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Elaborate Nike YouTube video has hidden Sonic Game (video)
When you've got a marketing budget the size of Nike's, a few international footballers and a glossy video aren't really enough. That's why its latest "My time is now" campaign is an all out interactive spend-fest, complete with a hidden Sega Sonic the Hedgehog mini-game. The standard YouTube version (as seen over the break) isn't interactive, but head over to Nike's official channel, and it's a whole different ball game. Clicking on players slow-mos the action, bringing up player details etc., and there are nine hidden "tunnels' to find -- one of which being the Sonic game. Can you find it? Hint: look for the pitch-side adverts with go faster boot on. Your time is now...
Nokia releases a commercial shot entirely with the 808 PureView (video)
Nokia's released a new commercial that it says is shot entirely using an 808 PureView. Whilst it's clear the company's hired a coterie of models, professional photographers and a world-class lighting rig, it's still a great indication of what the technology can do in the right hands. Head on past the break to see the results for yourself and then catch yourself seriously weighing up buying a Symbian phone for your next handset, just like we are.
UK Advertising Authority smacks Motorola for misleading Atrix advert (video)
Oh dear. Remember Motorola's advert claiming the Atrix was the "world's most powerful smartphone?" Well it's now been banned in the UK by the Advertising Standards Authority. Viewers complained about the misleading phrase as the Galaxy S II has a faster 1.2 GHz processor, compared to Atrix's 1GHz. Moto said it meant "powerful" in the sense it could drive various devices -- the ASA didn't agree, since the phrase was read out over the final shot in the advert, where the phone appears in isolation. It ruled that as such, the advert was misleading and can only reappear on UK TV with the contentious phrase removed. Armchair adjudicators can decide for themselves in the video after the break.
Verizon video shows an unannounced tablet, could it be the Xoom 2? (update: it's back!)
Oh Verizon, did you just spill confidential information all over your YouTube channel? The guys over at Droid-Life spotted a VZW ad starring a mysterious new Honeycomb tablet, which to our ninja-trained eyes looks to exhibit many of the design elements of Motorola's Xoom. It could, of course, be just about anything, given that Verizon yanked the video almost as soon as the above screengrab was lifted, but the rear of this 10(ish)-inch tablet looks very much like a Xoom designed to be used in portrait orientation. We know Moto has a Xoom 2 cooking in the oven and it's not unreasonable to surmise that Verizon is putting together the finishing touches on a promo campaign for it. Now if only we could get a look at that video with our own eyes... Update: The video is back! Watch it after the break.
Huawei MediaPad debuts in weird, confusing video ad
There's a fine balance to be struck when you want to drum up interest in a device but not release too much information before its official launch. Huawei did that very nicely with its first MediaPad teaser image last week, showing us only the tablet lounging casually atop the desk of a surely sophisticated businessman. Today we've come across a followup video that also lets us peek the pad's rear -- which looks just about identical to the one on the company's Ideos S7 Pro -- but also confuses the hell out of us with its, erm, narrative. You'll have to just jump beyond the break and be befuddled with us. The MediaPad should get its proper launch in just under a week, on June 20th, though Huawei's Facebook page already shows an Android Honeycomb screenshot on it and our rough estimation from the video places the screen size at 7 inches. Not that we ever get to see it, cursed uninformative teasers!
Visualized: Acer's Iconia Tab A500 is 'a better choice' than the iPad (update: video!)
We were making our way through Taipei's sublime metro system this week and what did we see on the side of the stairway? Why, it was a collection of iPad images, but rather than an Apple-funded advert, this was an Acer-instigated bit of spec sheet trash talk. The captions beneath the images read, in order: "no open operating system, no high resolution display, no Dolby Surround Sound, no Flash, no microSD, no USB port. Why do you want to choose this type of tablet?" Gracing the opposite wall was the tablet that ticked the "yes" boxes to all those items, Acer's own Iconia Tab A500. Perhaps once Acer figures out the answer to its own question, it can stop overhauling itself and get back to the job of chopping the iPad's market share down to size. Check out the full ad in the gallery below. Update: Looks like there's a video ad to go along with the print campaign! Check it out after the break. %Gallery-124902%
Nokia: iDoalotmore talking about Symbian than a zombie OS deserves
When you've got an OS in the final throes of life, your choices for stimulating interest are a little limited. Having exhausted the usual avenues of introducing pink and gold-plated versions of its older phones, Nokia is now resorting to the mobile industry's standby marketing crutch: poking fun at Apple. Its latest ad campaign in India features the tagline iDoalotmore, which takes a rather overt shot at Apple's iPhone and general tendency to preface its wares with an "i." Sadly, there are no spec-for-spec smackdowns over on the accompanying promo site, but you can learn all about Symbian's excellent features and radically new rounded icons. Or are they iCons now?
