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Droid Bionic ad has pretty much everything but a phone (video)
The new Droid Bionic ad sure has it all: a Portman-esque lady in an illuminated leather blouse, brandishing a giant sword against a Terminator-looking 'bot shooting lasers from his hands, all taking place in some crazy sky coliseum thing. As for the actual handset? Not so much on that front, save for a name at the end and a promised September release date -- oh, and the implied promise that the phone will literally slice the heads off of its Android brethren. Video after the break.
Sony's Face-to-Avatar blimp soars through SIGGRAPH, melts the heart of Big Brother (video)
Telepresence, say hello to your future. Humans, say hello to the next generation of Chancellor Sutler. All jesting aside, there's no question that Big Brother came to mind when eying Sony Computer Science Laboratories' Face-to-Avatar concept at SIGGRAPH. For all intents and purposes, it's a motorized blimp with a front-facing camera, microphone, a built-in projector and a WiFi module. It's capable of hovering above crowds in order to showcase an image of what's below, or displaying an image of whatever's being streamed to its wireless apparatus. The folks we spoke to seemed to think that it was still a few years out from being in a marketable state, but we can think of a few governments who'd probably be down to buy in right now. Kidding. Ominous video (and static male figurehead) await you after the break. %Gallery-130392%
iPhone augmented reality browser Junaio used to "block" billboards in NYC
PublicAdCampaign and The Heavy Projects worked together to include an ad-scrubbing feature in the augmented reality browser Junaio. This trial feature lets NYC residents replace outdoor advertisements in a handful of locations including Times Square with art from indie artists/activists. This is a beta test of what may become a larger project to digital remove outdoor ads from our environment. They hope to compile enough art work "so you never have to look at an ad in public space again." PublicAdCampaign and the artists involved in this project believe public space belongs to the public and they take a strong stance against outdoor advertising. This AR app is their way or legally removing these ads from the public view.
Vitamin Water bus-stop ad lets devices juice-up before the commute
Battery running low during the rush-hour commute? Glacéau's Vitamin Water Energy Bus Shelter by Crispin Porter & Bogusky wants to help you get charged while you're waiting to board. The new billboards feature a bottle of the vitamin / caffeine-packing drink, sporting a triple-USB port, which you can plug your devices into for some extra juice. Apparently, you'll be seeing these if your daily public-transit hustle takes you through the fine cities of Boston, New York, Chicago or Los Angeles -- we'd imagine owners of HTC's Thunderbolt will find them very useful.
New iPhone commercials feature FaceTime and AirPlay
Apple has aired two new iPhone commercials. The first features the capabilities of FaceTime on the iPhone. It shows users video chatting via FaceTime iPhone to iPhone, iPhone to MacBook Air, and iPhone to iPad. The second iPhone commercial showcases the iPhone's AirPlay features. The commercial shows a user streaming music from an iPhone to their stereo, and pictures and video to their TV. The ads are part of Apple's "If you don't have an iPhone" series. Both commercials can be view below and are also available on Apple's YouTube channel.
Coca-Cola's green billboard consumes carbon dioxide like so much sugary soda
Sure, we've seen plenty of cool billboard features over the years, from facial recognition to interactive Pong games, but few have managed the dual feat of promoting a popular soft drink and making the world a slightly greener place. All of that fuzzy area you see surrounding the silhouette of the Coke bottle in the above 60 by 60 foot billboard is made up of a number of Fukien tea plants, each of which can soak up around 13 pounds of carbon dioxide per year, for a combined total of 46,800 pounds. The plants are housed in pots made from recycled Coke bottles and are watered via a drip irrigation system. The billboard is the product of a partnership between Coca-Cola Philippines and the World Wildlife Fund. No word on when it might be greening up more skylines around the world. Press release below.
Skype for iPad leaked in promo video
If you've lost sleep over the lack of a dedicated Skype app for your iPad, you can rest easy tonight knowing somewhere out there it does exist -- or at least a promo video does. Earlier today, someone over at Skype unintentionally (we assume) posted what looks like an ad for a real-deal app for the iOS slab. Of course, the evidence has since been pulled, but you can check out a ripped version (sans audio) after the break. It looks like the days of blowing up ye ole iPhone Skype are numbered. Update: The folks over at TUAW had a chat with Skype's Rick Osterloh about the iPad app, and he says you can expect most of the functionality to carry over from the iPhone. There are, unfortunately, a few desktop features, like file sharing, that won't make an appearance. Sadly, Osterloh didn't spill the release-date beans.
