Hasta La Gadget!

The border runners at Taco Bell have fallen behind the ginger clown and his posse of hamburger-loving friends in terms of connectivity, but the fast food franchise will soon rectify that with the introduction of free WiFi at 5,600 locations over the next four years. In an attempt to keep you connected whilst stuffing your face with Beefy Melt Burritos, Taco Bell has teamed up with Indoor Direct to bring in-store WiFi and a specially branded TV network to the chain. Diners will apparently be encouraged to interact with content running on the network, with enticements to download free music, receive opt-in text messages, and engage in social media campaigns. Sounds like the perfect opportunity to resurrect that pot-stirring little chihuahua.

Continue reading Taco Bell to serve up free WiFi and in-store TV, keep you LOL’ing through Fourthmeal

Taco Bell to serve up free WiFi and in-store TV, keep you LOL’ing through Fourthmeal originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com.

It looks like somebody’s got a new publicist. Sure, the Google Street View car’s received its fair share of bad press lately — what with all those invasion of privacy claims — but we wouldn’t feel too sorry for the little guy. A recent episode of Burn Notice saw the camera-equipped auto make its national TV debut. It probably won’t win an Emmy for its role — it didn’t have any speaking lines, after all — but at least it’s getting some positive attention.

[Thanks, Pat]

Screen Grabs: Google Street View car rolls on to set of Burn Notice originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 23:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s official: everyone has a 3D HDTV. No, not every consumer — not even close — but with Westinghouse’s official entry into the 3D market earlier this week, nearly every television manufacturer, both large and small, has brought at least one 3D product to market. We took a look at the 47-inch Westinghouse W47S2TCD at the CEA LineShows in NYC today, and were actually somewhat impressed with its performance, especially from a distance of more than six feet. Passive displays still don’t offer the same level of quality as 3D sets that use active glasses, but they’re often more affordable, and adequate for most consumers. Our biggest issue with this display is with backlight bleed just above the Westinghouse logo, which is especially noticeable with darker content or when navigating through system menus.

The TV carries a MSRP of $1,200, but Westinghouse says to expect a street price of “well below” $1,000, which should help it compete with other budget sets. It uses passive technology and ships with four pairs of glasses, though the manufacturer claims that you should be able to use other polarized glasses, including those RealD specs you’ll forget to return after dropping $19 on your next 3D IMAX movie. Jump past the break for a hands-on video from the show floor.

Continue reading Westinghouse first 3D HDTV hands-on (video)

Westinghouse first 3D HDTV hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The folks over at Microsoft Advertising are quite fond of their latest brainchild, so much so that they’re calling the Kinect-enabled advertising platform “irresistibly interactive.” NUAds — which snaked the NU in NUI — feeds off our need for interactivity, allowing advertisers to lure us in by enabling points of gesture and voice control. Think the latest Snuggie spot is super cool? Just say “Xbox, Tweet,” and all your friends will know it. Want to know more about Mariah Carey’s latest fragrance? Say “Xbox, More,” and the info is all yours. Wondering where you can pick up a box of Nad’s edible hair remover? Say “Xbox, Near Me,” and you’ll get a text with the location of the closest Nad’s retailer. Want to vote on the hottest new Bratz doll? Give your girl a thumbs up. So Microsoft may have engaged a host of more respectable partners, namely Adidas, NBC, and Coca Cola, for its demo of the voice and gesture-enabled advertising platform yesterday, and NUAds does indeed serve up promotions in an entirely new way, but will it really change how we view the boob tube for good? Check out the video demo after the break, and weigh in the comments below.

Continue reading Microsoft’s NUAds interactive advertising to harness powers of Kinect, ‘change television as we know it’

Microsoft’s NUAds interactive advertising to harness powers of Kinect, ‘change television as we know it’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just 18 short months after 3D made its big HDTV debut at CES 2010, Westinghouse is finally ready to make its own entry into the third dimension, with the 47-inch W47S2TCD. Like most Westinghouse sets, there’s really nothing special to make this rather generic TV pop (until you toss on one of the four included pairs of 3D glasses), but you will be getting a passive 1080p 3D display, 3:2 pulldown, three-way selectable color temperature, and a backlight enhancement tool called DayBright. The company is also unveiling five other TVs, including its first connected TV — the 46-inch WC-4625T — which includes access to Netflix and Vudu. The 47-inch 3D TV will likely be sold at retailers like Best Buy, Costco, and Target with a suggested retail price of $1199, but we imagine in-store pricing will be significant lower — with the recent announcement of Vizio’s 42-inch passive offering for $699, shelling out an extra $100 per inch for the new Westinghouse set is not likely to sit well with bargain hunters.

Continue reading Westinghouse announces its first 3D HDTV, coming to a discount department store near you

Westinghouse announces its first 3D HDTV, coming to a discount department store near you originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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