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GPS Cell Phone in Soda Can Form

Posted by michael on from the new-coke dept.

Myko writes "PhoneScoop.com reports that Coca Cola has unleashed a new GPS enabled cell phone for a new promo. Apparently the user will push one button which will auto dial a Coke rep that will tell them they won an SUV. They'll then press and enable the GPS and the prize squad will drive to their location with the prize. So the big question is, will the phone give off any residual waves that will allow custom made detection equipment to find the right 12 pack, similar to the tilt and win iTunes trick? :)" We mentioned this last year, but it wasn't clear how the GPS-in-a-can trick was going to work.

36 of 301 comments (clear)

  1. This is nothing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I had a tin can phone when I was a kid using the latest in string technology. The range and clarity still beat my cell phone today.

    1. Re:This is nothing by Hiro+Antagonist · · Score: 5, Funny

      I had a tin can phone when I was a kid using the latest in string technology. The range and clarity still beat my cell phone today.

      Another satisfied Sprint customer, I see.

      --

      --
      I Hit the Karma Cap, and All I Got Was This Lousy .sig.
    2. Re:This is nothing by nacturation · · Score: 5, Funny

      Another satisfied Sprint customer, I see.

      Connections so clear you'll notice a pin dropping. *

      (* That is, if it's a really heavy pin and it impales your foot. Sprint not responsible for infections as a result. Do not try at home. Not for internal use.)

      --
      Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
  2. Cola Contests by bobej1977 · · Score: 5, Informative
    Presumably, they're smart enough to not turn the thing on until you pushed the button. Your coca-cola probably gets bottled in your town or a nearby small town. My town of 100k has it's own bottler. They'll know which districts are getting a can so that their prize patrols can be ready.

    On a side note, I went to school with a kid who won a Jeep in the Pepsi contest where each cap had a word and you had to make phrases. The phrase was like 'DO IT' or something. The Jeep had a ton of pepsi stickers all over it and the contract he signed required that he could not sell it or remove any of the stickers for one year. Of course he had to pay the tax on the $20,000 vehicle before they would hand it over. Still better than a kick in the pants, but it's amazing the hoops they make you jump through.

    --
    The meek shall inherit the earth, in 3 by 6 plots. - Lazerus Long
    1. Re:Cola Contests by rjstanford · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There's a ton of FUD about this going around. But its necessary. Basically, the car counts as "income" so you pay income taxes on it.

      If they didn't do this, then instead of companies paying you in dollars, they could just pay you in "cars" (or something smaller, like bycicles) that you could convert to dollars tax-free. So this really plugs a loophole. But you pay tax on your income, no matter what form it comes in - money, cars, vacations, etc.

      The worst example I ever saw was someone who won a one-year lease on a new BMW Z3. Have you seen the price on a one year lease? They ended up paying ~$600 a month in equiv. taxes, a reasonable car payment, and they didn't even get to pick the car.

      --
      You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
    2. Re:Cola Contests by SoCalChris · · Score: 5, Informative

      I won a Honda Civic on the radio a few years ago, here in Los Angeles.

      Before I could even take possesion of the car, I had to pay sales tax, title & registration - About $2,000.

      In addition to that, the value of the car was added to my yaerly earnings. Honda had to report the value of the car to the IRS. They reported it as being a $21,000 Civic. Of course, fully loaded Civics can be bought for much less than that, so the IRS allows you to do a fair market adjustment, and only be taxed on what you would have paid for the car had you bought it. I was able to knock it's value down to around $15,000.

      When I had to do the taxes for that year, the $15,000 added to my income because of the car put me into the next highest tax bracket, and I ended up owing just over $6,000 in income taxes since I hadn't taken out any withholding for the additional income.

      I ended up selling the car to pay the taxes, but I had a pretty good, reliable car for almost a year that I put almost 40,000 miles on.

