Sweetest Vodafone Storm / McLaren F1 Video Ever!

on 10 Mar 2009 11:58 AM

We're only 16 days away from the official start of the 2009 Formula 1 season and some hardcore Lewis Hamilton fans (along with a bit of help from Vodafone and McLaren we assume) have put together what has to be one of the sweetest ads / elaborate stunts / examples of corporate viral advertising for the BlackBerry Storm ever. LOVE IT!

Watch the video. Seriously?! An RC car controlled by the Storm? An F1 car controlled by the BlackBerry Storm? I wants it!!!! After BlackBerrys and smartphones, Formula 1 is my passion (can't wait for Melbourne!). So if you're reading this McLaren, how about you bring this CrackBerry Addict down to Monaco this season for a pit tour :-)

[ via PitPass ]

Filed Under: News & Rumors; Tags: video

93 Comments

Posted by gabrielef Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That is so awesome! can I control my remote control helicopter? Where can I get one?
(Didn't know BT could reach beyond 30 ft.? Is this like that Nike/Ronaldinho commercial where he keeps kicking the ball against the upper bar of the goal posts and it's so hard to believe?)

Posted by Ilesy Saturday, Mar 14, 2009 1168 days ago

For starters the 'upper bar of the goal posts' is called the crossbar! and secondly that video with Ronaliniho hitting it repeatly from the edge of the box is a fake which might be why its so hard to believe! and bluetooth only has a range of 10 feet which leads me to believe that this is a fake too. The little remote control car could well of been rigged like that with the bluetooth (Sony ericsson did a bluetooth remote control car years ago) but on the real thing some how i don't think so!

Posted by scottvaw Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Awesome!!!!

Posted by cpuking2009 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

if im not mistaken that was NOT and iphone. 2points for bb storm 0 for iphone!

Posted by BiggyMcWang Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Berry Noice!

Posted by udhaeshkronjave Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

I'm speechless!

Posted by wezra Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Now, that is what the Storm was meant for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can see a bunch of guys sitting up in the driver’s suite looking down at the track controlling their F1 cars around the race track, Storm in hand, while sipping their favorite beverage. No in-car drivers needed... that would be very cool!!!!

Posted by Black berry blackout Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

i want it now, lol. where is the app and the car.

Posted by ipod video repair Friday, May 08, 2009 1113 days ago

Ha! That was great. I'm watching that again!

Posted by sanchezj Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

where can we pick up this app? HAHA

Posted by gio54 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

I ssssooooo want 1!!

Posted by metromann Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Maybe this is the only thing that will make Hamilton win this year.

Posted by Eagles23 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Intresting comment when your talking about the defending champ. I think its the rest of the field that needs all the help they can get to come to grips with Lewis.

Posted by sebassardo Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

let's say he got lucky.. remember? last curve?

Posted by sebassardo Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

let's say he got lucky.. remember? last curve?

Posted by iamthedvd Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

HaHa That's Great Dude

Posted by Dolphis Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

O M G
W O W
If that's not a spoof and its real, that's sooo cool... I think it would be easy to do this, since its using BT.
Most BT receivers only work upto 30FT, but there are others that can go beyond 100Ft.

I love F1 and my Storm.... great combo!
Hope they took out the connectivity link off the F1 car.... wouldn't want his race botched for '09! lol

Posted by gforce1963 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

I want me some of that!!!!

Posted by phkhmh42 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Sweet where do I get one of those blackberry storm controlled cars.

Posted by jstkdn Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

1 word: WOW

Posted by nydog Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

that is very impressive

Posted by pcamp5 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That is incredible. I would much rather use my storm for controlling a car than my garage door.

Posted by robertw0925 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

that is freakin awesome

Posted by DjRicoRich Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

that has to be the coolest video i have ever seen

Posted by revslg Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That was fantastic. I love it.

Posted by buckifvr Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

SUUUUUWEEEET, Thats what is possible with the Storm, Lets hope this give the app makers a vision for what is possible.

