3 UK is touting a new video-call service where subscribers can dial into a live camera… in a pen full of turkeys. The camera’s set up to show turkeys — wearing nametags or something — roaming around “a special 3G pen”. Users can watch, and if they see a bird they like, they can get an SMS with information on how to order it from the farmer for Christmas dinner.
Yes, you read that right.
Apparently the owner of the farm is a 3 user, and approached the company with the idea to show off his farm. As the company puts it, “Bosses at 3, renowned for breaking new ground in the application of 3G, were happy to help.” Yes, this is breaking new ground, without a doubt.
I like turkey as much as the next person, but this seems a bit odd to me, and isn’t quite what I had in mind when I talk about a need for compelling applications. What’s next, rigging up a shotgun and letting you shoot your own turkey via 3G, like that hunting web site some guy wanted to set up? I guess 3 and the farmer have party poopers like me in mind, too: if you don’t want to get one of the turkeys to eat, you can elect to save one and have it sent to a turkey sanctuary to live out its days, for just £30 extra.
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