April Fools Pranks Come To Wearable Tech Via Samsung, HTC
April Fools pranks are one of the best parts of the beginning of this month, rifling through your Facebook and Twitter news feed to see what’s too good to be true.
The gaming industry had its chuckle when a technology site revealed DLC for the Xbox One and PC exclusive shooter Titanfall, showing us Optimus Prime from Transformers as a new addition.
Another such April Fools joke is Google Maps’ YouTube announcement of a new position for finding Pokemon around the world.
Jokes are spreading across the internet this morning, one of which had to do with two mobile companies copying each other. This time it isn’t Apple and Samsung, though, because Apple wasn’t part of this April Fools prank. Samsung and HTC are the guilty parties this time, and they’re both basically copying Nintendo.
Do you remember the Power Glove back in the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System? Today, both HTC and Samsung revealed their take on the device as wearable tech. It’s a smartphone attached to a glove, and finger gestures control its major functions. Replace the smartphone on the HTC Gluuv with a specially rigged NES controller and it’s basically the Power Glove which, according to the classic movie The Wizard, was marketed as the ultimate in gaming control.
It failed for a reason, but that’s beside the point.
The Samsung Fingers and the HTC Gluuv are the mobile updates to Nintendo’s failed controller idea. It’s an elaborate April Fools prank which appears real enough, until you think back and realize just how impractical the whole idea is.
The HTC Gluuv is being advertised with the ability to integrate seemlessly with the HTC One M8, the latest and allegedly most powerful smartphone yet. The April Fools prank doesn’t end there, as HTC also pranked us with the return of the bulky “boom box” music player with touch controls, bringing back visuals of the way we blasted music in the late 80s and early 90s. The HTC Gluuv apparently lets you interact with social media and take selfies in a whole new way, incorporating the actual “thumbs up” gesture and the fist bump.
Might as well face it, they’re addicted to glove: HTC & Samsung both ‘invent’ smartgloves for April Fool http://t.co/f7qQsDh9EM
— Richard D Trenholm (@rich_trenholm) April 1, 2014
The Samsung Fingers basically puts a flexible screen literally in the palm of your hand and opens up high-tech new ways to be rude. Talk to the Hand lets you record the other person as they literally talk to your hand, letting you ignore them until you have time to listen. A thermal maintenance feature keeps coffee hot or cold beverages cold by simply telling it to do so. There are several hilarious features to the Samsung Fingers, including different styles for various social conventions, like Samsung Fingers Tough and Class.
While Samsung and HTC have some of the most innovate April Fools pranks yet, we are sure that others have similar jokes we haven’t seen yet. What’s your favorite April Fools joke this year?
