3D Baseball Cards

There has been a definite move by a number of high profile business to encorporate augmented reality / immersive visual elements to their products, and I for one am seriously excited about it. Lego and GE Smart Grid have both done it fantastically, but it may be Topps Baseball Cards that are set to blow eveyone out of the water. Their new '3D live' Baseball Cards are being billed with the ability to 'put players in your hands'.

While on the Topps site, if a user holds one of their '3D live' Baseball Cards infront of their web-cam they will be able to see a 3D representation of that player come to life. News is that the player will also perform a number of 3D animations - pitching for pitchers, batting for batters etc.

Total Immersion, the guys behind the '3D live' Baseball Cards technology have a great site, filled with more info on the hows and whys.



Thanks to Sheena here in the office for sharing this one :)

The Return of JD Quench, Again!

Check out Richie's coverage of the return of our favourite thirst quenching hero, JD Quench.

No designer necessary!

Google's words, not mine; but this is the main focus of the call to action for Google's new display ad builder tool. Having said that, any way that costs can be kept down are worth considering these days. Having tried it, I can, however, say that this is definitely not one of them.

I find the tool itself lacking. No matter how good your design skills the functionality is simply not there to produce ads worthy of any brand I know of. Not surprising then that Google have launched a competition to encourage its use. There is $1,000 of Advertising up for grabs from Google to let them see just how creative advertisers can be using this tool.

The first place winner, based on the creativity of their ad and innovation in using the tool, will win $1,000 in AdWord credit. So if you fancy a go just fill out their entry form. Entries close March 24.

USB Cable Card Reader

For once I've decided to share a bit of technology not because I think it's awesome or cutting-edge, but instead because I think it's totally pointless. Someone has come up with the idea to combine a USB cable and the memory card reader - the 2-in-1 SD(HC) Card Reader Cable. All I ask is why?

This is a mini USB cable containing an integrated SD card reader lying mid-way between the two ends. So basically you have a regular USB cable but when you put a memory card into the reader data transfer is disabled between the connected USB device and the PC, however charging will continue as normal.

Some Great Reading

Just thought I'd throw together some links of the interesting things I've read lately...

• Seth Godin talking about how and why he does what he does, over on More Then Market Research
• Coverage of this months Vanity Fair shoot with Jonah, Paul, Seth and Jason (among others) on my modern Metropolis
• Ninja Bunnies on technabob
• Crazy small USB Key on View Gadgets
• Awesome photo
• Harper's Index of 'marketing'

Sunday Links

Check out the following sites that didn't cut the Friday's Best of the Web grade........

New Heineken TV ad
UK Tribes
Right Music Wrongs
Doodle Bra

LG Watch Phone

I posted a little while ago about the LG Watch Phone. At the time it wasn't clear if the watch would really make it into production, but it has now been confirmed that the LG G910 watch phone will be available on the Orange network in the UK before the end of the year (no price or contract details are available yet).

Unlike other watch-cellphones it won't require a Bluetooth headset, and will be equiped with a built-in speaker, microphone and 1.43 inch screen. The watch will also be internet-enabled.