Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve already gotten a pretty good look at both the Droid 2 and Droid X and some of their purported specs, and it looks like we can now fill in a few more gaps thanks to a set of leaked slides for some new Droid commercials. The most interesting of the lot is the slide / script for a Droid 2 commercial pictured above, which not only confirms an expectedly sci-fi-themed ad for the phone (Gattaca-esque, to be specific), but Exchange support and a 1GHz processor (not 750MHz, as previously rumored). There’s comparatively fewer details in the pair of Droid X commercials, but they do offer yet more confirmation of a 4.3-inch screen, and our first indication of a new EyeCon app that will apparently come pre-loaded on the phone and let you access and control media on your home network — the script for the ad actually mentions a “720 dpi” screen, but we’re going to chalk that up to adspeak rather than Motospeak. Hit up the link below for a closer look at the complete set.

[Thanks, Kellen]

More Droid 2, Droid X details surface in leaked commercials originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well this can’t be tremendously surprising. Apparently American Beauty director Sam Mendes is in the process of putting together a series of commercials for Apple’s next iPhone, which according to a tipster is being referred to internally as the Mammoth / N90. Besides that tip (with a handful of juicy details), a trusted source has confirmed to us that the ads will feature at least one spot where a mother and daughter are having a video chat conversation using the new front-facing camera that’s been spied on the face of that iPhone floating around Vietnam and Northern California. Adding weight to this story, a cursory search on Twitter revealed that there’s at least one actress who is up for a role in the “f***ing apple commercial” in New York, and another fellow who is auditioning for spots in California. We don’t know much more than that, but we’re fairly confident that this confirms video chat is coming to the next iPhone, and that that said iPhone isn’t very far from our grasp. Remember folks, June 7th is just a kiss away.

Continue reading Confirmed: Apple’s next iPhone will have video chat, feature to be shown in ads directed by Sam Mendes

Confirmed: Apple’s next iPhone will have video chat, feature to be shown in ads directed by Sam Mendes originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 May 2010 22:08:00 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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We’ve held no punches in sharing our thoughts on Palm’s recent ad campaigns, but the one spot that was actually not heinous has seemingly served as the basis for one of Microsoft’s first-ever WP7S commercials. Debuting here at the tail-end of MIX, the ad spotlights Anna — a fictitious gal we’ve certainly heard of before — using her new smartphone to share photos with her dear lover Miles. It also features Luca, a kid with an undying love for playing Xbox LIVE titles, who seems to be caught somewhere in between the world of nature and nurture. At any rate, it’s worth your while to give the new Microsoft commercial and the Palm ad which it has oh-so-much in common with right after the break.

Oh, and Palm — we guess “Windows Phone 7 Series was your idea,” right?

Update: Yes, that definitely looks like an HTC HD2 at the 0:43 mark, but you can rest assured WP7S won’t ever come to that gem in native fashion.

[Thanks, Sean]

Continue reading Microsoft takes a note from Palm in new Windows Phone 7 Series ad

Microsoft takes a note from Palm in new Windows Phone 7 Series ad originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 11:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It shouldn’t be any surprise that the HP Slate supports Flash, since it runs Windows 7, but we’ve seen so little of the device since Steve Ballmer first waved it around at CES that we’re still totally intrigued by this video from Adobe showing it in action. Yep, there it is, playing video, running casual Flash games, and using AIR applications. We also get a quick shot of the on-screen keyboard, which looks like a mildly tweaked version of the standard Windows 7 keyboard. We can’t say until we use it, but it certainly doesn’t look like it’ll be fun to type on. Interestingly, Flash is said to be hardware-accelerated on the Slate, which suggests something other than a bone-stock Atom setup in there — we’d guess it’s an Atom plus a Broadcom Crystal HD Accelerator, but there’s a chance it’s something else entirely. HP’s also posted up a new marketing video, which bears a striking resemblance to last night’s iPad commercial — until the end, which frankly makes no sense. Check ’em both after the break.

[Thanks, Rick]

Continue reading HP Slate makes an appearance to show off Flash, stays for a rock concert

HP Slate makes an appearance to show off Flash, stays for a rock concert originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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