

I thought you were talking about Fringe?

[BananaBoat @ Oct 1st 2008 6:46AM]

Heroes jumped the shark with the twins from South America. Parkman being surprised by a guy with painting ability (despite having...met someone with the EXACT same ability) just kind of cemented it. When the writers can't even remember what powers they've already used, it's time to throw in the towel.

Chuck/House/Bones/Sarah Conner Chronicles/The Office/30 Rock are enough for one season. I have this terrible feeling that something has to give on Monday (It's ridiculously packed. Chuck, Heroes, Sarah Conner, Boston Legal, etc) and I'm pretty sure which show is the odd man out (Chuck). Please let it's ratings be good....gahhhh

[classic @ Oct 1st 2008 7:44AM]

Did Parkman ever meet Isaac?

I don't recall, but I don't think so.

[Eric @ Oct 1st 2008 8:20AM]

@ jimb

Wait till you see who saves him !!

[Cornelius @ Oct 1st 2008 10:30AM]

Parkman never met Isaac Mendez.

But the fact that we're seeing new characters turning up with redundant abilities just illustrates how lazy the writers have gotten.

Heroes is turning into a soap opera. Good guys are turning bad/worse (future Claire, future Peter, Hiro). Bad guys are turning good (Sylar). Dead characters are being reprised as new characters with new abilities (Niki/Tracy, Linderman). Angela is Sylar's mother, making Sylar brothers with Peter and Nathan. Now Mohinder has abilities, so now the only "normal" (human) regular cast member is Noah Bennet (Ando has powers in the future). And now they bring back Claire's biological mother as if she actually cared about her (didn't she just use Claire to blackmail Nathan?). The character arcs are getting too convoluted, and new plot elements are changing every five seconds.

They should've just stuck with Peter and Sylar being opposites. Neither can now die, and they both have a multitude of abilities so the battles between them would be epic. And what happened to future Hiro? I thought over time he would eventually become a sword-wielding timeshifting samurai badass... he's just as nerdy now, in season 3, as he was in the pilot episode. Where did that go?

The writers are trying to put a major plot twist into every episode, effectively making the entire show less believable. I'm sorry, but my biggest draw to the show was that it was like X-Men, but only more realistic (characters were more fleshed out and didn't wear spandex, etc). After the first season, none of the characters seem human to me anymore.

This is bullshit. It's amazing how writers can ruin an awesome show in so little time...

[teej @ Oct 1st 2008 3:10PM]

for the record, Sarah Connor Chronicles suck, so you can take that off the list.

[Nick8708 @ Oct 1st 2008 6:57PM]

I think you have to give them a bit of a break since, unlike many other shows, the hour long episodes aren't neatly packaged storylines independent from one another. The things that are confusing now will (hopefully, I've got my fingers crossed) make much more sense as the story progresses throughout the fall. This show was created to be like Lost, but with answers. Since it's all one long running story arc with many smaller, overlapping story arcs, I think it's normal for it to be very confusing and twisted until they've reached the point where they can begin answering the questions they've raised.

As far as the characters changing so much, I for one think it's more believable than a character who stays the same despite going through very powerful experiences (such as future Peter). Peter, for instance, always seemed like this little prick who was too afraid of himself and his powers, too much of a wuss to rise to the challenge and be the amazing person he could be; Future Peter, however, seems to have gotten a grasp on his potential and doesn't seem afraid anymore to take risks or make the tough decisions. I like that. Finally he's behaving like a real person with such incredible power ought to. So far, none of his actions have made him a "bad guy". He's still trying to do the right thing, but he's no longer afraid of breaking a few eggs to make the omlette, so to speak.

Claire on the other hand...I have no idea what Future Claire is all about yet, but I don't care. I just love watching Hayden Panettiere work.

[John @ Oct 1st 2008 6:50AM]

Law and Order SVU has the most blatently obvious over the top iphone product placement ive ever seen. I think they even went so far as to show them recording video with it.

[ivanotter @ Oct 1st 2008 7:31AM]

No but Boston Legal did. I had to LOL

[Bob C @ Oct 1st 2008 8:05AM]

I know this post isn't really about the TV show, but....

Come on, this is a blog for people who have intelligence, right? Can you really still watch this show? It's one of the most insultingly lazy shows in history. It's a neat concept, season 1 was a lot of fun, but now it just seems like the writers just slap together whatever they want even if it makes no sense at all just to move the story along (even though the story itself is basically incoherent and twice now they've spent a season building up to essentially nothing). Characters could not act more stupid, merely to serve as plot devices. Really. There's plenty of decent drama on television, it's time to give this one up.

