Hasta La Gadget!

Hoping to trade in your expensive cable or satellite plan for a nice, juicy melon ball of cottage cheese-like… we mean, a portable Hulu Plus subscription at $10 a month? Not so fast, my fine fingered friend, because Hulu CEO Jason Kilar has revealed that killing cable is not a part of the company’s evil plan, and he’s not entertaining any ideas to the contrary. Kilar told AllThingsD that the service is “broadcast-focused” and “complementary to your cable and satellite service” by design, which is a nice way of saying the incestuous relationships between cable companies, content providers and Hulu itself keep it from offering premium programming — at least, not at this sort of price.

Speaking of getting what you pay for, you may be surprised to hear Hulu Plus displays advertising even if you slap down currency every month, but the CEO said lengthy consumer research found that users were more willing to pay if the service were partially subsidized by ads. Think of them as tiny little brain tenderizers, and we’re sure you’ll be just fine.

Continue reading Hulu CEO: we’re ‘complementary’ to cable

Hulu CEO: we’re ‘complementary’ to cable originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP and Yahoo team up to deliver targeted ads… to printers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has hired American Beauty director Sam Mendes to shoot TV ads for the next-generation iPhone, according to a rumor posted by tech blog Engadget.

At least one spot will show a mother and daughter using the iPhone’s front-facing camera for a video-conferencing call, a tipster told Engadget. (Jetsons, anyone?) Most of us already expected this was a feature, because we saw the new camera on the prototype iPhone leaked by Gizmodo (right). Gizmodo’s publication of the device led to a police seizure, and two weeks ago the unsealed affidavit revealed that Apple legal confirmed the device was a prototype of the fourth-generation iPhone.

Corroborating its rumor, Engadget found statements on Twitter from actors claiming they were auditioning for an Apple ad, though that’s not substantial evidence to “confirm” that Mendes is shooting fourth-gen iPhone ads, as the blog suggests.

Nonetheless, many expect Apple to introduce its next-generation iPhone soon at the Worldwide Developers Conference kicking off June 7. At the same venue, Apple debuted the iPhone 3G and the iPhone 3GS in years past.

See Also:

• Gizmodo Gets Hands On New 4G iPhone
• Gizmodo Dissects Unreleased Apple iPhone
• iPhone Finder Regrets His ‘Mistake’
• Roommate’s Tip Led Cops to iPhone Finder

Photo: Gizmodo

There’s been rumors that Apple had ended its long-running of “Get a Mac” ad campaign ever since Justin “Mac” Long said he thought they might be done last month, and it looks like that’s now finally been confirmed by Apple — the company has pulled all the ads from its site and is instead redirecting folks to its new “Why You’ll Love a Mac” page. Of course, the move doesn’t exactly come as a huge surprise considering that Apple hasn’t produced a new one since its Windows 7-challenging ads last October, and Apple has certainly had plenty of prime material since then. Head on past the break for look at one of the more recent highlights, and hit up the more coverage links below if you feel like reminiscing a bit more. As for what’s next for Apple, we can only guess. A triumphant return of Jeff Goldblum, perhaps?

Continue reading Apple pulls the plug on ‘Get a Mac’ ad campaign

Apple pulls the plug on ‘Get a Mac’ ad campaign originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 May 2010 11:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Two years back, consumer research told us the vast majority of DVR users skipped commercials; now, statisticians at Duke University say that’s not the case. More importantly, even those who do hit that oh-so-tempting skip button aren’t necessarily spending less on advertised products as a result. Pulling data from over 1,200 TiVo boxes over the course of three years, Professor Carl Mela and colleagues found that a staggering 95 percent of television was watched live instead of recorded, giving viewers no opportunity to skip, and even when there was an opportunity, users took it only 6.5 percent of the time.

Moreover, every attempt the researchers made to find a “TiVo effect” failed — comparing those who had DVRs with those who didn’t, they found no significant difference in the amount TV watchers spent on nine different goods (including cleaning and grooming products) advertised. This could be for a variety of reasons — perhaps advertising doesn’t work, period, or perhaps those without DVRs “skipped” commercials simply by walking out of the room — but no matter the reason, it seems these days television advertisers don’t have quite so much to fear.

Continue reading Study finds commercial-skipping DVRs don’t affect purchases, ‘TiVo effect’ may not exist

Study finds commercial-skipping DVRs don’t affect purchases, ‘TiVo effect’ may not exist originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 May 2010 21:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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