The biggest Apple expo in the world is moving to a new date for 2014 in order to avoid the Super Bowl and CES. Macworld/iWorld 2014 has been rescheduled for March 27th through March 29th.
Last year’s Macworld/iWorld expo was held from January 31st to February 2nd, which coincided with the Super Bowl and is only a few weeks removed from CES and holiday travel.
Apple has introduced new short URLs for the App Store, making links to iOS apps and games much simpler to remember, and easier to read. Like its short URLs for the iTunes Store, you can now tell which app you have been linked to before you’ve even clicked on it. The new system has already been put to good use, making its debut during a Super Bowl commercial for the Star Trek app.
No, that headline isn’t wrong — Samsung has actually made a Galaxy commercial for the Super Bowl that doesn’t such. It features Knocked Up stars Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd, who play two writers pitching ideas for Samsung’s next commercial to Breaking Bad’s Bob Odenkirk.
It doesn’t mock other companies or rival devices, and it’s actually pretty hilarious. Check it out below.
Following Apple’s Google’s leap into 3D mapping technologies, Amazon has acquired a 3D mapping startup of its own. The online retail giant today sealed a deal to purchase UpNext in a move that could signal the company’s intentions to bring 3D maps to its Kindle Fire slate without any assistance from Google.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgfknZidYq0
Samsung’s bashing of iPhone users is becoming a regular occurrence. Its latest swipe came during yesterday’s Super Bowl, when it ran a commercial for its new, super-sized Galaxy Note smartphone, which sports a huge 5.3-inch display and includes a stylus.
Yes, “it’s got a pen!”
As part of its annual promotion to get more Americans to cram nacho cheese-flavored asbestos triangles down their gob during halftime, Doritos throws a Crash The Super Bowl contest where they invite fans to make their own commercials. Win the contest and your winning ad gets aired during the Super Bowl.
I don’t usually pay attention to stuff like this, but this entry for the contest is just wonderful. It portrays Siri (or a Siri-like) as a magical genie in a smartphone capable of automatically beaming bags full of Doritos, a festive sombrero or even three hot, bikini-clad girls into a bro’s apartment at just a long press of the home button, no questions asked.
The only problem? In Dorito’s land, Siri’s speech-to-text transcription abilities have a couple of small auditory processing kinks to work out. The result? A guy’s request for hot wild girls leads to him being torn apart by… well, you’ve got to see it for yourself. Brilliant.
Motorola’s Super Bowl ad for its Xoom tablet — one of the first serious iPad contenders — is replete with Apple references: 1984, Lemmings, white earbuds. But where Apple’s TV ads for the iPad are practical and concrete, Motorola’s is cryptic and confused.
Reminds me of Palm’s weird, ethereal ads for the Pre, which bombed. It’s not good sign.
Plus, the device will reportedly cost $800 with a $20 per month data plan. There’s no WiFi-only model. From our hands-on at CES, the hardware looks OK, but we couldn’t test the software: Moto was showing an unfinished unit..
Apple advertising has intersected with the NFL over the years. As we endure the countdown to Super Bowl XLV on a (thankfully snow-free) Sunday morning here in the States, a look back at some Apple ads either related to football or which ran during the Big Game itself.
The very popular I’m-A-Mac campaign gave the glory to the Referee in one spot, that unsung hero and arbiter of the game. The battle then was Leopard vs. Vista, and the ref got the call right!
If you’re like me, you probably can’t watch TV without a computer in your lap. And if you’re be watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, there’s a pretty cool iPad app that will enhance the game — and the commercials.
The free Vualla Social TV Companion is a one-stop shop for all the online goodies surrounding the game.
Wanna talk smack on Twitter? It includes a Twitter client, as well as FaceBook and chat. There are news feeds from ESPN and other sources, Twitter updates from the locker room, Flickr photos from fans at the game, and instant replays (both plays and commercials) – plus a bunch more.
The idea is to have an easy way to do all the things we now do while watching TV (Twittering, checking the news). The company plans to roll out more apps for upcoming sports events as well as popular shows like American Idol and Glee. I think it looks pretty cool. Here’s a quick video tour I just got from Kevin Brown of Stage Two:
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