ALso, to those in the UK complaining about the spoiler, every preview that NBC put out had Nathan prominently featured. Not to mention the liberal use of time travel used in the show, and the fact that every time someone dies they just make up some way to bring them back (more laziness).... it's not much of a spoiler.

[ivanotter @ Oct 1st 2008 6:53PM]

Actually I still watch it becuase i don't watch spoilers, and i like the concept of superheros that arent... well in tights. Its like the dawn of the superhero age, eventually it gets out.

I still like the characters, though the whole blonde woman with multiple personalities (or a twin, or SOMETHING) is the weakest part to me

[ivanotter @ Oct 1st 2008 6:53PM]

Actually I still watch it becuase i don't watch spoilers, and i like the concept of superheros that arent... well in tights. Its like the dawn of the superhero age, eventually it gets out.

I still like the characters, though the whole blonde woman with multiple personalities (or a twin, or SOMETHING) is the weakest part to me

[Oscar @ Oct 1st 2008 9:29AM]

In the 1st Season, when "the future he" (he was sylar after all) was in a "explosion day" memorial, he was using an iphone when they called him to tell him something.

[ishism @ Oct 1st 2008 9:41AM]

Seems the writers strike of 07 F-ed their story writing capabilities and added shameful advertising and hidden political agendas to today's TV shows. Did anyone else notice the change upon the writers return?

[Cornelius @ Oct 1st 2008 9:58AM]

I noticed the change beginning in the second season. 1st season was great... started going downhill afterwards.

It's like the writers don't even try anymore.

[Rsaeire @ Oct 1st 2008 10:26AM]

I find the product placement ridiculous as well and have seen it in more and more shows as time progresses. Supernatural constantly has the main characters using their phones to call someone, look up a name, do something else equally mundane etc. It does distract from the experience when you either see a network's logo, a manufacturer's logo or both at the same time! I mean come on. Show us the phone from a distance.

Regarding Heroes as a show. I think it's better than ever and love the new Season. People might bash it for its convoluted storylines, and I would agree to an extent with that comment, but who doesn't love seeing people with special powers using them in everyday situations? I will add though that Season 1 is more grounded than either Season 2 or 3 so far.

[Christian Martin @ Oct 1st 2008 10:53AM]

Hi, I'm here to bitch about product placement in a show and pick it apart, all the while insulting the intelligence of people who enjoy watching television.

Oh, wait; that's been done already.

[John Howard @ Oct 1st 2008 10:58AM]

They didn't even put the phone on the right screen. Now that's lazy.

[le Chen @ Oct 1st 2008 11:21AM]

by the sec i saw this phone in Heroes this Monday(?)...
i knew...this will shows up at Engadget someday...some how...
now..here it is

[plin @ Oct 1st 2008 11:32AM]

Off topic, but woot for the screenshot being from a canadian network.

[David @ Oct 1st 2008 1:31PM]

I don't mind product placement as long as it's subtle, but when Parkman met the African and said he had no cell phone he was told he should have gotten Sprint. To me you can show off the products and have ads in the background, but Heroes is turning into a very fancy ad campaign for Sprint and Nissan. Wow, I guess this is what selling out is like.

[Nick8708 @ Oct 1st 2008 6:46PM]

I don't think you can consider it selling out since product placement is the only way to continue to accrue revenue from advertisements when a growing number of viewers are able to circumvent commercials, whether via a dvr or by downloading the show. I'm all for technological advancement and convenience for the viewer, but as much as I like being able to record shows (or download them) it's got to have a significant impact on the income these shows make. That is, if fewer people are forced to sit through advertisements during a show, that show will make less money. Less money will eventually, in turn, equal less quality as they're forced to use less costly actors, writers, effects, etc., and they have to turn to other methods (product placement) to try to combat it. I really like websites like hulu.com or abc.com or nbc.com where you can watch full episodes of shows, sometimes even the same day as it airs, with 15 - 30 second commercials, any time you want. They still get paid, we still get the convenience, and everybody wins. There's been talk in the past about forcing DVRs to not skip through commercials, which seems wrong to me, but certainly they could implement something a bit less intrusive, like non-skippable 15 - 30 second commercials like they put on their website. I don't think that'd be too unfair if it helped continue to fund the shows we like and help them maintain higher quality. And say what you want about the quality of Heroes, but this applies to every show and not just that, so think of your favorite show when reading this.

[sweet greggo @ Oct 1st 2008 7:23PM]

BTW, in that screen grab, Nathan is supposed to be playing a voicemail for Peter. Unfortunately, he's on the Instinct's call screen.