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Want to know how well brands are performing with their Super Bowl advertising campaigns? Probably not; that sounds a bit dull after all.

But how’s about seeing how well brands are performing by seeing little cartoon worms (complete with gridiron helmets) popping out of their holes? We know – awesome, right?

And that’s exactly what social media monitoring company Brandwatch is offering for Super Bowl XLVI with its live data visualisation of the Twitter buzz surrounding the big match’s advertisers.

Each worm on the constantly updating website represents a different brand and, every time one pops up, it means that someone has mentioned that brand’s campaign on the micro-blogging platform. It even deciphers which tweets are positive, which are neutral and which negative. The worm in possession of the football tells you which brand is creating the most hype.

There have already been more than 2 million tweets, with Volkswagen leading the way thanks to its Star Wars dogs ad teaser. You can also see each brand’s performance over the past 28 days and an estimate of just how much money they have all spent on their campaigns.

If you fancy getting involved and tweeting about the Super Bowl, add #bwcheerleader to your tweet and you’ll unleash a hidden cheerleader on to the site as well. Marvellous.

Check out the fun for yourself over at labs.brandwatch.com/superbowl

Tags: Online Twitter Brandwatch Super Bowl superbowl

Brandwatch buzzing for Super Bowl XLVI Twitter hype originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:01:00 +0000

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Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, the single-player role-playing game due for release by Electronic Arts on 10 February, is the forerunner to a MMO that has been in development since 2006. There had been confusion over whether developer 38 Games would continue with its original plans for an online game set in the same world, but executive art director Todd McFarlane has confirmed to Pocket-lint that the multi-player game is still on the cards.

In addition, the comic book figurehead and toy manufacturer explained to us that the standalone EA title is actually a prequel to the MMO Kingdoms of Amalur (codenamed “Copernicus”) and is set 1,000 years beforehand.

Speaking about Curt Schilling, former World Series-winning baseball pitcher and founder of 38 Games, McFarlane explained that the origin of KoA was solely as an MMO: “He wanted to do, initially, an online fantasy game, so R.A. [Salvadore, the fantasy author] and I started and we started developing the MMO game.”

But when Schilling bought Big Huge Games – a company formerly owned by THQ which was developing its own RPG – the studio decided also to turn its attention to a single-player game. “He decided, ‘Hey, why don’t I develop two games at once. One on the console and still continue the MMO game’,” McFarlane said.

“And R.A. Salvadore had done such an extensive back story that spanned 10,000 years, it was fairly easy for us to then say, ‘Let’s just back this up about 1,000 years and use some of the same elements, show what the world will look like from a different point of view’. Of course, it’ll all be new to the customers.”

However, while there will be a Kingdoms of Amalur MMO game eventually, McFarlane will not be using his comic book or toy-making skills to create merchandise around the property. At least, not yet. “Curt was very ambitious at the very beginning,” he said. “His hope is that you have Reckoning 4 some day, and along with that, there would be the comics, the novels and the toys. Maybe a full-length feature movie. He’s pretty ambitious about it. But we have to put out a product that’s worthy of attention first.

“The consumers will basically tell us whether we got it right or wrong. And the demand from that will tell us whether we get to do the other?ancillary?stuff.”?

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning will be available on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 from 10 February.

Tags: Gaming Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning Xbox 360 PC PS3 Electronic Arts Todd McFarlane 38 Studios

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning confirmed to be prequel to MMO originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:29:00 +0000

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Motorola kicked off 2012 by announcing the arrival of both the?Motorola Defy Mini and Motorola Motoluxe budget Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)?handsets, and the latter of the two is landing in the UK this month.

The Motorola Motoluxe has a 4-inch touchscreen display. The resolution isn’t exactly high-end but, for a handset that is likely to appeal to the limited purse-strings of the tween market,?480×854 is none too shabby either.

In the engine room is a single-core 800MHz?processor?and there’s 512MB of RAM on board so this should be plenty for basic app running, listening to music and watching back a bit of stored video. Over the top of Android is the MotoSwitch user interface so there’s plenty of social network fun built-in.

It features an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera with autofocus and an LED flash and boasts a funky illuminated lanyard slot that gives a different colour indication depending on whether you’ve received a text, missed a call or have an email waiting.

There’s a front-facing camera for video calling too and its?1400mAh battery offers up to 6.5 hours of talk time or 19 days of standby time. It will be available in?liquorice?or white colour schemes.

No pricing of network availability as of yet but it is definitely hitting the shops this month. We’ll let you know when we know more.

