LaunchParty
Latest
Got Klout? You may qualify for a free Windows Phone
Turns out that Microsoft's hoping to get some influential people on board with Windows Phone, and it's choosing a unique strategy to do so. It's partnered with Klout, a service that uses social media analytics to weigh the influence you have on your social network, to give away 500 free devices -- along with VIP passes to one of five Windows Phone launch parties across the country -- to those who qualify through Klout Perks. The winners appear to be determined by their Klout score and if they live in the same city as one of the five shindigs. But it's clear that the Windows giant wants to be heard, and it might just work: according to Klout's official blog, "top influencers are trusted by their audience to share their real opinions and more and more brands are recognizing this power." In short, Redmond's banking on the possibility that some mightily influential people will have great things to say about its product. After all, word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool. Head to the source link to find out how to learn if you're one of the lucky 500.
Get Windows 7 Ultimate for free... by throwing a party
Dying to throw a party where everyone goes home alone? Microsoft's got you covered. Redmond's looking for Windows 7 fans to throw launch parties from October 22-29, and if you're chosen, you'll get a free "Signature Edition" of Windows 7 Ultimate, free party favors, and a chance to win a PC valued at $750. Sure, you'll have to suck up your pride and invite your friends to a party with a theme like "setting up with ease" or "family friendly fun," but if you're willing to throw a party where everyone is apparently supposed to sit around a laptop and then go out and buy something, well, we're guessing you don't have too much pride to begin with.[Thanks, Kevin]
Palm Pres available tonight to invited Premier customers at launch events
This won't apply to many of you, but just a little public service announcement to members of Sprint's elite Premier corps: you can get your Pre tonight if you've received an invitation to do so and you're willing to make the trek to one of ten stores around the country where launch parties are being held. Our understanding is that this is strictly an invite-only event and that non-Premier riff raff (and non-Sprint customers) will be turned away, but honestly, if we were in the market for a Pre, we'd probably loiter for a bit just to see what's up and get a gauge on whether they're willing to bend the rules -- particularly if the Pres end up not selling out by the time the night's over. Either way, if you want a Pre this weekend you'll need to leave your basement at some point because the phone won't be sold online initially -- so let us know how it goes out there in the trenches, folks, and we'll do the same. Stay tuned![Image via PreCentral]
BioShock launch party at Boston's Felt bar
While there was a considerable lack of Big Daddies at the BioShock launch party -- they were all at The Eagle down the street -- events at Irrational 2K Boston's festivities held at Felt in downtown Boston went down smoothly with shots of "Adam." With syringes on platters, "Little Sister" waitresses went around squirting the "Adam" fluid into revelers mouths -- the alcohol-based substance tasted considerably like Apple-tinis. And no, in reality, it wasn't even close to as scandalous as the Rumble Roses XX injection scenes.Speaking with the people at the party, it becomes obvious Boston is starting to see a little re-emergence as a video game development town, which is what Boston Mayor Menino seems to want for the city -- despite the company he keeps. This year Boston area game developers will have produced major titles like Lord of the Rings Online, Rock Band, SimCity Societies and BioShock.Did we spend any time with BioShock designer Ken Levine? No. We did spend some time with the guy who came up with the idea of the Big Daddies and he said that he always found diving suits scary. We also had to ask him the ultimate motivation-irking BioShock question, "What would possess a man to take a syringe, with no explanation of what's inside it, and jam it into his forearm?"His response: "We get that one a lot. We probably should have had Atlas say something to make it more fluid. But it'll all make sense by the end of the game." Of course, BioShock is out now if you're looking to learn the secrets of Rapture.%Gallery-6188%
Neonode N2 launches in Europe on Vodafone, Wind
Intelligently waiting until after the iPhone lived out its (first) 15 minutes of fame, Neonode has just now went and threw a launch party to celebrate the official debut of the Neonode N2. Yesterday, the firm went wild at the Babae Club in Athens, Greece as it celebrated with MyPhone (its distributor for south-eastern Europe) and announced that the handset would play nice with "operators such as Vodafone and Wind." Sadly, exact releases dates were obviously muddled through all the jumpin' and jivin' going on, but the N2 should be in "select shops in south-eastern Europe" very soon, with the rest of Europe and "other major markets" to follow suit shortly thereafter.[Thanks, Sleepless]
DS Lite launch partay!
Engadget's Paul Miller and Ryan Block dropped by Nintendo's official DS Lite U.S. launch party in New York over the weekend. Their write-up features a few dozen photos of the interior of the Nintendo World Store, including the above picture of Ryan being molested hugged by a giant Mario. They also snapped shots of people in the queue playing with their imported DS Lites (oh, the sweet fanboy irony), the first person to officially purchase a DS Lite in the U.S. and a functional Gulf War-damaged Game Boy.Update: Should have been "Lite", not "lite."
