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This is a few weeks old, but worth a mention—the fun introductory spot for Google Fiber by ad agency Venables, Bell & Partners in San Francisco. Google Fiber is the experimental broadband network that Google is building using fiber optics—Kansas City, Mo., is the guinea pig for the first piece of it. The launch spot continues Google's now-familiar habit of using handmade, analog models as metaphors for digital processes. In this case, Internet traffic is depicted as actual traffic, with little cars caught in traffic jams during the dial-up era, accelerating somewhat with broadband, and then finally exploding in a frenzy of speed on Hot Wheels-like tracks with Google Fiber—set to an infectious instrumental version of "Just What I Needed" by the Cars. VB&P teamed with production company 1stAveMachine on the ad—the same pair that produced the well-known gyroscope spot for Google Maps. Check out some more videos for Google Fiber—which is supposedly 100 times faster than what most Americans have today—after the jump.

Welcome to the future, PlayBook.

Over a year after its announcement, RIM has finally dropped the release date for the 4G LTE version  of its PlayBook tablet. Available in Canada August 9th, the device will be offered by Bell, Rogers, and Telus.

As expected, the device is almost identical to the non-4G PlayBook: It features a 7-inch display, HDMI out, a pair of cameras, and runs the latest version of the PlayBook operating system. RIM, however did upgrade the processor to 1.5 GHz, which edges out the 1GHz processor found in current models.

Notably, RIM isn’t going all-out on storage options: The 4G LTE PlayBook will only come with 32GB of storage, a move that echoes RIM’s decision to discontinue the 16GB version of the Wi-Fi PlayBook earlier this year.

For RIM, releasing a 4G LTE PlayBook is a clear sign that the company is still invested in the tablet space, something that investors and journalists have been skeptical off for a while.

Naturally, the biggest question on consumers minds (those of you that care, anyway) is this: When will the new PlayBook make an appearance elsewhere? RIM is mum on the details,  but we can expect announcements from the likes of AT&T and Verizon soon enough.

Filed under: mobile

Residents of the little town of Bethel, Alaska were the victims of an elaborate hoax last month when someone (the culprit is still at large) posted fake fliers around town announcing that a Taco Bell would be opening.  When it turned out that a Taco Bell wasn’t actually opening in the small Alaskan town, residents were understandably disappointed (I mean, who doesn’t love tacos?!).
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With the Atrix HD cat out of the bag for almost a week, Motorola is finally getting around to giving the Android phone the offical treatment.

Specs for the device are identical to the ones that were leaked previously: The device features a Gorilla Glass-protected 4.5-inch, 720p high-definition display, 8-megapixel camera, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and will run Android 4.0. No Jelly Bean, sadly. Another notable bit of info: At 8.4mm, the Atrix HD is bit thinner than the 8.9mm Droid Razr Maxx and far thinner than the 10mm Atrix 2. Clearly, Motorola’s engineers have made some big improvements.

The device is also the first from Motorola to feature the so-called “Circle Widget”, a homescreen addition that allows easy access to the weather, time, data usage, and battery status. While the feature sounds great in theory, we’ll withold judgement until we actually test it out.

Unfortunately, confirming previous reports, the Atrix HD’s battery features a 1,780 mAh battery, which, as we noted before, is sure to cause some issues with the device’s large display.

Motorola, however, did drop two big piece of new information: The Atrix HD will be exclusive to AT&T, which gives it access to AT&T’s fast 4G network. (It’ll come to Canadians via Bell.) What’s surprising, however, is that the device will only sell for $100 on-contract, which is half of what you’d expect it to cost. And here’s a question: Is anyone really going to pay attention to Nokia’s Lumia 900 when the much more capable Atrix HD is sitting right next to it? We’re not so sure.

While there was no word on when the device would be available, we can expect the news from AT&T and Bell fairly soon.