Tags: Phones Motorola Motoluxe Motorola

Motorola Motoluxe February launch for the UK originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:14:23 +0000

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When I Look At You

• Artist: Miley Cyrus
• Label: Hollywood Records, Universal Music Spain, Vale Music
• Director: Marc Roussel

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When it comes of Special Edition Xbox 360 consoles, the Star Wars version has to sit at the top of the tree. Gears of War and Call of Duty have pretty much passed into gaming folklore, but Star Wars is a different beast altogether.

The Star Wars Xbox 360 Limited Edition console arrives in celebration of Kinect Star Wars and naturally, this is a Kinect version of the Xbox, with a 320GB hard drive.?

The artwork on the Xbox itself reflects some of the detailing from R2-D2′s paint job in blue and white. It’s instantly recognisable and looks great sitting in your lounge. The white matching Kinect with black panels in the underside looks every inch like an Imperial Stormtrooper.?

There is a small hidden detail too. Press the eject button to open the disc tray – accompanied by R2-D2 sound effects – and you’ll find Star Wars’ perhaps most iconic line inscribed inside: “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”

The sound effects add a touch of difference too. As we’ve seen in other Special Edition Xbox consoles, both the power and the eject buttons emit noises when touched, although not when you use the controller or UI to switch the power off or eject the disc.

Finally you have the controller. It’s finished in gold to reflect, literally, C-3PO’s highly polished gold plating. Running around the back you’ll find coloured wiring to look like the droid’s exposed midriff.

If we’ve one negative comment about the controller, it’s that the gold finish is glossy and therefore doesn’t give you the same surface grip as the regular controller. You’ll also have to polish those grubby fingerprints off it, but neither is too much to ask and the underside is regular textured black, so feels like the normal controllers do.

Of course, if you’re getting the Star Wars Xbox 360 console you’ll get your hands on Kinect Star Wars too, and for that you won’t need the C-3PO controller, so it can sit, polished, where everyone can gaze at its brilliance.

To round out the kit you get a black headset and all the normal cables and connections, making this quite a package for Star Wars fans young and old. Of course, we couldn’t help snapping it from every side and shooting a quick video, so be sure to check both out.?

The Kinect Star War Xbox 360 Limited Edition will be landing on 3 April 2012 and will cost you ?349.99. If you can’t stretch to a whole new console, you’ll be able to get the Kinect Star Wars game for ?39.99.

The Kinect Star Wars bundle is available at all participating retailers.

Tags: Gaming Xbox 360 Star Wars Photos Video Kinect Star Wars

Kinect Star Wars Xbox 360 Limited Edition pictures, video and hands-on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:02:00 +0000

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Logitech has taken the covers off of its latest assault on your desktop – the Logitech Touch Mouse M600.

When Apple announced the Magic Trackpad back in 2010, many people thought it could spell the end for the simple mouse. If anything though, Apple’s new peripheral has simply upped the evolution process of the humble mouse bringing it kicking, screaming and, most importantly, gesturing into the 21st century.

The M600 takes on the likes of Microsoft and its Explorer Touch Mouse and Apple’s very-own gesture-friendly Magic Mouse by throwing in extra control options to sit alongside the usual point and click mix.

Its touch surface allows you to navigate intuitively with your fingers allowing you to scroll through web pages and images simply by swiping your digits. It’s also ambidextrous; designed for righties and lefties alike with click areas that can easily be reassigned with Logitech SetPoint software.

“People are growing accustomed to using fingertip gestures to navigate on their smartphones and tablets,” said Todd Walker, brand manager for Logitech. “In fact, for many people these gestures have become second nature. The Logitech Touch Mouse M600 reflects this evolution in how we interact with the digital world and extends to the computer what have become natural, intuitive motions.”

The Dixons group has a three month exclusivity period on the M600, where it will sell for a penny shy of ?60.

?

Tags: PC accessories Logitech Mice And Keyboards Mouse Logitech Touch Mouse M600

Logitech Touch Mouse M600 scrolls in originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:28:38 +0000

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The original Reckless Racing was a straightforward piece of smartphone gaming addictiveness. Based loosely on Radical Racing, a retro classic, it is a top down racer with an emphasis on drifting and crashing.?

Reckless Racing 2 sees the series return to form in a much improved guise. In depth car customisation, loads of new tracks, improved graphics and an even better drifting setup, reckless racing 2 is one of our favourite gaming apps on the iPhone.

Reckless Racing 2

Platform

iOS, Android

Price

?2.99

Where

Market/iTunes

Graphically RR2 is a bit of a stunner. It boasts big bold bright colours and car models which look nearly as good as that of Real Racing’s. The top-down view also lets you get a good view of all the on screen action as you bash around the track.?

