Gizmodo: gimmicks

NBC Explains Why We Won't Have Headaches Watching 3D Super Bowl Ads Tonight

Jack Loftus — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST

Advertisers promise "moving" 3D cameras will keep our eyes from jumping out of our skulls and running away in pain during the Big Game. Let's hope so, as there are two such ads planned tonight.

The NBC Nightly News clip below features the two ads, as well as the technology behind them. As much as the Reality Digital guy tells us the moving cameras will make the viewing experience "comfortable," I'm still seeing annoying paper glasses and blurry imagery, just like I did when they tried to revive this back in the 90s.

Bonus trivia: All Dreamworks animated films will be 3D from now on.

And don't forget, we tackled 3D, glasses and all, back in November. Read it. [NBC Nightly News via I4U]

Sleep Partner Acupuncture Bracelet Is Heavy On Snake Oil, Lacks Needles

Jack Loftus — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST

As far as we can tell, this watch doesn't actually stab your wrist at all, which is a shame, because anything that advertises itself as an acupuncture bracelet had better be breaking some skin. Which it doesn't, but there's a healthy amount of BS being tossed your way should you put it on and try to use it to get better sleep.

Touted as a "drug free" way to get some Z's, the Sleep Partner supposedly uses varying degrees of pressure to stimulate acupuncture points on the wrist.

Other magical properties include the ability to make $40 disappear from your wallet; as well as the ability to break soon after purchase and never work again.

The marketing materials suggest you don this bracelet 30 minutes before bed so it can normalize your body clock, eliminate insomnia, and knock you out just long enough so the Sleep Partner folks can clean out your place of residence. OK, you caught me. I made up the part about insomnia. [Expert Verdict]

Dad's Cab Family Taxi Meter Will Make Your Children Cringe

Adrian Covert — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:59:00 EDT

The Dad's Cab Meter is a fake taxi fare counter for parental chauffeurs, made so they can guilt/embarrass their ingrate children into doing chores for them. The meter incrementally increases the pretend fare and comes with a stack of fare receipts that have chores the kids can do as payment (har har har). It's kinda like those redonkulous moments on The Cosby Show where the entire family would participate in a role-play with some sort of real-world moral to it, except not anywhere as funny. Dad's Cab is $18, but in the grand scheme of things, mortifying your children is priceless. [Gizoo via Coolest Gadgets via Dvice]

ASIMO Robot 'Conducts' Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Adam Frucci — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:45:00 EDT

Asimo, Honda's consistently-unimpressive robot that they awkwardly walk out for press conferences to prove to everyone that they're working on vague, future-related projects, is at it again! This time, he's been spotted "conducting" Yo-Yo Ma and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, caught here on NBC's Today Show. It's all quite ridiculous and probably not a little insulting to real-life conductors, but on the up side, Honda donates $1 million to the DSO to improve its music education programs, which is something even my grizzled, jaded heart can't frown upon. [Asimo on Giz]

Sandwich Phone is Great in a Detached, Ironic Sort of Way

Adam Frucci — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:54:03 EST

If you liked the burger phone from Juno but don't want to be seen as the type of person who just buys something because it was featured in a trendy movie, despite clearly being that type of person, don't sweat it. Here's a sandwich phone. It's equally stupid/ironic, but it'll make you look at least a little bit like a true original. Just don't get your 16-year-old friend pregnant; she's much less cute and funny than Ellen Page, and let's face it, you're no Michael Cera. Also, you're probably over 18 and that's gross and illegal. Just stick to the phone. [Product Page via Textually]

Digital LED Fan Isn't any Colder than a Normal Fan

Adam Frucci — Thu, 10 May 2007 19:00:00 EDT

This fan uses LEDs to display the temperature on its whirring blades. That way you can look over at it and realize just how hot it is and that you should have bought air conditioning instead of a gimmicky fan. Nice work, idiot. –Adam Frucci

Product Page [via Book of Joe]

Mitsubishi Intros Swiveling LCD TVs, Finds Sexy Babe to Demonstrate

Charlie White — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 11:24:10 EDT

Mitsubishi, in a desperate move to differentiate its LCDs from all the others, released a line of swiveling LCD TVs that use a small servo to rotate the set toward you when you push a button on its remote control.

Huh? Wouldn't you just point the television set toward you before you sit down? And if you're moving around, you're already up, so you could rotate the TV accordingly. This is just dopey, but we certainly like the proud posture of the cute young lady displaying it. – Charlie White

Mitsubishi swiveling LCD TVs [Newlaunches]

Flaunt Your Wealth With The AMEX Butterfly Card

Gizloco — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 16:49:42 EDT

It's no Black Card, but it's still something you can whip it out to impress passersby. The American Express Butterfly Card is a standard credit card that's available to members of AMEX's Gold Card members. What makes it so special, what makes our hearts sing, is that it folds in half, letting you store it inside of a svelte, metallic case the size of a keychain.

You can tell by the PR pictures on the AMEX Web site that the Butterfly Card is meant to be some sort of status symbol. And of course, who doesn't have friends who would be impressed by a folding piece of colored plastic?

At the end of the day, it's probably nothing more than a gimmick, but as we've seen time and time again, gimmicks can take off if properly managed. – Nicholas Deleon

Butterfly from American Express [American Express via OhGizmo!]