Filed under: mobile

With the pungent, gut-grinding scents of Taco Bell wafting on the icy breeze and the bass-heavy beat of Pitbull soon to shake snow from the trees, rural Alaska is getting more like the Lower 48 every day. Last week, we learned that Pitbull is primed for an "exile" in Kodiak thanks to a hijacked Facebook campaign. Now, we hear that the 6,000 or so residents of the equally obscure Alaskan community of Bethel, accessible only by river or air, were recently blessed by a Taco Bell promotion that saw 10,000 Doritos Locos Tacos (a total of 950 pounds of seasoned beef, 500 pounds of sour cream and 300 pounds each of lettuce and tomato) dropped from the sky like spicy manna from heaven. Actually, the food was flown in via military chopper and lowered to the ground in a branded truck. Seems the locals were bummed out after pranksters convinced them a Taco Bell store was opening in Bethel (it's not), and the chain—and its agency, Draftfcb Orange County—decided to cheer folks up. Judging from the clips, the effort was a big success, replacing, if only for a short time, the growling of Arctic bears and groaning of icy winds with the rumblings of achy yet satisfied stomachs.

Some pranksters (that may or may not be employed by Taco Bell and/or its ad agency, DraftFCB/Orange County) posted flyers in the small town of Bethel, Alaska announcing that a new Taco Bell would be opening on July 4th.

The flyers included a fake web address but a real phone number belonging to a local citizen, who ended up fielding many unwanted calls about possible jobs at the new fast food restaurant.

The hoax rocked enough boats to make the Anchorage paper, and the LA Times. After news of the hoax, and the hungry cries of a remote Alaska town, reached Orange County (assuming the whole thing didn’t originate there), the agency and Taco Bell stepped up.

It turns out residents of Bethel were truly stoked to get a Taco Bell in their town of 6000, considering the nearest Taco Bell is 400 miles away in Anchorage. So naturally, they were bummed to learn that they’d been duped.

Enter the thoughtful brand and its air-lifted taco truck, equipped to serve 10,000 free Doritos Locos Tacos to the Bethelites. Aslo enter the camera crews to catch it all on tape, so the whole corporate good will thing could be replayed in an ad campaign now running on TV.

Hat Tip: The Inspiration Room

When it comes to the revolution of producing original television-style content for the web, Hulu may be the best suited to actually make money.

The company announced today that it has reached an agreement to put one of its new original programs, Kevin Smith’s Spoilers movie review show, on traditional television sets. The distribution deal will allow the show to air on Bell Media-owned Canadian cable channel Space the same time each new episode premieres on Hulu’s website in the U.S.

The show itself, which premiered back in June, features film maker and geek icon Kevin Smith interviewing stars from summer blockbusters from an average fan’s perspective. It’s part of Hulu’s push for more original shows that are on par with those from the major TV networks, like Fox, ABC, NBC, CW, and Viacom.

Not only does the Spoilers deal mark Hulu’s first major international distribution deal, but it also shows the company’s commitment to gain additional revenue through the traditional television platform. Unlike Netflix, which wants to attract an audience to exclusive content not found anywhere else for the $7.99 per month price, Hulu’s business model actually benefits from putting its original shows on multiple platforms. The programming is set up to have commercial breaks, and Hulu also has the experience of wheeling and dealing with major networks to make these deals happen.

Hulu has also committed to selling international distribution rights for its original show A Day in the Life, as Variety notes.

The real question will be whether we ever see Hulu originals show up on cable TV stations in the U.S. My guess is that most cable networks aren’t going to be interested in a TV-only deal that doesn’t include distribution through its online channels. But who knows what the future holds.

Image via Hulu

Filed under: media, VentureBeat

Telefoons die nog groter zijn dan de Nokia 3310. Het lijkt onmogelijk, maar designer Brad Helmink dacht daar anders over. Zack Morris uit Saved By The Bell (Nickelodeon) toont precies het formaat aan waar aan gedacht moet worden. Tegenwoordig……

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