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Motorola Xoom rooted in two hours flat, sinister transforming exoskeleton jetpack returns in Verizon ad
What's the first thing you're going to do with your Motorola Xoom? If you're Koush, the answer's clear -- install your very own ClockworkMod recovery image and ROM Manager, and grant the latter superuser permissions. That's right, on the very day of release, the Motorola Xoom's all but ready for custom builds of Android and all the joy they bring. Meanwhile, Verizon's decided to bring us the latter half of the abruptly cut Xoom TV ad, which actually differs significantly depending on whether or not Spanish is your primary language. Either way, it's a fairly sordid affair, with no Iron Man feats of stratospheric skill to be found, merely a short demonstration of gaming with the accelerometer and a few quick swipes through Honeycomb. You'll still watch it if we tell you it's after the break though, won't you?
Leaked Windows Phone 7 ads challenge your phone head-to-head
Microsoft's slowed the pace of Windows Phone 7 ads after saturating the airwaves at launch, but it looks like another campaign is about to begin -- WinRumors has a leak of a new set of "Real Time Challenge" interactive web ads that challenge you to complete tasks using your phone against a WP7 device. Challenges include taking a photo and posting it to Facebook, checking Xbox achievements, getting directions, and telling meeting participants you're running late. Not surprisingly, the WP7 device performs handily at everything -- although we're definitely wondering why you'd be checking Xbox achievements in a hurry while on the run. WinRumors also says that the "Your Phone" image is just a placeholder that will be filled in by other devices in the final ads, so we'll see how MS decides to portray other platforms and their apps -- there's a lot of ways to do some of these things on Android and iOS devices. (And, sigh, we would note that "Update system software without fatal errors" is not a listed activity.) In any event, it's a clever ad idea -- check the video below. [Thanks, Irv]
Verizon Xoom teaser ad will eat you up (video)
Verizon's first Xoom ad is out leaving little doubt about how the company plans to market Motorola's new tablet. While the Honeycomb slab might lack the Droid branding, VZW looks set to maintain the overtly machismo tone that helped sell so many Android handsets over the last year while dismissing any of that cerebral nonsense preferred by Motorola. And really, who amongst us, man or woman, can resist the temptation of strapping on an $800 jetpack come thursday?
AT&T highlights $49 iPhone 3GS in new TV ad
AT&T is wielding a new weapon in its fight against Verizon Wireless: the iPhone 3GS. In the carrier's latest advertisement, the almost 20-month old handset and its $49 price tag is dangled in front of customers as a cheap alternative to the iPhone 4. Price-wise, the iPhone 3GS lets customers jump on the iPhone bandwagon for $150 less than the 16 GB iPhone 4 and $250 less than the 32 GB model. Of course, there is always that nagging monthly cost. Still, if you are going to pay for it anyway and don't need the latest and greatest that Apple has to offer, why not? AT&T is hoping you will think that way so that the carrier can lock you into a contract before Verizon has its own cheap previous generation model to peddle to the masses. AT&T's television advertisement is included in the second half of this post.
Filmmaker says Motorola's Super Bowl ad bears some striking similarities to his short film
He's not going as far as to say that Motorola (or its ad agency) blatantly swiped his idea, but L.A.-based filmmaker Mike Sarrow thinks that the company's recent Super Bowl ad bears a few too many similarities to one of his short films to simply let slip by without a comment. That film, "Do Not Disconnect," was shot back in 2009 (and shopped around for a few years prior), and involves a world filled with "drones" wearing white earbuds who are oblivious to the real world around them and incapable of human interaction. Now, that in and of itself obviously isn't the most original of ideas, but Sarrow notes that there a few "striking" similarities beyond the general concept between the ad and his short film, particularly when it comes to the ending (which we won't spoil for you here). Adding a bit of meta-ness to the whole thing is the fact that Motorola's ad is of course a reference to Apple's famous "1984" commercial, and we all know Apple is no stranger to accusations that it's borrowed some ideas for its ads. Contrary to what you might think, however, Sarrow isn't seeking any compensation from Motorola (or even an attribution), he just wants people to see his film and make up their own mind. Judge for yourself after the break.
Interactive storefront displays show up at Canadian Starbucks, window licking discouraged
Starbucks has given the caffeinated crowd a new reason, other than the free WiFi, to stop by a couple of locations in Toronto and Vancouver -- interactive window displays! Taking sidewalk passers-by on a journey to assemble their favorite Tazo teas, the interactivity comes via a vinyl screen, projector, and gesture controls. We've already seen an interactive storefront in the US, so its about time our friends up north got some geekified advertising of their own. Vid's after the break.
