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Cracker Jack ditches toys in favor of augmented reality
Ah yes, Cracker Jack. The classic American snack food and ballpark staple that offers the thrill of finding a cheap plastic toy at the bottom of the box. Well, I should say offered, since PepsiCo's Frito-Lay division is modernizing snacking by nixing the toy in favor of a "baseball-inspired mobile digital experience." What does that mean exactly? Rather than unwrapping a plastic figurine or trinket, you'll find a sticker that you scan with your phone's camera to "bring the ballpark to life" with a mobile game or photo treatment. Oh yeah, you'll have to download the Blippar augmented reality app first.
Instababies: People are naming kids after Instagram filters
When it comes to deciding on a baby name, you could go with a family name. Or, like several couples did in 2015, you could look to your cellphone photography habit for inspiration. According to BabyCenter, some of the hottest trends in baby names shared monikers with Instagram filters. Yes, really. The site says that names of the photo-sharing apps presets were extremely popular this year for newborns, with Lux being the top choice. Additionally, Ludwig, Amaro, Reyes, Hudson and Kelvin all rose up the popularity rankings for boys while Juno, Valencia and Willow were routinely picked for girls. The site says it gathered its name popularity and trend data from 340,000 parents from around the world to compile the stats. Here's to hoping the trend continues in 2016 with babies named Lo-Fi, Inkwell and Nashville, because the internet.[Image credit: Shutterstock]
Taco Bell now delivers 'food' to your door
When you don't really feel like getting off the couch to make a run for the border, but you're still thinking outside the bun, Taco Bell will now bring its fast food delicacies to you. So long as you live in certain areas, of course. The chain has teamed up with DoorDash, a company that handles food orders and deliveries, to drop off its waffle tacos and A.M. Crunchwraps at your door in select areas. Those locales include over 90 cities and more than 200 participating locations in and around LA, San Francisco and Dallas. Sorry, East Coast. DoorDash's service allows you to order a meal through its iOS and Android apps, or on the web if you happen to be near a computer. Taco Bell says it has already been testing the delivery option and has plans to take it nationwide in the future. Of course, the restaurant isn't the first to offer to bring you burritos and tacos, but it never hurts to have options. There's no word on how long you'll have to wait during the prime hours to Live Más of 12 AM to 4 AM.
HTC is testing ads in its BlinkFeed app
HTC opened up its BlinkFeed stream of info to more apps and to other Android devices last year. Now, it's getting a new form of content: ads. In a blog post, the company announced that it's testing "a limited number of promotions" to folks "in a limited number of markets." Specifically, users in the US, UK, Germany, Taiwan and China can expect to see the trial advertisements appear in the feed. Rather than a pop-up window or banner, the ads are displayed natively in a BlinkFeed post (see the example after the break). If that's sounds super annoying, don't worry, HTC will offer a way for you to opt out. But, of course, the company recommends that you leverage the promotions as a way to find new apps, goods and services.
