The Buzz

As many who read this blog know, I’m a sucker for a good consumer reporting story on food, and this one’s pretty good, with a good reminder mixed in.

A consumer reporter in San Francisco examined the difference between various Campbell’s soup varieties and found, for instance, that the “25% less sodium” version of Campbell’s tomato soup had the same amount of sodium as the original tomato soup. They also found the “Healthy Request” version, which claimed to be low in fat, actually had more fat than the original tomato soup. It should be noted that both of the specially labeled soups were about 50% more expensive than the standard can of tomato soup.

The video is below; sorry about the ad that rolls in front of it. Campbell’s response is also included in the video, but basically said there are explanations for all of it. It’s a nice reminder to check the labels before buying something.

SOURCE: 7 on Your Side via Consumerist

Apple is working on ways to bring the price of video down, including advertising in the download in exchange for a lower price point. Image courtesy of Apple.

There are new reports about an Apple patent which may go hand in hand with their push for cheaper TV content. Currently, standard definition episodes are generally $1.99, the same price they’ve been since they debuted, and high-definition content is $2.99. Occasionally, the shows go on sale, but for the most part, that’s the price.

Apple, however, has been looking for ways to either get the price of a standard-definition show down to 99 cents an episode, or to get a TV subscription model started, say at $30 a month.  Obviously, this is a key selling point for the iPad, so it’s understandable that getting video content more readily available an adopted by the masses would be a high priority.  Enter advertising.

The patent would allow for insertion of ads into their downloadable content, just as you’d see ads in Hulu content. It might make it more fathomable for content producers to take a hit on the purchase price if ads were embedded, might be a passable trade-off for consumers in lieu of a higher price point, and might be the proper hybrid that gets this off the ground.

SOURCE: Patently Apple via 9to5Mac via Gizmodo