What is LG Magic Focus?

A camera feature that lets you change the focus point after taking a photo.

LG's 360 degree photo mode, similar to Google's Photosphere.

Could the McDonald's speaker work with any phone?

Yes, it was compatible with Android and iOS devices.

Is the Lumia 920 still sold?

No. Windows Phone has been discontinued, and Nokia never shipped an Android phone of that line.

Phone Commercials, Gadget Oddities and Tech Humour

LG commercials

Ad	What it showed
G Flex promo	A bizarre video that the author called far worse than a poor Galaxy Gear ad Samsung had released earlier.
LG G Pro 2 ad	A big improvement. A cute dog being photographed shows the Magic Focus feature, which lets you refocus a photo after it is taken.
Optimus G Pro (Korea)	A response to Apple's panorama commercial, copying its first half with "Kimchi" in place of "Cheese", then adding a 360 degree shot called VR Panorama, LG's take on Google's Photosphere.
LG G2 in Ukraine	A flash mob style presentation with dancers forming shapes and letters seen from above. The G2 looked strong on paper at the time and early reviews were positive.

More on Magic Focus

Magic Focus was also expected on the Galaxy S5 and on the HTC M8, where the dual-camera set up was predicted to give the best version. It was unclear whether the G Pro 2 would come to Canada. LG was described as working to catch up with Samsung, the more dominant Korean company.

Nokia Lumia 920 commercial

Nokia and Microsoft released a funny commercial for the Lumia 920 and Windows Phone 8. The author found it amusing and true, but felt it would not win the platform more users. One star of the ad was the author’s favourite phone. The writer still hoped for an Android-powered Nokia device.

McDonald’s Boomboxes

In Toronto, the University of Waterloo’s Audio Research Group, the design company Stacklab and McDonald’s turned cardboard drink trays into passive smartphone speakers with no wiring.

They amplify a phone’s built-in speaker by using the cardboard as a sound enclosure.
They work with both Android and iOS phones.
The maximum level is 70.4 dB.
A slot holds the phone upright while the screen stays visible.
They were free, in limited quantities, at Woodbine Beach on July 28.

The Lego droid project

At AndroidTO, a reader who had won a ticket from the site brought a small Lego droid. The writer first saw it online and only then learned the reader had built it, a Canadian project aimed at getting the droid to more people’s “droid army”. The workshops were good and the booths packed, and the writer promised a wrap-up article.

Funny Friday stand-in

While the regular host was moving and without internet, a fill-in issue appeared, using the #FF tag. It had three items: a hipster joke tied to that week’s WWDC, a smartphone sketch from the Boots and Glove comedy group, and the Portal game, with a flash version for desktop browsers only. The writer had asked readers for submissions and only one person replied.

Why these ads mattered

Marketing was a big part of getting a phone out the door at the time. The Korean makers used humour and technology demonstrations to stand out, and the Optimus G Pro spot in particular pushed back on the idea that panoramic photos were an Apple invention. The author argued that other smartphones of the time were just as capable as the iPhone, and in many regards more capable. Samsung’s Galaxy Gear ad and the LG G Flex video were treated as examples of how a promo can go wrong, while the dog ad showed how a single clear feature can carry a commercial.

The same spirit ran through the Toronto speaker stunt and the Lego droid: small, creative Canadian projects that let people interact with Android in a fun way, away from spec sheets.