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Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

Advertising agency JWT were picked to do a spot for Shell Helix Ultra car oil using a fully transparent car. The car chosen as the model was a Nissan 370Z. The commercial used no CGI for the car itself and instead employed Asylum Models and Effects to actually make all the parts of this Nissan from scratch. It obviously doesn’t drive, but it holds together quite well.

Check out the commercial and the making-of video above.

Content and Source is copyrighted by: http://www.doobybrain.com/2010/04/22/shell-helix-ultra-engine-oil-advertised-using-a-transparent-nissan-370z/

Free turn-by-turn Google Maps Navigation has already threatened an entire industry of GPS navigation companies whose livelihood depends on selling paid versions of what the search giant is now giving away for free. Currently Google Maps Navigation is available for Android phones only, but in a London press conference Google said it will bring free navigation to the iPhone along with other platforms.

The presser ushered in the arrival of Google Maps Navigation in the UK, but perhaps the juicier part of the news was the official confirmation of free nav in development specifically for the iPhone. Unfortunately, the company still won’t say exactly when we should expect the feature to roll out on Apple’s smartphone platform, but knowing the light speed at which Google prefers to move it won’t be long before we have more news on this front.

What do you think: can free turn-by-turn direction service on smartphones replace the traditional in-auto GPS system, or do standalone navigation devices still have value? How will GPS manufacturers adapt to the changing satnav landscape?

Content and Source is copyrighted by: http://mashable.com/2010/04/22/free-turn-by-turn-google-directions-iphone

Video from Youtube:

A demonstration of Google Maps Navigation (Beta), an internet-connected GPS navigation system that provides turn-by-turn voice guidance as a free feature of Google Maps on Android 2.0 phones.

Just days after iPad’s retail debut, a rather genuine-looking Hewlett-Packard presentation has been published by Engadget that features specs and pricing details of the forthcoming HP Slate.

The Windows 7 tablet will sport an 8.9-inch 1024×600 capacitive multitouch display, a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, a five-hour battery, Webcam, and a 3-megapixel camera, according to the memo. The Slate’s $549 base Wi-Fi configuration will reportedly have 32GB of flash storage and 1GB of non-upgradeable RAM, while a $599 version will come with 64GB of storage. Both tablets also have a USB port, HDMI output, SDHC slot, and a SIM card slot for optional 3G, according to the apparently leaked presentation, which also highlights the features HP sees as superior or a threat to iPad appeal.

Earlier Monday, HP released a new video demo of the device, which the company referred to as a “slate.” The very iPad-looking tablet is shown making use of different apps and features as part of a 30-second musical montage.

It’s not the first time HP has sought to steal some of Apple’s thunder in the coming tablet wars. In March, just hours after Apple debuted its first iPad commercial, HP followed with a pair of video demos showing off its own touch-screen tablet.

Authour:

Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. Before joining CNET News in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers. E-mail Steven.

Content and Source is copyrighted by: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20001804-1.html?tag=mncol;title

Apple has announced that on Saturday more than 300,000 iPads were sold, including pre-orders, deliveries to channel partners, and sales at Apple Retail Stores. Steve Jobs, no doubt from his iPad, was ebullient.

“It feels great to have the iPad launched into the world—it’s going to be a game changer. iPad users, on average, downloaded more than three apps and close to one book within hours of unpacking their new iPad.”

Regarding those applications and books, iPad users downloaded more than a million apps and 250,000 e-books from Apple’s iBookstore, but it’s the iPad numbers that matter. While the iPad had a solid first day of sales, the numbers weren’t exactly “magical.”

Just yesterday, sites like Apple 2.0 were reporting estimates by financial analysts like Gene Munster of between 600,000 and 700,000 iPad sales over the weekend. Given first day sales, and considering Best Buy was closed on Sunday, as well as some Apple Stores, that seems highly unlikely now.

Without knowing Sunday’s likely drastically reduced sales, an exact count for the launch weekend can’t be had, but 300,000 is the number that Apple wants the focus to be on. The original iPhone sold 270,000 units during its first weekend. While it’s true both iPhone 3G and 3GS sold more than a million units on launch, both launches were international. So the iPad outsold the iPhone on launch day, but who bought those iPads may prove more interesting.

Again via Apple 2.0, of the 448 iPad buyers surveyed by Piper Jaffray, some 74 percent were Mac users. As Mac users represent only a tenth of the personal computer users in the U.S., that could be problematic. However, a much bigger problem exists for Amazon, with 13 percent of respondents owning Kindles already and buying iPads. Perhaps the iPad will become the multi-purpose device for content consumption, eliminating single-purpose devices like the Kindle. That would definitely help overcome any “PC gap” the iPad might face and measurably boost future sales.

But today, Apple has sold more than 300,000 iPads, more than the original iPhone, and even more could have been sold had the 3G iPad been available. And yet, despite outselling the iPhone, there just isn’t the same sense of “game changer” that the came inside the box with the iPhone.

Content and Source is copyrighted by: http://theappleblog.com/2010/04/05/day-one-300000-ipads-sold/