      If any one is interested, here's a picture of the car I won. Blink 182 Civic

    3. Re:Cola Contests by Mateito · · Score: 3, Funny
      There are so many people out to beat the IRS's system, they've got to make sure they have all the bases covered.

      Must... resist.... can't....

      IRS: ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US

      (Yeah, I suffer from SDWS... slow day at work syndrome)

      --
      Norman Cook's Ode to Sl
  3. Off the air... by LostCluster · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I doubt there's going to be anything given off by this phone when it's not in use. Afterall, does a cell phone that's turned off give of any energy that can be detected?

    1. Re:Off the air... by jamonterrell · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I'm concerned less with it giving off any emissions rather than it acting differently when having emissions bounced off of it. Different electronic gadgets will alter waves that are bounced off of them in different ways, very much in the way RFIDs work. It's very likely that it can be detected, as a can full of soda would certainly respond differently than a can full of GPS/Cellphone. You could also do the same thing with a sonar-type device configured to measure the density of the material inside the can. The point is, however, it's all pointless because with the amount of coke moved out in the time period that this competition will run is inconceivable. Unless the device were screaming "I'M OVER HERE, OH YEAH, AND I'M THE WINNING COKE CAN" you aren't likely to find it even if you're in the same store as it, at the same time as it happens to be passing through.
      Oh yeah, and to address the other post regarding them knowing the approximate location so they can rush out to it when they press the button. I say good luck to them with that. I'd find it very funny if the person who gets it happens to pick up a 12pack just before returning on a flight from Miama, FL, to Portland, OR. That'd mess up their plans to seem all cool by rushing out to the site of the can within 10-20 minutes with a TV crew, now woudln't it? :)

      --
      I can count to 1023 on my hands. Ask me about #132.
    2. Re:Off the air... by John+Harrison · · Score: 3, Insightful
      You are right that your chances of being in a store that has the winning can when you are there are very small. Even if it was there you would have a hard time finding it.

      The problem is that there isn't a good way to scan large numbers of cans quickly. You can't just walk by a shelf of 12-packs and scan the shelf. You would have to pull each 12 pack off and scan it. The large amount of metal and liquid between the scanner and the phone would prevent you from getting a reading. Not to meniton the fact that you wouldn't even know what to look for. I suppose you could practice by sticking your own cell phone in a 12 pack and scanning it.

      If you know a way to read an RFID tag (not what this is, and probably an easier problem) through a few feet of liquid and occasional metal please let me know. That would actual solve a problem I have...

      --
      Lasers Controlled Games!
  4. In the can? by dleifelohcs · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Aside from weight, which will obviously be different on the case that has the phone in it compared to the case that does not, WHERE is the phone being placed? Inside an empty can with a different style lid? Or is the phone can-shaped, to prevent the case from making "noises" or rattling that a normal case wouldn't make... in any case (no pun intended) the case will be different. Though I do not support cheating the game.

  5. DAMMIT by Xhad · · Score: 5, Funny

    You're embedding electronic devices in soda cans now?!? You just ruined my best source of tin for my hats, Coca-Cola.

    --


    Member of Orkut? Annoyed with spam?
    1. Re:DAMMIT by AKAImBatman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You just ruined my best source of tin for my hats, Coca-Cola.

      Should I even tell the poor sap that cans are made of aluminum?

      --
      Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
  6. No Purchase Necessary? by taped2thedesk · · Score: 4, Interesting

    How will the "no purchase necessary" part of this promo work? I can't see them mailing out cans to people who send in a postcard... or are companies not required to do "no purchase necessary" anymore?

    1. Re:No Purchase Necessary? by LostCluster · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The only part of "no purchase necessary" that they need to take care of is making sure that the odds of a postcard winning are the same as the odds of a 12-pack winning.

      Most likely, the cans won't be the actual "game piece". Instead, they'll print up serial-numbered cards, most of which say "You Lose" and one for each car they have will say "You Win!" They'll shuffle up the cards, and then drop one into each specially marked 12-pack and keep a pile aside for the mail-in entries.