The game is a very simple one at its core. Just go forwards and back, drifting around corners as quickly as you can. You will find you pick up gold in most of the early races doing just the above. Later on however and you are going to need to go into all sorts of customisation in order to build a car quick enough to take the win.?

This is where Reckless Racing really gets fun as the level of control you have over the car’s driving is pretty extensive. The more you play, the better you get at nailing exactly how you want the thing to drive. By the end you will be zooming round tracks in one constant powerslide.?

At ?2.99 the app is a tad more expensive than most, but it is worth the outlay for those who take mobile gaming seriously. Near Infinity Blade quality graphics and a good few hours worth of gameplay to get stuck into make it a worthy of a place on your phone’s home screen.?

Tags: Phones Mobile phones Apps App of the day

APP OF THE DAY: Reckless Racing 2 originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Sun, 05 Feb 2012 12:00:00 +0000

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It’s Microsoft’s last CES, we say goodbye, and will it have any major impact on the worlds largest electronics show. Short answer. No. The vote on SOPA gets delayed until 2012, just in time to try to make people forget. Plus, some of the Top 10 lists from the internet meme world! We love you Nyan Cat!

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EPISODE 1571

NEWS

-Mystery: Who killed the Microsoft CES keynote?

-The truth about microsoft and CES

-How SOPA’s ‘circumvention’ ban could put a target on Tor

-All the Companies Supporting SOPA, the Awful Internet Censorship Law–and How to Contact Them

-Apple nears German court rebuff in row with Samsung

-Hasbro sues Asus over Transformer Prime

-Checking in on the Kindle Fire: over-the-air update not a fix-all

-Kindle app update brings some Kindle Fire features to iPads

-Kindle Fire, Nook driving 7-inch display demand

ALSO THIS WEEK

-People: Steve Jobs awarded a Grammy

-Construction to begin soon on ‘prototype’ Apple store in downtown Palo Alto

-Google activating 700K Android devices every day

-Intel Shows Off Its Smart Phone and Tablet for 2012

-In-Car Video Chat And 4G Streaming From OnStar – at CES 2012

-Surprise — The Most Popular Facebook Game of 2011 Wasn’t Made by Zynga

-YouTubes 2011 greatest hits hosted by Rebecca Black

-The Best Viral Videos Of 2011: A Retrospective

STEPHEN’S VIDEO PICK OF THE YEAR

CNET TV BLOOPER REEL

http://cnettv.cnet.com/bloopers-2011-best-worst-cnet/9742-1_53-50116870.html

EMAILS

To make the gmail layout legible you have to click the gear (settings)
and pick compact. This makes it not look so bright. This should be the
default.

Now the redesign doesn’t make you dizzy at all.

Sent from my iPhone Joshua

—–

Hey Buzz Crew,

In a recent voicemail, Champ asked if the AT&T website made a mistake claiming the iPhone 4S is 4G. BT said yes, but it’s no mistake. AT&T includes HSPA+ in their definition of 4G. That said, how long are we going to keep counting the number of Gs in a phone? I’m over it.

Brad from Phoenix

—–

Hey its Blake ! Love the show…I was listening to some of your old episodes. And in ep.1556 y’all metioned that people send about 3200 or so texts a month. Well I JUST got a new phone Wednesday. I already have sent 7,421 Texts. Todays Saturday. That mean I sent about 1800 texts a day since wednesday. I also have an Unlimited 4G plans, so ontop of all the webbrowsing/streaming/apps/etc. I still text like a boss. Infact it took me about a minute to write all of this #TeenageSwag

Blake

—–

Mr. Stephen Beacham,

We are the 10 percent. We are getting forced to “convert” in elementary school. We have to choose between products that work well, but cost more, or products that work for everyone but us. We are denied quality cooking utensils. Our iPhones refuse to get service. We are seen as sinister. We have been ignored by the 90%.

On Thursday, December 8, 2011, we took the first step towards recognition. We occupied Twitter. By reversing the position of your tweet stream and sidebar, the 90% are forced to endure what the 10% must go through on a daily basis. So Mr. Beacham, when you call the new twitter “backwards” you are giving us just what we want. Who are we? We are the left handers of the world, and whether you like it or not, we are here to stay. We are the 10%.

~Joseph (southpaw spokesman)

P.S. If indeed you are left handed, those righties have gotten into your head. You’re not sitting at our table at lunch.

—–

http://bol.cnet.com, 800-616-2638 (CNET), buzz@cnet.com

Follow us on Twitter: @mollywood @brian_tong @stephenbeacham

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