Angry Birds ties into Super Bowl ad with secret level hint
During the Super Bowl game last night, you may have seen an ad for a soon-to-be-released animated feature called Rio. Cleverly tied into that advertisement was a way to get access to a secret level in that special app installed on just about every iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod touch in the universe: Angry Birds. If you happened to be watching closely about 26 seconds into the 32 second ad, you would have seen the infamous red bird, a golden egg and the numbers 13-12 on a wall behind a couple of characters from the movie. According to ex-TUAW blogger and current Mashable writer Christina Warren (Hi, C-Mac!), to uncover a special golden egg, you need to go to level 13-12, shoot a white bird backwards and then drop an egg (I am not making this up). Performing this arcane ritual will reward the patient Angry Birds player with a football-shaped golden egg. Completing the game level gives you the opportunity to enter a contest to attend the Rio premiere. Let's make sure it's an Apple fan (and hopefully a TUAW reader) who is walking the red carpet the night of the premiere. Rovio, the publisher of Angry Birds, will also be delivering a special Rio version of the game when the film is released on March 22, 2011. Check out the ad video on the next page if you think that we may have Photoshopped the image seen at the top of this post.
AT&T strikes back at Verizon with voice/data ad
Verizon may have their iPhone 4 coming on line in a matter of days, but AT&T isn't taking the assault on their market lightly. A new AT&T ad titled "Answer" shows a man working late and receiving a call from his wife on his iPhone 4. As she reminds him that it's their anniversary, he surfs and talks at the same time to quickly try to make dinner reservations and turn a potentially bad situation into a good one. The Verizon iPhone 4, of course, won't have the ability to provide voice and surfing capability at the same time. Good zinger, AT&T. The video can be seen in its entirety on the next page. [via @sethbloom, AT&T's 'blogger guy']
Samsung sucks at Photoshop: The next Galaxy S (video)
Photoshop is hard. Hell, we're just hacks ourselves, using the tool as a means to help convey a story. But we don't have BAs in graphic design and we're definitely not operating within Samsung's multi-million-dollar advertising budget. So pardon us while we tease Sammy for failing to add a starburst to cover the reflection of its super-secret next-generation followup to its Galaxy S handset. The grab above comes at the 13 second mark of the official "next Galaxy S" teaser video (posted after the break) released in the runup to the big Mobile World Congress event. We guess some secrets really are meant to be shared. [Thanks, Shavar]
Visualized: Giorgio Armani Galaxy S
In front of the sculpted jaw and haunting eyes of this ridiculously-good-looking man, there is a phone. And it says: "Thanks for the cash, sucker."
New Apple iPhone ad brings AT&T and Verizon together
Love, peace and harmony. That's what Apple seems to be pushing in the latest iPhone advertisement to hit the airwaves. The ad, titled "Two is Better than One," shows a pair of iPhones performing side-by-side synchronized app usage. The action is backed by that beautiful piece of waltz music used to good effect by ice skaters and Stanley Kubrick, Johann Strauss's "On the Beautiful Blue Danube." At the end of the 30-second piece, AT&T and Verizon logos are seen side-by-side. Considering the level of sniping being done by the two carriers, it's nice to see Apple stepping in as a mediator. For US smartphone users, it's great to finally have a choice. Check out the ad, which was captured off of a TV screen by YouTube user DoctoriTouch, on the next page. [via 9to5Mac]
HTC Thunderbolt has 8 megapixel camera and video chat, according to the ad up there
HTC's slogan is "quietly brilliant," and the company's living up to it right now -- it snuck new details about its mystery handset directly under our nose. What you see above are three screencaps from a banner ad running on the pages of Engadget even as we speak, hinting at an 8 megapixel imager, a sizable screen, and perhaps even 4G video chat. Why, hello there HTC Thunderbolt / Mecha / Droid Incredible HD, and hurray for controlled leaks! [Thanks, Taylor S.]