Ocarina of Time 3DS ad starring Robin Williams, his daughter, and a tremendous beard
The flurry of trailers reminding you of your long-time love for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time wasn't enough to get you excited for the 3DS remake? The latest TV ad, starring Robin Williams, his daughter (named Zelda, after the 1987 NES game), and his incredible grey mane should do it!
Amazon ad confirms HP TouchPad release date?
Palm HP still hasn't told us exactly when the TouchPad is going to be shipping, but that's okay. We have a pretty good idea. We earlier had a tip from OfficeMax stating July 17th and, while this morning's info pointed to a June 22nd release, Amazon seems pretty confident that the former date is correct. Go to Amazon.com, search for "hp touchpad" and enjoy the little advertisement that appears saying "HP will release the sleek and sophisticated webOS-empowered TouchPad on July 17, 2011." That's about as concrete as you can get, meaning you have just over a month to save up. [Thanks, Michael]
Radioshack sucks at OS recognition: close, but no Android
"Make it an Android?" Are you trying to tell Elop he chose the wrong OS, Radioshack? [Thanks, Travis]
Kindle 3G gets ad-supported $164 version, basically sells your eyeballs for a $25 discount
It's been one heck of a week for e-readers, with a new $139 touchscreen Nook in town and a $129 finger-friendly Kobo as well. What's Amazon going to do about the newfound competition? Simply lower the price of its best-selling Kindle 3G to $164. Well, perhaps "lower" isn't quite the right word, because you'll simply be paying by different means: the new Kindle 3G with Special Offers will be the company's second e-reader to feature built-in advertising. If you're shy on cash, though, we suppose viewing a few ads is a small price to pay for cheaper Whispernet. PR after the break.
HTC Trophy makes a cameo at Best Buy, teases with global support
HTC's long awaited, much delayed Windows Phone for Verizon is back in the speculative spotlight after making a brief appearance on Best Buy's website, with a screenshot serving as evidence (after the break). The device's retail price is listed as $599, but we're not reading much into this since it's likely just a placeholder. Meanwhile, an anonymous tipster has provided us with leaked Verizon documents suggesting this HTC Trophy may be a world phone. If so, the handset would join three Droids, two BlackBerries and two Windows Mobile (!) handsets as the carrier's globe-trotting options. While there's still no release date, Verizon clearly seems intent on bringing this elusive and prized phone to market -- all those booklets don't just grow on trees, ya know?
Sony rolling out Netflix, Yahoo updates; celebrates internet on TV with a new ad
If you access Netflix on your Sony TV (or Blu-ray player or Streaming Player) you'll probably notice it's been updated with the new HTML5 based UI that allows for search of the entire catalog, among other things. A press release issued recently also mentions Sony will be delivering the Yahoo Connected TV store when it launches "later this spring" selling paid apps through its widget powered TVs. Just to make sure people get the message, Sony's official blog just posted this new ad, embedded above, focusing on its TV products from 1960 on and how it can bring music, movies and apps over the internet in HD (and 3D) to the living room.Give it a peek and let us know if you agree with the vision, the press release about all the new features is after the break.
Ad-supported Kindle to ship May 3rd: saves $25, includes lot of enticement
Here's a scenario: what if we told you that your next Kindle could be had for $25 less than retail? What if we told you it came from the rear of a nondescript white van? Or what if we told you that you'd first need to sign up for 842 email marketing scams? Thankfully, none of those scenarios are ones we're looking to tell you about. Instead, we're here to introduce you to the world's first ad-supported Kindle, going on sale within Target and Best Buy locations for $114. That represents a gentle $25 savings compared to the price of today's cheapest Kindle, but those 2500 pennies don't come free -- you'll be asked to endure "advertisements on the bottom of the device's home page and on its screen savers." Furthermore, it sets a new precedent in the gadget arena that could very well carry over to ad-discounted tablets, netbooks, PMPs, and who knows what else. At this point, Buick, Olay and Visa will be advertising, and we get the impression that said list will bloom in due time. It's hard to say just how intrusive they'll be, but Kindle director Jay Marine seems to think that "customers are going to love it." We aren't so sure. While it's crystal clear that the general populace adores coupon cutting, it seems problematic to us to ship a pair of identical products that cost within $25 of one another and expect Joe Sixpack to grok the difference. In fact, we're guessing that this will inevitably lead to consumer complaints from those who can't figure out why their "on sale Kindle" isn't nearly as enjoyable to read as "Bob's Kindle... that he found during a sale." At any rate, a demo of the new device displayed a screen saver deal "where customers would pay $10 for a $20 gift card to Amazon," and while no ads will appear in e-books, there's still "a clear advertisement" along the bottom of the home screen. All that said, here's the key feature that Amazon's seemingly overlooking: an option in the software to pay back the $25 a customer skimped on to do away with the ads on their ad-supported e-reader. Solves the buyer's remorse problem, at least. Update: And it's official -- PR's after the break!