Lady Gaga uses Chrome, and here's the 91-second film to prove it
One of the world's most (in)famous names has picked a side in the browser battles -- last night saw the debut of a new Google Chrome commercial, starring Lady Gaga and her "little monsters." Spanning a minute and a half of Gaga and her fans singing and gyrating their way through her latest single, the ad is intended to illustrate the power of the web and its creative new modes of interaction. To be fair, said interaction is mostly Lady Gaga saying "jump" and a crowd of YouTubers doing it without bothering to ask how high, but hey, the result is fun to watch. You just need to disable your sense of shame for all humanity and click past the break. [Thanks, Daryl]
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 coming May 17th, with Gorilla Glass screen and spill-proof keyboard (video)
Man, Lenovo isn't even trying to keep the ThinkPad X1 under wraps anymore. The slinky new MacBook Air competitor has just slipped out in a video commercial on the company's own YouTube channel, where it shows off a keyboard that's both backlit and spill-resistant, and a Gorilla Glass screen that is apparently girlfriend-proof. See the video after the break and circle May 17th as your acquisition date if you're after one -- that's when Lenovo promises the X1 will be arriving. [Thanks, Jon]
Samsung makes sure you know the Galaxy S II is really, really thin with silly new ad (video)
Samsung seems to be killing time until it finally ships the Galaxy S II by making promo videos for its dual-core superphone. The latest in a series of ads for the S II spends a few precious seconds reminding us just how excellently thin it is, and gives us a particular usage scenario where that slim profile truly becomes practical. We won't spoil that for you, though we should play spoiler in noting the barely readable small print above -- "Thickness of the device may differ by country or carrier." So remember, just because you and your pen pal from across the world are both buying a product with an excruciatingly specific title like Samsung Galaxy S II doesn't mean you'll both get the same thing. All that said, the 8.49mm-thick version of the device is ready to wow you on video just past the break. We've thrown a couple of Samsung's earlier commercials in there as well, just to complete the set.
Visualized: jousting on a Segway
Remember the olden days? When honor and valor were the only things that mattered and vast metallic armor suits were less of a laughing matter and more of a practical necessity? Neither do we, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying a good video gaming romp through such settings when we have the time for it. We don't know that we'd necessarily care to reenact medieval battle scenes physically, but that's exactly what a witty new marketing campaign for Washington's Lottery has done. It asks simply "what have you and your friends always wanted to do" and then answers its own query with the nutty answer of Segway jousting. See the resulting video, which was partially shot in Phantom slow-mo, after the break.
ASUS claims Transformer is better than a generic tablet, is probably right
ASUS, you naughty tablet maker, you. Not content with giving your Eee Pad Transformer its own sitcom, you're now coming at the US with an aggressive price and some rather eye-catching promo material to boot. Reminding the world that most tablets come without a keyboard and highlighting your tailor-made solution is all well and good, but did you have to make your "generic" slate look so iPad-ish? [Thanks, Rob]
ASUS rips off Big Bang Theory for Transformer promo, makes it just as unfunny as the real thing
ASUS' Eee Pad Transformer can alternate between being a tablet and a pseudo-laptop thanks to a keyboard / extended battery dock. It also has a Tegra 2 heart and a Honeycomb mind, but the company's opted to focus on its physical uniqueness in a video it's just released marking the new Pad's Taiwanese debut today. Only problem is, Jonney Shih went and listened to his son's idea (no joke!) to theme it around US comedy show Big Bang Theory, replete with Megatron jokes, bad haircuts, and gadget lust aplenty. We'll let you judge how well that worked out after the break.
Sony Ericsson's latest Xperia Play ads are disturbing, yet awesome (video)
Kristen Schaal has eyeballs. Red, fiery eyeballs lusting for the blood of her enemies on the battlefields of the PlayStation Suite. Yes, Sony Ericsson is keeping up the fine tradition of freaking us the hell out with its Xperia Play ads, this latest round starring an innocent-looking lady with a devilish demeanor. Skip past the break for those vids and if you're wondering why Kristen's so psyched about the Play, check out our very latest hands-on with the device -- it's coming to Verizon with stock Android, don't you know! [Thanks, Calvin]
Microsoft and ASUS show off all the stylish stylus action you can have on an Eee Slate (video)
It's the year 2011, but it might as well be 2001. The company that Bill built is still going strong in the pursuit of its founding father's dream: a pen-based tablet computer. The latest, and perhaps best, exhibitor of this ideal is ASUS' Eee Slate, a 12.1-inch, Core i5-equipped Windows 7 tablet that comes with a Wacom digitizer and a dedicated silo in its side for accommodating that snow-white stylus. A Bluetooth keyboard also comes in the box, leading Microsoft to describe it as a device that's simultaneously "very PC" and "not very PC." To understand what the Redmond brainboxes mean by this apparent case of doublethink, make your way past the break and soak up all the video action.
Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 showcased on video, doesn't look all that inadequate to us
We have no small amount of respect for Samsung for coming out and admitting that its Galaxy Tab 10.1 slate won't necessarily be the best thing since sliced Apples, but we wouldn't go so far as to describe it as "inadequate," which is what company VP Lee Don-Joo recently called it. It's a handsome, svelte and undeniably powerful device, a set of qualities that is in full show during AndroidHD's 11-minute long video of a day spent in the company of a Tab 10.1. Now, this isn't a hands-on video so much as a commercial made by someone other than Samsung. You can tell Sammy didn't author it because nobody tries to fit this Galaxy Tab inside a pocket. Jump after the break for the ocular feast. [Thanks, Taylor]
Best Buy ad prices Motorola Xoom at $800, affirms February 24th launch date
The evidence for a Motorola Xoom launch on February 24th just became that bit more compelling, courtesy of this here Best Buy ad. It promises Moto's Android tablet will be in stores a couple of weeks from now, decorated with a daunting $799.99 sticker. That price agrees with one of our earliest leaks on the matter, purportedly from Verizon's own systems, so all the pieces seem to be falling into place for a pretty exciting end to February for Android fans. This flier also has some data tariffs on it, starting at $20 per month for a 1GB allowance and stretching up to a 10GB limit for $80 (identical to VZW's pricing with the Galaxy Tab). Doesn't really sound like the most appealing proposition we've ever heard, but maybe if those prices remain static once the Xoom gets its 4G upgrade, we could learn to love them. Update: Motorola's official Xoom portal just went live, presumably as its Super Bowl ad finally aired.
Best Buy's Buy Back Program to be made official during the Super Bowl... by Justin Bieber and Ozzy Osbourne
We heard about this during the news avalanche that was CES early last month, but today Best Buy has started making its new Buy Back Program official in emails sent out to valued Reward Zone customers. The gist of the scheme is that Best Buy will offer you set "Buy Back" prices for goods you purchase from its stores, advertising it as a reassurance that your electronics won't depreciate too much during your ownership. The leaked info we saw in January showed that you'll have to pay an extra fee at the point of purchase to enroll into the Program and Best Buy's highest re-purchase offers were capped at 50 percent of the initial price, so don't expect this to be any great favor to you, Mr. Consumer. For more info, keep your eyes locked on the Super Bowl this Sunday, when Justin Bieber and Ozzy Osbourne (no, seriously) will do their best to explicate Best Buy's new venture. [Thanks, Jeff and John]
Apple brings AT&T and Verizon together for a happy dance in latest iPhone commercial (update: HD video)
The unthinkable has happened. After spending 99 percent of their recent marketing budgets figuring out ways to sling mud at each other, AT&T and Verizon have now come together to dance a merry waltz -- all in the name of Apple's hallowed iPhone. The latest commercial for the phone that really doesn't need advertising shows that you can FaceTime, read iBooks, navigate maps, and do everything else on the Verizon iPhone just as well as you could do it on the AT&T-friendly GSM variant of the device. As if you didn't already know. Still, it's fun to see these guys trying to turn their lack of competitive diversity into some sort of an advantage. Video after the break. Update: Now in HD!
AT&T and Verizon are the same bag of 3G hurt for iPhone owners, says T-Mobile (video)
Want some help with your newfound choice of iPhone carrier? Let T-Mobile break it down for you in an entirely unbiased and dispassionate fashion. The pink carrier's latest hit piece commercial highlights the fact that, whether on Verizon or AT&T, the iPhone only has recourse to 3G connectivity, painting the two carriers as a pair of grey suits distinguishable only by the color of their ties. It's a cute way to promote your own 4G network, sure, but it conveniently disregards the fact that Verizon's enriching its LTE (Lightning! Thunder! Electric!) network with some true superphones while AT&T is similarly committed to a 2011 LTE rollout. So, really, the only thing under critique here is Apple's rapidly aging 3G wonder. Skip the break to see the video ad.