      12-packs that get the winning game pieces will also get the cell phone gadget. People who end up with a winning gamepiece in their SASE will get a phone number to call to claim their prize. The key thing will be that the odds of getting a a winning piece instead of a loser has to be the same by both methods... at that point, "no purchase necessary" is taken care of.

  7. Hardware Hack Time! by imidazole2 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Time to hack this thing to bits! I want free phone calls, I want war-dialing, I want lots of l33t g00t13s!

    --

    -Imidazole2
  8. next by Errtu76 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now all you'll need is that the car will include a red button that, when pressed, will send your location to Coca Cola and a person comes to deliver you a ice cold can of coke!

  9. First words Coca-Cola rep hears... by YetAnotherAnonymousC · · Score: 5, Funny

    *BRAAAAAP*

  10. lets get to the important Slashdot question... by Ubergrendle · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Do i get to keep the GPS enabled phone!?!?!?

    --
    John Maynard Keynes: "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?"
    1. Re:lets get to the important Slashdot question... by Detritus · · Score: 3, Informative

      If it's like my cell phone, it's a crippled form of GPS. The phone can receive signals from the GPS constellation but it doesn't have the electronics required to decode and process them. Instead, the GPS data is relayed to the cellular company's cell site, which has the equipment needed to calculate your position.

      --
      Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
  11. Flying by Himring · · Score: 5, Funny

    So the big question is, will the phone give off any residual waves that will allow custom made detection equipment to find the right 12 pack

    I can imagine flight attendates augmenting the usual shpill:

    We ask at this time that you turn off any cell phones, laptops, PDAs and GPS-enabled soda cans....

    --
    "All great things are simple & expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope." --Churchill
  12. Scanning the 12-packs by WebGangsta · · Score: 3, Interesting
    I'd guess that the phones would have their batteries isolated to prevent the phones from responding to any pre-purchase scanning. Once you uncork the can, you pull a clear plastic tab out of the battery compartment to activate the phone (similar to the way all those noisy electronic toys displayed on store shelves work).

    Or maybe the battery is only activated when the user holds in the Big Red Button on the front of the phone.

    I can't imagine that Coca-Cola didn't think of all the ways to cheat the system after the McDonald's contest fiasco from a few years ago.

  13. Like Lemmings off the cliff by Willeh · · Score: 4, Funny

    Take can to sandy Beach. Click, call win the SUV. Throw can into sea. Watch coke reps do a yellow submarine job out into the pacific. Call papers ahead of time watch the event.

    --
    Will wank off Linus Torvalds for fame.
  14. What If? by Mr.+Troll · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The artical says GSM phone.....what if you live somewhere that has no GSM coverage? I mean, if you aren't near a coast or a heavily populated area, you kinda screwed no?

    Then again, I'm sure they'd just have you call some number otherwise...

    I really should think before I post. /all spelling errors intentional

    --
    Kiss my shiny metal ass
  15. Just my luck. . . by eutychus_awakes · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'd get the winning can while boarding an airplane.

    (Me, opening can:) Hey - I think I won!

    (Flight Attendant:) "At this time, please turn off all personal electronic devices.
    Your flight crew will inform you when it is safe to use approved electronic devices in flight."

    (Me:) --AARRRGGGH!

    --
    This sig is a test. If this had been an actual sig, you would be reading something quite a bit wittier than this now.
    1. Re:Just my luck. . . by Bvardi · · Score: 4, Funny

      Good thing too... I could imagine the reactions of the poor SUV drivers trying to follow the GPS signal of a can in midflight...

      "Speedup damnit, that guy has to be doing a few hundred miles per hour!"

  16. Just look for the coke can... by dark-br · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...with an attached Pringles can.

  17. Stock up before that trip by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Grab a few cases before you make that trip up Everest. Just the chance of winning and making them follow you up would make the attempt worth it.