Google Latitude, now with 100 percent more check-in deals
A couple of months back, Google brought check-ins to Latitude, its location-sharing service, through Google Maps 5.1 for Android. Naturally, iPhone users only recently received the same functionality, but some would argue they should be grateful to be included at all. (Kidding. Sort of.) Now, Latitude's inching closer to direct competition with Foursquare and Groupon by offering check-in deals at retailers like RadioShack, American Eagle, Quiznos, and Finish Line. Google is currently namechecking over a dozen nationwide partners, and that list will surely grow as the bandwagon approaches Mach 5. Curious as to how this all works? Check in at RadioShack, for example, and you might receive ten percent off an in-store purchase. Offers are tied to check-in frequency, building on Latitude's three-tiered status system; higher status means better deals. If you'd rather peek nearby offers before you decide to leave the house, head to Google's official check in page in the source link below.
Apple airs new 'Retina' iPhone 4 commercial
Apple has released another commercial in the "If you don't have an iPhone" series of ads. This commercial, titled "Retina," shows off the Retina Display on the iPhone 4. The ad cycles through the Photos, iPod (movies), Maps, and Mail apps. The latest ad comes just one day afterApple released an iPhone 4 ad showcasing Game Center. Apple seems to release iPhone ads in groups of twos or threes, so it's likely that another one may hit the airwaves soon.
New iPhone ad features Game Center
Apple released another "If you don't have an iPhone" advertisement that promotes Game Center on the iOS platform. The short, but sweet video introduces the iPhone as the smartphone with the largest number of games and a built-in social network for gaming. Introduced with iOS 4.0, Game Center sets Apple apart from its competition. The closest competitor to Game Center is the Xbox Live integration on Windows Phone 7. The Xbox Live hub lets Windows Phone users link their phone to their gamer tag and play mobile-enabled Xbox Live games on their handset. As was the case with the previous advertisements, the semi-smug presentation will undoubtedly raise the ire of Android and BlackBerry users whose mobile operating systems can't quite compete in the gaming arena. Read on to watch the video and leave your thoughts in the comments. In what may be a mistake, Apple has enabled comments on this YouTube video so feel free to chime in there, too. [Via Macstories]
Verizon renews HTC Trophy offer for Microsoft employees
"Early 2011" is rapidly passing us by -- as, for that matter, is March -- but we still wouldn't rule out a Verizon Wireless launch of the HTC Trophy smartphone. You see, the carrier's seemingly still advertising the Windows Phone 7 device inside Microsoft itself, in a likely attempt to gather preorders before the device hits shelves. We can't say for sure when the phone will actually arrive, of course, but if we were the gambling type, we'd toss some horseshoes in the general direction of April Fools' and pray they find a mark.
Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play ad: gross human thumbs stitched onto robots, drugged clubgoers, not much more we can say
Is this the creepiest ad ever produced to introduce a new video game console? That's a high bar to pass -- but is it the creepiest ad for a new smartphone? Perhaps. The minute-long spot for Sony Ericsson's upcoming Xperia Play called "The Donor" appears to explain the backstory behind its last ad, relaying the tale of a young gentleman who was clubbing with friends, met an attractive woman, took her home, and woke up the next morning to discover that his thumbs were stone cold gone (notice the dirty, poorly-bandaged stumps on the table as he tells his tale of woe to a local law enforcement official). Cut to the next scene, where we've got our cute, lovable Android bot waddling around town... oh, and he's got human thumbs crudely sewn onto his arms. Go ahead, recoil in horror, vomit in the trashcan next to your desk, then cue the inevitable increased desire in owning this phone. Follow the break for the video, if you dare.
T-Mobile notes the "4" in iPhone 4 does not mean 4G
Nearly nine months after Apple's official announcement, T-Mobile finally points out to its customers that the "4" in iPhone 4 does not refer to 4G. T-Mobile's latest advertisement for its HSPA+ network takes a shot at both the Verizon and AT&T iPhone 4 with the two carriers illustrated as turtles, while T-Mobile is a hare. The eye-catching graph points out that T-Mobile has blazing fast 4G handsets while Apple's popular smartphone is still 3G. This slick marketing piece points out that the "4' in iPhone 4 is not 4G. Most everyone knows that the "4" actually refers to 4th generation, not 4G, and trying to imply there is confusion between the terms is stretching it. As is often the case, this promotional material focuses on sensationalistic headlines, not necessarily the truth. [Via Engadget]