HP Palm Broadway, Manta and Topaz name-dropped in casting call
All the pieces, they're a-comin' together. If you'll recall, we spotted a smattering of HP Palm codenames in webOS 2.0 code early last month, and now, those very names are popping up elsewhere. Over at DirectCast, a couple of casting calls have emerged for HP Palm, with both of 'em seeking young, carefree hipsters with lovely hands. They're willing to pay a solid grand if you fit the profile, presumably to hold one of these impending devices on camera for some sort of advertisement. A PreCentral reader actually signed up, and then received some even more interesting information -- he was informed that the shoot will involve the HP Palm Broadway, Manta and Topaz. The Broadway was indeed one of the devices spotted in the aforementioned code, and while Manta wasn't there, "Mantaray" was. Topaz, of course, looks to be Palm's forthcoming tablet. This is all just expanded speculation for now, but if you were holding out hope for new HP Palm products, feel free to let your imagination run wild.
Logitech, Google TV enlist Kevin Bacon (and his biggest fan) for a new ad
They keep pulling us back in -- Logitech's latest Google TV ad takes a different, and yet still stalker related tack to sell users on the viability of search and web in their living room, focusing on the Kevin Bacon obsessed (and incredibly familiar looking) Ivan Cobenk. The main gist is that the Google TV is the key to easily finding your favorite video content, wherever it is... along with the slight danger of turning into Kevin Bacon. Give it a watch, while we're still not totally sure the Revue belongs in every living room this bit is far more convincing than the old screaming anthromophized HDTV.
Make a billboard for City of Heroes, win fantastic prizes
Whatever part of City of Heroes you traverse, there is a constant -- the billboards. From Praetoria's official billboards extolling the virtues of working for the state to the civil and capitalistic advertisements dotting Paragon City, no part of the game is free of advertising, albeit for fictional products or services. And the newest contest for the game is asking players to help add to that storied tradition of fake advertisements via the creation of your own billboard, advertising a new service or product within the game's setting. The contest is open for entries until Monday, January 24th, allowing players ample time to design and send off their best possible advertisements for the game's setting. Obviously, the contest comes with the usual restrictions that disallow players from making offensive, copyrighted, or libelous advertisements, but other than that the sky is the limit. And the prizes? Nothing less than every single add-on for the game, including exclusive convention costumes, for the first-prize winner. Read the full rules and restrictions here, and if you want to make a mark on City of Heroes, get ready to start selling.
Toshiba Japan tosses meteorites around in its new Cell TV ad
Figuring out how to advertise new 3D functions on viewers old 2D TVs has been an interesting problem for manufacturers all year and Toshiba Japan's ad for its new Cell-powered X2 HDTV is the latest to try, turning to the heavens for inspiration in classically Japanese style. Sure it has nothing on the company's previous Space Chair spot, but we guess some effects will have to do when launching furniture into space isn't possible.
Verizon launching LTE network in December 2010 (video)
Verizon's been talking details on LTE deployment for some time now, but even at CTIA earlier in the year, the carrier insisted that it would be the first half of 2011 before the next-gen network was active in the US of A. Now, it looks as if the engineers have been working triple-time in order to get Long Term Evolution live in the States under Big Red's branding, as a new VZW commercial (embedded after the break) has affirmed that the first LTE waves will go public here in December 2010. Yeah, next month. Granted, there's no information beyond the date, but at least we shouldn't have to ponder long which devices will be first out of the gate. Here's hoping Santa's wish list has room for one more thing.
iAd highlighted in new Apple video
Apple has updated its iAd advertising site with a show-reel showcasing some of the early advertisement adopters. Of course the best of the best have been selected, and all of the campaigns featured look great. We've only seen a few here at TUAW, like the Nissan Leaf ad at pictured at right, but those were memorable. Releasing this video is a good move on Apple's part, especially as iAd begins to launch internationally. It's an opportunity to show off some choice examples and gives a little reward to the program's early adopters. Apple has recently increased iAd's international reach, announcing plans for Europe and Japan. A look at this highlight reel should help get those new advertisers and developers excited.
New iPhone 4 ad touts battery life
Apple has released another TV ad for the iPhone 4 in the U.S., this time bragging about its battery life. The ad begins by stating that the iPhone's lithium polymer battery lets users "work longer, play longer, laugh longer..." and so on while showing off features like email, gaming, video and so on. The first batch of iPhone 4 ads described FaceTime, while the previous spot, entitled "Every," turned the focus to hardware; specifically, the Retina Display. This ad (still untitled as it hasn't yet appeared on Apple.com) continues that trend by showing off the powerful battery, while slipping in software features as well. You can see it in its entirety after the break.
PlayStation Move is for babies, first official Latin American ad suggests
Okay, maybe not just babies -- but kids at heart. Adults with baby heads is apparently the image Sony wants to promote for its first-ever advertising campaign for Latin America.