Posted by buckifvr Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

SUUUUUWEEEET, Thats what is possible with the Storm, Lets hope this give the app makers a vision for what is possible.

Posted by buckifvr Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

SUUUUUWEEEET, Thats what is possible with the Storm, Lets hope this give the app makers a vision for what is possible.

Posted by buckifvr Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Sorry Guys, I guess I got a little click happy after watching the video

Posted by ice1124 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That is amazing... I guess the one on the real car isn't controlled via bluetooth?

Posted by mexii Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

sickkkkk i want the app lol... cani do that with my buggy?

Posted by ryanleedavies Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

With my Storm it depends on the app that's being used. If I'm in my browser and change to landscape it takes 1 or 2 seconds. Maybe I should start cranking it like that guy was with the F1! :D

The RC car was cool enough then they do it with an F1! Crazy delicious.

Posted by endaf Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

One video to show down the pub later! On my storm ofcourse.

Posted by CarlAyers Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

I want one of these. This summer, I want to go to the park and race my Storm-controlled RC against the lids with their big, clunky remotes.

One question... What happens if I receive a call in the middle of a race? Hmmmm.......

Posted by Eagles23 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That was soooo cool !!!!!!
DieHard Mclaren fan here.
Thanks for posting that video!

Posted by Waterman41452 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That is absolutely INSANE!!!!

Posted by BMc1217 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

that is fuckin SICK!!!!

Posted by CurlyFatAngry Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Holy crap, two of my favorite things in life AND LW gave it a try as well ... that video just made my day.

Posted by tedesco Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Now I really want a storm! And a McLaren F1 car lol

Posted by nfoman Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Man, I am one jealous Canuck. That was awsome, cant wait for the F1 season to start too!!!

Posted by maaron Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That was awesome! I need to be able to do this with my car!!

Posted by shiftmx72 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

wheres the video?? i cant seem to find it.

Posted by Joe J Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

If this was a TV commercial here in the U.S. I do believe Blackberry would have a hard time keeping the Storm on the shelf.

I love my storm by the way.

Posted by shiftmx72 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

disregard... my adblock was blocking it, my bad.
pretty awesome video.

Posted by BBartist Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

TAKE THAT IPHONE!!!!

That is as cool as it gets right there...hands down. I love F1 and have been following in since way back in the day when the M.A. was still king.

This seems like a real simple app, just utilizing the phones radio to transmit a signal just like the garage door opener app...I want this so bad then I can load my jeep up with some servos and go Jippin in the woods with her! :D

Next lets see the Storm fly a plane! :D

Posted by harcal Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Can Lewis be replaced???? They need to show this on Top Gear!!!

Posted by S3QU3NC3 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

wow.. thats amazing.. now i dont even need to be in tha driver seat!

Posted by Smiley88 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

so what happens if the Storm crashed? any backup?

Posted by gotta_love_crackberry Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Awesome! It really proves that men never get too old for toys...the toys just get more expensive!

Posted by ChuckH0308 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

I guess I'm not done buying accessories for the Storm. Now I need to buy a Formula 1 car...lol! Awesome!

Posted by titan27kak Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Wow!!! I can't believe they can do that with a phone. That was freaking awesome.

Posted by dbulai Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That was sick, i had no idea that the storm was capable of doing that.

Awesome.

Posted by LCintheOC Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That is pretty cool... I thought that little RC one was bad ass but to control a real F1 car now that is something!

Posted by jodyberry Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Let's just hope they don't get a phone call!!!

CRASH!

Posted by TheLastOf Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

And I'd like to know where I can purchase that remote controlled F1 car.

Posted by Busta00764 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

HOOOOOOOOOOOOLY CRAP!

Posted by Tifoso Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

It'd be better in a Ferrari. :(

Posted by kcken Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Where can I get the app... does it come with the F1 ? :o)

Posted by lonestranger Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

SWEET!!
Now I want to get rid of my 8900 for a storm!

Posted by cobrasvt Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That's just f'n kewl!

