It’s been confirmed, Super Bowl XLV will not be the first one with a full HD 3D broadcast (no gimmicky 3D commercials this year either, you can put the paper glasses away) despite featuring a halftime show by James Cameron’s BFFs, the Black Eyed Peas. Still, considering what happened the last time they tried 3D at the House That Jerry Jones Built it’s probably for the best. Still, just because you don’t have one of Cowboys Stadium’s record breaking HD screens you should still enjoy the game in style. In 2011 that means going beyond just the screen, the sounds and the seats — we’ll tell you how after the break.
So you’ve got a love for tech, right? And you might just happen to also have a love for that big giant game at the end of the American football season, right? The one that the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to be going head-to-head in, the one whose name we’re not allowed to speak because of legal ramifications? That one. You’ll be watching that one, and you’ll want something gigantic to watch it on. How about a big fat Toshiba television? We just happen to have one to give away. Would you like one?
Contest begins at 8:01 a.m. PT on Monday, January 31, 2011 and end at 11:59 p.m. PT on Thursday, February 3, 2011 (“Entry Period”). Winners will be announced on Friday, February, 4, 2011.
2. Follow @ToshibaTV and @SlashGear on Twitter and twitpic an original photo (with @ToshibaTV and @SlashGear in your tweet) that demonstrates his or her football team spirit using the #toshball hashtag.
Limit one (1) entry per person.
PRIZE: One (1) Toshiba 46WX800U Cinema Series 3D LCD NetTV. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”): $1,470.49. ARV – Basically a 46” 3D TV.
Be sure to read the huge PDF file of the official rules to make sure you’ve got all your legal business in order. Win this TV, and have an awesome time watching all kinds of football then use it to play all kinds of video games: SlashGear-com-Toshiba-TV-Sweepstakes-v-1-28-111.pdf
Nike invited SlashGear down to the Cowboys Stadium this week, and while we didn’t get to play any football, we did get an early look at the company’s next-gen uniforms and cleats. The Nike Air Zoom Alpha Talon Cleat has been completely reworked, with extending forefoot sections that add extra traction when necessary, while the 2011 Nike Pro Combat Uniforms feature carbon fiber plating for customizable protection.
NFL players Ndamukong Suh, Clay Matthews, Dwayne Bowe, Felix Jones and Steven Jackson launched the new uniforms, which will be worn by University of Oregon, Boise State University, and University of Florida collegiate teams this coming season. As well as the adaptive traction system, the Zoom Alpha Talon cleats have Flywire uppers, low-profile cushioning and Nike’s own Pro Deflex padding around the ankle.
Meanwhile, the Pro Combat System uses the same Pro Deflex padding for better thermoregulation, complete with two-way airflow and improved wicking. Intended to be worn under a jersey, there’s a Flywire collar to hold it in place, along with extra hip and knee Pro Deflex padding for impact protection.
Ah, so now we understand Verizon’s intentions to hastily roll out LTE service to NFL cities. The NFL, which has sided with Sprint over the years when it comes to cellular distribution of content, is apparently in even deeper talks with newfound partner Big Red in order to get its prized content into even more hands. As the idea of watching NFL games on-the-go because more and more sensible, the league is apparently mulling the decision to distribute games (and potentially more) on the next big thing. You know, tablets. Brian Rolapp, the NFL’s senior vice president of media strategy, recently said the following: “The NFL will be on a tablet. It’s a question of what shape or form. We are currently talking to Verizon about it.” VZW declined to comment on the rumblings, but it’s really not a shocker — the carrier’s doing everything it can to get a live LTE network here in the States, and inking a deal with America’s most popular sporting league would obviously bring in boatloads of revenue. The real question is this: what tablet is the NFL eying, and if it’s not the Samsung Galaxy Tab, what’s Verizon’s second tablet going to be? Inquiring minds would love to know.
Solar power can charge a lot of different things out there, and now we know that they can bend to make whatever shape we want. So, with that in mind, why wouldn’t someone out there create the world’s first-ever solar powered soccer ball? When we first heard about it, we were pretty confused: why, exactly, would a soccer ball need to be powered by the sun? Well, thankfully the answer is pretty outstanding.
As you can see, the ball itself is clear — it’s those black pentagonal-shaped patched that showcase the solar power tech. They are the same size and shape as traditional black pentagonal-shaped patches on soccer balls, so besides the clear aesthetics, no one would know anything’s different about this ball. Unless you go with that white version in the background — that one just looks strange with those white panels. Joseph Lin is from Greendix, the company behind the solar powered soccer ball, had this to say about the project:
“The main goal of this project was to prove that solar panels can be integrated into any object that we interact with on a daily basis and to push the limits of what is possible with solar panels.”
So, why does the ball have solar panels? Other than the project itself, there had to be a reason, right? Well, thanks to the solar panels, the ball has built-in motion sensors that work, and there’s an audio device implanted in the ball as well. The goal (no pun intended) is to make it so visually impaired folks can have their fun on the pitch. Each time the ball is kicked, it emits a “tracking sound,” so that anyone can find it while it flies across the field. A company called Sonelis out of California is handling the distribution, but there’s no word when the solar soccer ball will get mass produced.
We’d heard that the NFL would be bringing the RedZone channel to phones this season, and it looks like Verizon was the highest bidder: NFL Mobile will launch on Big Red next month with the draft, complete with live streaming video of the event, on-demand video analysis from NFL Network, a pick-by-pick draft tracker, and other content. Once the season starts, customers will get RedZone, live streams of Sunday night and Thursday night games, on-demand video highlights and analysis, live home and away radio broadcasts, fantasy info, and the usual nasty ringtones and graphics. That’s a ton of content, and it certainly makes Sprint’s NFL package seem a little light in comparison — we’ll have to see what pricing is like and what devices this’ll run on closer to launch, however. Bring on the draft!
Update: We just confirmed that NFL Mobile will be exclusive to Verizon for the next four years, which means Sprint customers are out of luck. Verizon paid a pretty penny for the rights: the Wall Street Journal values the deal at $720 million.
The NFL has announced that it’ll be bringing its all-action, all-the-time RedZone content to cellphones in time for next season, offering tons of game-day coverage on the go to anyone willing to pay the price. Thing is, said price hasn’t been announced — but if it’s reasonable, it could put a pretty big dent in the value of Sprint’s existing relationship with the NFL, which brings free live and archived content to subscribers of its Simply Everything plans. Also worried, of course, are the NFL’s traditional content distribution partners — the major networks like CBS and FOX — but realistically, we can’t see ourselves choosing to watch a whole game on a 3-inch display over a 50-inch in high def. With one hand holding the phone, how are we going to hang on to the beer and grub?
