Promo -- Engadget

Peek offers disgruntled Sidekick owners a free Pronto, internet high-five

by Darren Murph posted Oct 14th 2009 at 12:33PM

As Microsoft and Apple have so precisely demonstrated, there's nothing like a face full of egg to make the competition fire up the sucker punch machine. Take Peek, for example, who is now offering angered Sidekick users (you know, the ones that probably lost all of their data recently) a gratis Pronto for their trouble. All that's required is an image of you, a frowny face, your wiped Sidekick and a T-Mobile bill -- once that's sent over to Peek's dedicated inbox, you'll soon receive your Pronto in the mail. 'Course, it's up to you to foot the $20 monthly bill for keeping the thing active, but hey, free's free. Kind of.

Motorola CLIQ promotional material surfaces, confirms October 19th pre-order start

by Darren Murph posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 4:19PM

Can you feel it? Can you feel Motorola rushing back to relevance? If you're still in need of a bit more encouragement, have a gander at this. What you're looking at is official T-Mobile USA promotional material for the upcoming CLIQ, and interestingly enough, the whole brochure is in the shape of the phone it's advertising. You won't learn much from flipping through the pages (though the screengrabs are appreciated), but you will notice that pre-orders are set officially begin on October 19th -- just like we knew they would. You know, when it shows up as free on contract.

Ginormous Palm Pre shows new Japanese-only 'Contacts' card in Heroes promo

by Darren Murph posted Sep 18th 2009 at 11:23AM

We'll confess -- only a few Engadget staffers are still hanging tight to see if Heroes will ever become the flagship show that it looked to be in season uno, but there's no denying that the whole crew will be watching the premiere that drops on September 21st. Why? 'Cause evidently there's a ridiculously large, presumably GSM-based Palm Pre making an appearance, and it'll be showing off the newest webOS feature: an updated 'Contacts' card. We could be off base here, but it looks as if the new card will sport psychedelic graphics and Japanese expressions when someone dials in, though we've a tough time believing anyone in real life ever secured one of those mythical '555' numbers.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Video: LG's LGenius presentation lays out totally fake, remarkable TV advancements

by Darren Murph posted Mar 28th 2009 at 3:01AM

Not that we haven't seen completely off-the-wall viral marketing ads before (including one from LG, in fact), but this one just takes the proverbial cake. In a perfectly staged LGenius presentation, we're informed about a few astounding up and coming TV advancements. The first one intelligently replaces all swear words with baby laughter or eerie silence, while the "Happy Time" feature automatically detects when a program is too sad for one's health and adds random images of cute puppies and kittens. Finally, the "Family Time" feature turns any sensual scene into one with cartoon characters, making even the steamiest bedroom romance seem perfectly acceptable for innocent eyes. Seriously, this one has to be seen to be believed -- mash that play button and have a gander.

[Thanks, Kellen]

VUDU price dramatically slashed to $99* for the holidays

by Darren Murph posted Dec 23rd 2008 at 8:15AM

We know it's a touch late to be ordering up a gift for unwrapping on the 25th, but this one just might be worth the IOU you'll likely be forced to give. VUDU's movie set-top-box, which typically goes for $299, is now priced at just $99 for a limited time. Of course, VUDU forces you to purchase $50 in movie credits along with it (thus the asterisk being applicable here), but it's not like you're just going to buy this and never watch anything, right? There's also a bundle that includes a Wireless Kit at 50% off (now just $49), making the grand total for a VUDU, $50 in movie credits and a Wireless Kit only $198. Let's just say now is about the time to buy if you've been holding off on a VUDU -- we hear those HDX titles are mighty tasty!

[Thanks, Rob]

Microsoft to push cool factor with retro-inspired clothing line

by Darren Murph posted Dec 6th 2008 at 2:26PM

It's actually kind of amazing how much dough Microsoft has spent over the past little while in an attempt to polish its image in the minds of the general populace, and as if those "I'm proud to be a PC" and completely incomprehensible Gates / Seinfeld spots weren't enough, the Redmond-based outfit is about to roll out its own clothing line (dubbed "Softwear") this month. And no, we're not kidding. Not even a little. Microsoft has purchased the assistance of Crispin Porter & Bogusky in order to ensure the results are actually desirable, and it has also hired rapper Common as a spokesman. We can't definitively say the shirt you see above is as fly as Pharrell's Gizmondo Enzo tee, but we'd rock it. We'd rock it hard.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Microsoft PDC video showcases boy band, worst judgment ever

by Joshua Topolsky posted Oct 7th 2008 at 1:28PM

No.

[Via Wired]

Mildly frightening Verizon promo video gets employees hype for BlackBerry Storm

by Darren Murph posted Sep 15th 2008 at 10:46PM

Hey, bet you'd like to know that Verizon Wireless' Mike (you know, from Minute with Mike) thinks the BlackBerry Storm is going to "crush the competition." He also expects his sales team to "take the world by storm." He also states that this handset's screen is "built to be the most responsive of its time." Oh, but he totally neglects to mention a price and / or release date. Thanks Mike. Thanks a lot. Full mind-numbing episode is after the jump.

