Ignition /// RS

We’ve all heard it: Microsoft (nowadays Google and Apple, too) being referred to as the “evil empire,” or Windows Mobile being called a “dying breed.” There are some truths to these statements: if you really think about it, smartphone brands, their parent companies, the user base, the developers and the community are a lot like nations, each vying for success and dominance. So, what would each smartphone brand be like as a country (or other stately body)? Well, I thought about it for a while and what follows is what I came up with. I’ve spent time in each or with people from each community, and these are the conclusions I’ve drawn. In chronological order, I present the Five Nations of Smartphone. Enjoy!

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Alright, I’ll come clean. Get ready for it: Ignition Unlimited wasn’t my highest priority from September until now. Comes as an absolute shock, right? Yeah, I didn’t think so either. So what happened, you ask? College. College happened, and it’s a one hell of a “happened.” Eight and a half months came and went like 37 minutes instead of 37 weeks, and so much has happened between then and now. One thing hasn’t changed, though: I still love cars, and that’s why Ignition Unlimited is making a comeback. I’m sorry for the hiatus, but it’s go time. See what’s going to happen here after the jump.

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Ah, April Fools’ Day: Google is now Topeka, the excellent webcomic xkcd goes terminal, and my college announced that next year the campus will be dry (this was especially well-played because alcohol policy was in the process of being changed only yesterday). Among all these April 1st shenanigans, the 2010 New York International Auto Show pressed on, with its usual stock of interesting reveals (which I shall definitely be covering in the coming week). Toyota, however, decided that it would be the perfect day to launch two new video ad campaigns in order to increase attention for new models in its subsidiary brands. Oh, they got my attention alright…

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