  18. Inductance detector, i.e. a metal detector by Jtheletter · · Score: 3, Informative
    I doubt very much these phone cans will be always on, more likely when you press the button to make the call it also turns on the device so simply waiving an EMF detecting device around a coke display probably won't work.

    Still, the phone inside will be conductive, and in fact have an antenna of some sort to transmit the signal. A basic metal detector should be able to distinguish between an empty aluminum can and one containing a gps phone because of the differrence in inductance. Waiving around a beach-sized metal detector might not be such a good idea but it's not too hard to build your own hand-held unit.

    Unfortunately this approach would require you to pretty much scan an entire display up close. Anyone with more knowledge of gps and cell phones have an idea of how to detect the components even when they're powered down?

    --
    -- I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist. It's not my fault that life sucks so much. --
  19. It's not real GPS but GSM location-services by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's a complete misnomer that the phone companies have been spewing the past year or so. It's not GPS but rather triangulation of the phone from the cell towers. It's GPS-like in that it can tell you about where you are but it's NOT GPS. GPS requires line of sight to several of the 14 GPS satellites which you wouldn't get inside a building or even in a metropolitan area with high-rise buildings all around.

  20. Nokia? by earthloop · · Score: 5, Informative

    Looking at the FCC docs, and this one in particular. The is a photo of the bottom of the can. On the bottom is a label, on this is text that says "Made in Finland". What the betting that the device has been made by Nokia?

  21. How to have fun (and see yourself on the news) by IceSabre · · Score: 5, Funny

    Step 1) Give the phone to your freaky, paranoid, paramilitary and big brother suspicious neighbor. Step 2) Get some lawn chairs and a cooler. Step 3) Watch the prize delivery crew show up unannounced. Step 4) Get interviewed on the 10:00 news.

  22. Make Coke work for it by hopemafia · · Score: 5, Funny

    Coke is obviously going to track where the winning cans are distributed so they can have the prize stationed nearby, soooo....

    Who ever wins should mess with them by finding to the most remote location they can get a cell signal before pushing the button. Go to Nome, or Yellowknife, or park a boat offshore somewhere.

    --
    If God had had a computer it would have taken him 7 months to create the earth...if he even bothered to do it at all.
  23. Yes... by OmniGeek · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Yes, a turned-off cell phone DOES give off detectable radiation. Reason is, there are parts of the phone circuit that are still powered so the phone can recognize the "soft" power button in the keyboard (unlike a hard power switch that actually disconnects the power, this one's just a keyboard switch.) Sooo, there's at least a minimal amount of circuitry with a crystal clock oscillator running and radiating a small amount of RF. That is, in a conventional phone. Probably the manufacturer of this specialized gadget did a true hard power switch to ensure that the battery is live when it's needed, but possibly not. Of course, the task of DETECTING that RF emission may well be impossible given the EMI environment of a warehouse or store, and not knowing exactly what frquency to sniff for.

    --

    "My strength is as the strength of ten men, for I am wired to the eyeballs on espresso."
  24. win by cheating though by sir_cello · · Score: 3, Insightful


    coke needs to be smart and ensure that the can weighs _exactly_ the same as an existing can, otherwise, everyone who works at a shop or distribution channel could weigh the boxes or pallets and discern the differences.

    Equally, another way to cheat would be to be use sort of low-tech radar/xray device that can detect different types of solids (for example: cans and liquid are pretty simple, but a radio has a lot of complexity that'll generate signal splatter).

    Another way [:-)] would be to see if you can generate radio signals at right frequency to induce resonant effects in the antenna within the can.

    This type of low-tech gear wouldn't take more than one or two cluey engineers and weeks work of work.

    Have fun :-)

  25. Re:Second words Coca-Cola rep hears... by fenix+down · · Score: 5, Funny

    "What the fuck you do with my coke?"
    "Congratulations, you've won..."
    "No, no, fuck that, I paid for 12 cokes and I got 11 cokes and this talking plastic thing."
    "Ummm...car..."
    "Bitch, I'll cut you!"