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.

Google Latitude, now with 100 percent more check-in deals originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Tecca  |  sourceGoogle Lat Long Blog, Google Latitude  | Email this | Comments

Visualized: jousting on a Segway

Remember the olden days? When honor and valor were the only things that mattered and vast metallic armor suits were less of a laughing matter and more of a practical necessity? Neither do we, but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying a good video gaming romp through such settings when we have the time for it. We don’t know that we’d necessarily care to reenact medieval battle scenes physically, but that’s exactly what a witty new marketing campaign for Washington’s Lottery has done. It asks simply “what have you and your friends always wanted to do” and then answers its own query with the nutty answer of Segway jousting. See the resulting video, which was partially shot in Phantom slow-mo, after the break.

Continue reading Visualized: jousting on a Segway

Visualized: jousting on a Segway originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Autoblog, CrunchGear  |  sourceCreativity-Onine  | Email this | Comments

Telus recruits Leonard Nimoy to help you improve your Facebook status

Sharp has George Takei to tell you about the fourth pixel it can’t show you, and now Telus has hired none other than Leonard Nimoy to help out with another difficult task: improving your Facebook status messages. Using the WWLNS application — that’s What Would Leonard Nimoy Say? — you can submit potential status messages to Mr. Nimoy and see what he thinks before you actually post them. Apparently, we’ve been writing in haiku without even realizing it. Of course, you will have to “Like” Telus in order to try it out yourself — clever, Telus, very clever…. logical, even. More Nimoy after the break.

Continue reading Telus recruits Leonard Nimoy to help you improve your Facebook status

Telus recruits Leonard Nimoy to help you improve your Facebook status originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 01:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTelus (Facebook)  | Email this | Comments

Apple releases iAd Gallery app: all ads, all the time

Tired of apps always getting in the way of your ads? There’s an app for that.

Update: Well, it looks like there’s a bit more to this story. It turns out a developer of a similar ad-only app informed us a while back that her Ads Tube app (demoed after the break) was rejected by Apple because there was “not enough user functionality.” Guess it finally worked out that problem itself.

Continue reading Apple releases iAd Gallery app: all ads, all the time

Apple releases iAd Gallery app: all ads, all the time originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Apple Headlines  |  sourceiTunes  | Email this | Comments

ASUS claims Transformer is better than a generic tablet, is probably right

ASUS, you naughty tablet maker, you. Not content with giving your Eee Pad Transformer its own sitcom, you’re now coming at the US with an aggressive price and some rather eye-catching promo material to boot. Reminding the world that most tablets come without a keyboard and highlighting your tailor-made solution is all well and good, but did you have to make your “generic” slate look so iPad-ish?

[Thanks, Rob]

ASUS claims Transformer is better than a generic tablet, is probably right originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Phandroid  |  sourceBest Buy  | Email this | Comments

Caption contest: this is why grocery stores shouldn’t sell smartphones

“We call it a very nice phone and you can get it on a 12 month contract.” Oh, really, Tesco? Nifty! So, how much is that bag of day-old doughnuts… with and without a contract?

Don: “Knowing my luck, if I buy this now they’ll have an iPhone 4 with a Bold keyboard on sale next week.”
Darren
: “Do you guys sell a vegan model?”
Michael: “At Tesco, we’ve got raspberries, strawberries, and… ThunderBerries?”
Tim: “With Android, are you supposed to squeeze it or shake it to tell if it’s ripe?”
Chris: “You can find it in the toothpaste aisle of your local grocery store.”
Myriam: “Behold the Desire Torch, a new AndroBerry phone from HTRIM… now available in the cheese aisle.”
Richard Lai: “By popular demand we have extended our Tesco Mobile Rewards offer to our shanzhai range.”
Sean Hollister:
“And Tesco embraced fragmentation, the only way it knew how.”
Vlad: “Hey, if RIM’s gonna use our apps on its tablet, then we’re gonna use its buttons on our phones. Fair’s fair.”

[Thanks, Matt O.]

Caption contest: this is why grocery stores shouldn’t sell smartphones originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 10:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mesmerizing Touch Wood SH-08C ad showcases Japan’s beauty, mankind’s ingenuity (video)

Sharp isn’t apt to sell but 15,000 of its Touch Wood SH-08C handsets, but after watching the ad below, you can bet there will be demand for more. It’s a bit baffling to think of the trouble Drill, Inc. went through in order to assemble the pieces necessary for a wooden ball to trickle down a homegrown marimba, particularly in the midst of Kyushu, Japan’s woodlands. Kenjiro Matsuo was responsible for the creation of the instrument, while Morihiro Harano is being handed credit for the idea itself; in fact, he confirmed to The New York Times that no artificial music was added whatsoever, with only the background levels being adjusted up for effect. You may have never listened to a piece of classical music in your life, but you’re sorely missing out if you ignore Bach’s Cantata 147, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” Or, at least the version in that video below.

Continue reading Mesmerizing Touch Wood SH-08C ad showcases Japan’s beauty, mankind’s ingenuity (video)

Mesmerizing Touch Wood SH-08C ad showcases Japan’s beauty, mankind’s ingenuity (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Switched  |  sourceYouTube (sakura4250)  | Email this | Comments

Samsung Galaxy Player 70 captures vision of Android-ruled world in new promo video

It’s getting a bit tough to tell Samsung’s various Galaxy Players and their changing names apart these days, but the company has found a fairly unique way to drum up attention for its new Galaxy Player 70 model, which looks to be nearly identical to the Galaxy Player 5 being released over here. Mixed into an otherwise bright and cheery new ad are images of what we can only presume is an alternate reality where the Android robot is real, and in charge. Head on past the break to see for yourself.

[Thanks, Rachid]

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Player 70 captures vision of Android-ruled world in new promo video

Samsung Galaxy Player 70 captures vision of Android-ruled world in new promo video originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 01:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Droid Den  |  sourceSamsungTomorrow (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments

ASUS rips off Big Bang Theory for Transformer promo, makes it just as unfunny as the real thing

ASUS’ Eee Pad Transformer can alternate between being a tablet and a pseudo-laptop thanks to a keyboard / extended battery dock. It also has a Tegra 2 heart and a Honeycomb mind, but the company’s opted to focus on its physical uniqueness in a video it’s just released marking the new Pad’s Taiwanese debut today. Only problem is, Jonney Shih went and listened to his son’s idea (no joke!) to theme it around US comedy show Big Bang Theory, replete with Megatron jokes, bad haircuts, and gadget lust aplenty. We’ll let you judge how well that worked out after the break.

Continue reading ASUS rips off Big Bang Theory for Transformer promo, makes it just as unfunny as the real thing

ASUS rips off Big Bang Theory for Transformer promo, makes it just as unfunny as the real thing originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 03:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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.

Verizon renews HTC Trophy offer for Microsoft employees originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 05:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink WMPowerUser, WPCentral  |  sourceVerizon Wireless  | Email this | Comments