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Continue reading McDonald’s interactive Pong billboard brings big-screen elation, tomorrow’s lunch

McDonald’s interactive Pong billboard brings big-screen elation, tomorrow’s lunch originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 05 Jun 2011 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TV viewers are a famously fickle bunch, which tends to drive TV advertisers crazy. The prevalent theory remains that skipping past ads using a pesky DVR is the biggest enemy of marketers, but new research has once again contradicted that received wisdom. The IPG Media Lab in Los Angeles pulled together a representative group of 48 TV and online video viewers and asked them to sit through some programming while equipped with the usual “devices or distractions” that accompany their viewing habits. Central to the study was the measurement of time each person spent facing the screen and how engaged they were with the content. The first thing noted was that 94 percent of TV viewers and 73 percent of online video consumers used some other form of media to augment their visual entertainment. Smartphones were the most common, with 60 percent of test subjects resorting to their handset while gawking at the TV. That’s resulted in a mediocre 52 percent attention level during actual programs and 37 percent during ads. In other words, two thirds of the time, commercials are being ignored and smartphones are helping people with that heinous behavior. Ironically, fast-forwarding adverts using a DVR garnered attention levels that were 12 percent higher, mostly because people were trying to make sure they didn’t skip too far ahead. Damn, why does reality have to be all complex and stuff?

Smartphones, not DVRs, are the biggest threat to TV adverts originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 08:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been one heck of a week for e-readers, with a new $139 touchscreen Nook in town and a $129 finger-friendly Kobo as well. What’s Amazon going to do about the newfound competition? Simply lower the price of its best-selling Kindle 3G to $164. Well, perhaps “lower” isn’t quite the right word, because you’ll simply be paying by different means: the new Kindle 3G with Special Offers will be the company’s second e-reader to feature built-in advertising. If you’re shy on cash, though, we suppose viewing a few ads is a small price to pay for cheaper Whispernet. PR after the break.

Continue reading Kindle 3G gets ad-supported $164 version, basically sells your eyeballs for a $25 discount

Kindle 3G gets ad-supported $164 version, basically sells your eyeballs for a $25 discount originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 May 2011 20:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Some may agree that over the years, augmented reality’s been slowly losing its appeal given its sometimes laggy and unreliable performance — most implementations require a weird marker to be in clear sight, and the graphics rendering speed on your handheld device would rely on your slow and steady hands. As such, we were initially skeptical when Sony’s SmartAR announcement came along; but as you can see in the video above, said technology took us by surprise with its super slick responsiveness, and the markerless object recognition makes a compelling hassle-free selling point. What’s more, the same clip also shows off SmartAR handling large 3D space with ease — notice how the virtual objects continue to animate even when the original anchor object is out of sight. Sony hasn’t given any dates here, but there’s no doubt that once SmartAR is available to game developers and advertisers, it’ll rake in some nice pocket money for the electronics giant.

Continue reading Sony SmartAR delivers high-speed markerless augmented reality, blows minds (video)

Sony SmartAR delivers high-speed markerless augmented reality, blows minds (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 May 2011 01:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Like two knights jostling for the hand of a fair maiden, both Facebook and Google appear to be courting the graces of Skype. A source close to Facebook recently told Reuters that CEO Mark Zuckerberg is thinking about buying Skype outright, as part of a deal that could be worth $3 to $4 billion. A second source, meanwhile, claimed that both Facebook and Google are more interested in forming a joint venture with the teleconferencing company, which has yet to issue an IPO. With discussions still in a nascent stage, both suitors are playing their cards close to their chests, while Skype, rather coyly, has declined to comment on the speculation. At this point, details are still hazy and rumor-infused, though it’s certainly not shocking to hear these kinds of murmurs buzzing around. Skype’s been integrating Facebook more deeply into its software for a while now and has gradually branched out to Android, as well (albeit with mixed results). Both Facebook and Google would also stand to benefit from Skype’s millions of users and all the targeted advertising potential they’d offer. Until we receive more substantiated reports, however, all discussions of possible unions remain restricted to the realm of conjecture.

Facebook, Google rumored to be vying for Skype deal originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 May 2011 06:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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