Today Google is announcing the wider availability of Google Gadgets in ad format, something that has been in testing for months. Several advertisers are cited as happy beta partners, including Intel, Six Flags, and a fizzy beverage company.
Google Tests Gadget Ads
Google is testing a program to put ads in Google Gadgets on websites. The Gadget would basically be a non-traditional ad unit, one with interactive parts as opposed to a pitch and a link.
New Google Talk Gadget Goes Live
In a departure from the negative publicity surrounding the company this week, Google announced the launch of its instant messaging gadget today. The Google Talk gadget can be embedded in a user’s personalized Google homepage or on any other webpage or blog simply by adding a line of code.
Gadget Spark – Great Marketing Idea
Do you ever hear of a new marketing idea and think to yourself, ‘Man – wish I had thought of that!’?
William Cross, who many of you may know from SeoFox, sent me a press release concerning the launch of his new company, Gadget Spark. Gadget Spark is the first company out the door to market custom Gadgets for the Windows Vista Sidebar.
According to Microsoft,
Yahoo Drops Search Gadget Into The Vista
The Yahoo Desktop Products team released the Yahoo Search Gadget for Windows Vista this week, the company’s only Vista-only product.
The Search Gadget works from the Windows Vista sidebar, bypassing the need to open a separate web browser. Users can access Web search, Yahoo Answers, Local, and Video from the gadget.
Jonathan Strauss of the Yahoo Desktop Products team writes:
Wii Tops iPod For Most Wanted Christmas Gadget
A glut of web searches for the Nintendo Wii has made it the most desirable gadget for Christmas, surpassing the perennial iPod for the top spot. To emphasize this point, the Wii was launched in the UK last week and it sold all 50000 of the available consoles in 12 hours, making the sale rate for the Wii at 1 console sold per second.
Go Go Katie Couric Google Gadget
Just when you thought it was safe to load up the Google Personalized Homepage, CBS and Google have released a new gadget featuring the network’s new anchor.
TechCrunch Adds New Gadget Site
If you’re a subscriber to Engadget or Gizmodo, or both, there’s a new gadget site to add to your reading list – CrunchGear.
When Google’s Gadget Didn’t Self-Destruct
Ron Garret at Xooglers, the ex-Google employee blog, gave up an interesting insider story about the Google Search Appliance from his perspective as a Google customer while at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Disney Goes The Gadget Route
An ESPN branded Sanyo mobile handset and a new MP3 player for the kiddie market have emerged from the House of Mouse.