Google is attempting to file a patent that would thrust smartphone users into Orwell’s “1984.” TheNextWeb reported on Wednesday that the search giant is looking to patent a technology that can analyze the background noise during mobile phone calls and then serve up advertisements based on the environmental conditions Google hears. In short, the company’s famous “don’t be evil” motto may soon evolve into “we are going to listen to your phone calls to make money....

Microsoft has started to run anti-Google newspaper ads in a clear effort to sway people from using Google’s services. On Monday, Google announced that it was combining its individual privacy policies to make privacy “more intuitive” for its users. The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee was worried that Google was actually collecting more information under its new rules, but Google responded to those claims and said it was not actually collecting more data. Microsoft isn’t convin...

Samsung announced on Monday that the company will be launching the Galaxy Note smartphone with a 90-second Super Bowl commercial, which will be the first-ever Super Bowl ad in the technology giant’s 71-year history. “During the past six months we’ve launched the Galaxy S II, Galaxy Nexus and now the Galaxy Note super phone in North America bringing unparalleled innovation to the marketplace,” said Todd Pendleton, Samsung‘s American Chief Marketing Officer. “The Galaxy Note ushers in th...

While smartphone users in general may eventually be caught in the crossfire brought about by Apple and Samsung’s patent battles, a very specific group of smartphone users has become collateral damage in Samsung’s new anti-iPhone advertising campaign: baristas. Samsung’s first run in its new campaign included a quick poke at a creative barista, but now the men and women who serve up hot coffee on a daily basis are the focus of Samsung’s playful attack. Dubbed “Urban Camping,”...

Google recently confirmed that YouTube now receives more than 4 billion video views per day. Reuters reported the news Monday morning and noted that the site has seen a 25% increase in videos viewed per day since May. Google, which owns YouTube, also confirmed that there are more than 60 hours of fresh video uploaded each minute, up from the 48 hours of video added per minute in May. Advertisements on videos generate roughly $5 billion in revenue each year, Reuters said, but just 3 billion videos feature ...

Following Samsung’s recent run of television advertisements depicting iPhone users as mindless hipster sheep, the company’s ad firm is back with another spot that again takes aim at Apple fans. The new ad shows iPhone 4 owners camped outside an Apple Store waiting for the latest iPhone model to finally go on sale. As people in line watch the first iPhone 4S unboxing video from London, they’re disappointed to learn that the phone “looks like last year’s phone.” Then when a G...

Apple’s first television advertisement for the iPhone 4S began airing on Thursday and it bills the new smartphone as Apple’s most amazing iPhone yet. Titled simply “Assistant,” the ad places Apple’s new virtual personal assistant Siri front and center as it rapidly passes through a montage of iPhone 4S owners calling on Siri for help. One man asks Siri how to tie a bow tie, while a concerned woman asks for the fastest route to Hartford Hospital. A businessman asks Siri to resched...

Two leaked advertisements for one of Nokia’s first Windows Phones have been published by Pocketnow. The ads refer to the device as the “Nokia 800,” which could be the “Sea Ray” that has surfaced several times. One of the images also suggests the Nokia 800 is equipped with an 8-megapixel camera, although other specifications are still unknown. There is a blue Nokia 800 in the second image, which implies the phone will be, in typical Nokia fashion, available in several different c...

A developer named Michael Lee Johnson recently decided to advertise his Google+ profile on Facebook. Unfortunately, it might not have panned out as well as Johnson had hoped. Johnson’s self-made advertisement, which said “If you’re lucky enough to have a Google+ account, add Michael Lee Johnson, Internet Geek, App Developer, Technological Virtuoso” under the headline “Add Michael to Google+”  was pulled by Facebook shortly after he posted it. Worse, Facebook took the matte...

Samsung is starting to advertise its new flagship Android smartphone, the Galaxy S II. In its first commercial spot, the Galaxy S II’s screen is portrayed as being so realistic, you are compelled to drown it in a tank of water… or something like that. The twenty-one second spot pimps the phone’s Super AMOLED Plus prowess, albeit in a rather boring fashion. Regardless, if you’re interested in seeing the G-rated commercial it’s waiting for you after the break. (more…)

Following T-Mobile’s announcement that its 3G HSPA+ network is now its 4G HSPA+ network, the company has already stepped up its marketing in several areas. Our favorite, without question, is a new ad the carrier is running for the T-Mobile myTouch 4G. The ad mirrors the style of Apple’s “I’m a Mac” campaign, and takes shots directly at Apple’s iPhone and the “old AT&T network” the popular handset is apparently forced to carry on its back. The spot goes on to...

If you’re a webOS/Palm Pre die-hard, and looking forward to the refinements of the Pre 2, we have a little something for you. It looks like a thirty second advert for the updated, pebble-shaped handset has made its way onto YouTube. The official spot, dubbed Sizzle, features some of the new niceties in webOS 2.0 and several critical applications — including Angry Birds and Facebook. The clip is waiting for you after the jump. Enjoy.[Via PocketNow] (more…)

At a press conference on Tuesday, Google confirmed that by the end of the year, YouTube will give users the option to skip the pre-roll ads that launch before a video. The online video giant will also implement an ad selection feature that will allow users to select an ad that they find appealing prior to watching a longer-format video. YouTube will only pay for ads that have been watched, so advertisers that want a slice of the growing YouTube ad revenue will have to create compelling ads that users want to ...

Last July, Microsoft and Yahoo announced a search deal that would bring Bing to Yahoo, Yahoo to Bing, and place Yahoo in charge of the big advertisement deals for the two search engines. After simmering in the regulatory system for seven long months, the partnership has finally received approval from both the US and the EU regulatory bodies. Big changes are in store for Yahoo as the search portal will now be powered by Bing with identical search results being served up by both search engines. The two portals ...