Continue reading Mildly frightening Verizon promo video gets employees hype for BlackBerry Storm

The editor-in-chief giveaway: Win Ryan Block's gadgets

by Joshua Topolsky posted Aug 22nd 2008 at 8:00PM

You know, when you're the editor-in-chief of a site like Engadget, you tend to accumulate a lot of stuff. Companies send you all kinds of interesting promotional materials, gadgets, swag, etc. It's great. Sometimes, though, you just let it pile up in your living room for years and years, then, when a new editor-in-chief takes over, you send all that stuff to him in about ten huge boxes. Luckily, we've got a way of dealing with this other than just throwing it in storage -- we're giving a ton of it away. That's right, you could be one of the lucky readers to win a massive stash of gear recently jettisoned toward New York by Mr. Ryan Block. Here's what's up for grabs in this round:

Ooma VOIP box, Aliph Jawbone, Sansa e260 4GB PMP, Ramos RM550 1GB PMP, Enermax Caesar Aluminum Keyboard, SageTV Hauppauge Media Extender, Wowwee Butterfly, Microsoft Notebook Optical Mouse 3000, Microsoft Lifecam VX-5000, PSP A/V cable, Nikon 1GB flash drive, Trendset USB WiFi card, and more!

Interested? Here are the rules:

Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, but a description of what percentage you plan to keep versus what you'll have to sell off, or any fond memory of a Ryan Block post is good too.
You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.)
If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine.
Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad.
Winner will be chosen randomly. That winner will get a massive amount of gadget related goods. Packages represent a brief history of Ryan Block's tenure as editor-in-chief. Approximate value is incalculable (but no more than $600).
Entries can be submitted until Friday, August 29th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck!
Full rules can be found here.

Elephantine BlackBerry Bold promo kit arrives for Rogers

by Darren Murph posted Aug 13th 2008 at 1:08PM

We understand the need to catch eyes these days, and while Rogers will certainly not be the first nor last to promote a new piece of kit with an obscenely large version of said kit, this one just takes brobdingnagian marketing to a new plateau. The absolutely gigantic Rogers Bold launch kit includes a plethora of Bold flyers, informational pamphlets and all sorts of other goodies that'll be handed out to prospective buyers shortly. The real question is: who gets to take this thing home once the buzz dies down?

[Thanks, Michael]

Hitachi promotional video highlights Tera Era, effects of hallucinogens

by Darren Murph posted Jul 23rd 2008 at 8:01AM

We're not too sure how the advertising director that green lit Hitachi's bizarro perpendicular recording video is still on staff, but sure enough, he / she has been cut loose again as evidenced by the latest spot. We knew the outfit was pushing this whole "Dawn of the Tera Era" slogan with the introduction of its Deskstar 7K1000.B, but this is just taking things entirely too far. Fair warning: the video hosted after the jump contains cartoon scenes that could easily be used by D.A.R.E. officials looking to keep kids from trying drugs, but somehow we get the impression its just a plug for having lots of (Hitachi-branded) storage space. Hmmph.

[Thanks, Frederick]

Continue reading Hitachi promotional video highlights Tera Era, effects of hallucinogens

UFO crashes in Potters Fields Park as part of Vauxhall promotion

by Darren Murph posted Jul 21st 2008 at 2:14PM

The launch of the next-generation Vectra (or Insignia, as it has become) has been a long time coming, and Vauxhall is making good and sure everyone notices now that its time has arrived. As part of an elaborate marketing scheme, the automaker crashed a UFO in Potters Fields Park in London, and there was even a fence, men in dark glasses that were evidently mute and copious amounts of smoke to set the scene. Just how this relates to a new motorcar? You've got us there.

[Via Black-Night-Sky]

Video: Samsung's Soulful dinosaur takes tour around England

by Darren Murph posted Jun 23rd 2008 at 4:48AM

Remember that not-entirely-innocent looking prehistoric creature that won your heart immediately upon viewing Samsung's optical illusion promotional vid? Apparently quite a few folks demanded to see more of the Soul dinosaur, so Sammy hoisted him up onto a truck and proceeded to drive around a few English towns. Catch the sub-2 minute journey (reactions included) just after the break.

[Thanks, Claudio]

Continue reading Video: Samsung's Soulful dinosaur takes tour around England

AT&T launches BlackBerry Bold promotional site

by Darren Murph posted Jun 12th 2008 at 11:00AM

See that image above? Yeah, that's a sexy new side angle of RIM's BlackBerry Bold, and it's coming to us courtesy of AT&T. Just as Sprint did with its fashionable Instinct, AT&T is launching a promotional site for the forthcoming BlackBerry in order to drum up interest and get you (re)informed. Straight from the carrier's mouth, we've got GPRS / EDGE / UMTS / HSDPA support, integrated WiFi / GPS, 480 x 320 resolution display, a side-loaded memory slot, 1GB of built-in storage, a 624MHz CPU, 128MB of Flash memory, Bluetooth 2.0 with handsfree support and up to 5-hours of GSM talk time (13 days in standby). You'll notice that the operator makes no mention of an exact release date, but we're crossing our fingers and sticking to that leaked July timeframe until we hear otherwise.

[Thanks, Daryl]

Voodoo's Omen and Envy get talked about on video

by Darren Murph posted Jun 10th 2008 at 7:11PM

Let's face it: a photograph is only worth a thousand words, but a video... well, it's almost always preferred. For those still hungry for (even) more details on Voodoo's latest duo, the HP VoodooPC channel is now home to a host of fresh clips to satisfy your insatiable appetite. The goods are in the read link, kiddos.

[Thanks, William]