Posted by ebarnichta Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Go Massa!

Posted by stealthfox Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Being a big BB Addict and an even bigger racing fan......that was amazing! Probably one of the coolest videos I've ever seen. Lewis Hamilton driving the McLaren with a Storm!!! I hope someone has contacted RIM about this!!!

Posted by ScubaSnac9 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Has to be one of the coolest things ever!! +50 Awesome Points for you guys!!

Posted by Andy348 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!!!!

Hamilton, I mean.

Great vid =]

Posted by BTsee Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That was awesome! I can't wait for the season to begin. Just wondering whther Ross Brawn's team will be any better than Honda was last year...guess it would be hard to be much worse!

Posted by CarGuyDude Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That was freakin awesome! LOL funny and uber cool!

Posted by savjr Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Yet, our OS still wont enable messenger to send pictures, BB Messenger to send voice files; keep the phone from locking up...and lagging...

Posted by bobcw Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That was a great video, thanks. Congratulations Lewis.

Posted by chochopr Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

Now I bet the damn iPhone can't do that, never been a fan of the iPhone,cause of all the features it lacks vrs. BlackBerry. True Loyal fan of BlackBerry...

Posted by justadye4 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

off the chain, how do i do it?

Posted by tchristmas Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

This is so cool

Posted by hagosrush Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That is just AMAZING! wow, that was awesome. Good on you chaps for finding this brilliant video.

Posted by drock_in_nc Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1172 days ago

That was freakin killer. Largest RC car I have seen.. Sign me up. Lets do this to my Jeep JK.!!!

Posted by DeaconBlue Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1171 days ago

Well, since I know I can't afford the F1, I guess I'll have to settle for the RC model version...now, how the heck do I do it???

Posted by Mightyjohn Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1171 days ago

They have to market this... I will be the first one to buy it!

Posted by rallypig31 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1171 days ago

AirFix mp4-21..that's the rc car i believe could only find Pricing Between £ 21-25, no American dollar but i did a quick search

Sick video

Posted by fisherman009 Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1171 days ago

this is awesome i want it and would pay for it

Posted by woodzybcfc Tuesday, Mar 10, 2009 1171 days ago

Magic love it! So I got the phone just need the car!

Posted by slr_noob Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009 1171 days ago

Best invention ever!

Posted by UKCracker Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009 1171 days ago

That is fucking way cool!

Posted by amt257 Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009 1171 days ago

Don't believe this. It's a total FAKE people. If it's not then show me another video showing how they did this. Notice the front wheels don't move when they turn the storm.

Complete FAKE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Prove me wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by cpuking2009 Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009 1171 days ago

in an f1 car the wheels don't turn unless the motor is on ....MORON

Posted by amt257 Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009 1171 days ago

The motor IS running..

This is a FAKE!!!!

So why are you fiercely defending this without proof? Show me where an F1 car can NOT turn it's steering wheel without the engine running.

Your B/S is running out.

Posted by cpuking2009 Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009 1171 days ago

ohhhh your talking about when it was running and he turnd the wheel watch the video again IT DOES TURN again morons!

Posted by ChuckH0308 Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009 1171 days ago

F1 cars can be steered without the motor running. If not many bad things would happen when the motors blow at 180 MPH!

Posted by ChuckH0308 Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009 1171 days ago

True, it may be fake, but I'm not sure what part you're talking about. I've watched the video about 10 times and haven't seen a place where the front wheels don't turn when the Storm is turned. With the technology available it is completely possible for this to be real. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the team already had most of the equipment on hand for testing purposes to make this possible. All it would be is a matter of programming an app for the Storm to make it control the already existing equipment in the car.

Posted by amt257 Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009 1170 days ago

No the front wheels do not turn left or right when he turns the steering wheel, with the engine off or on..

You need to watch it in HD, go to 2:14 in the clip. They do a close-up of him turning the Storm. The steering wheel turns but not the actual front steering wheels. LOOK closely, not too hard to miss.

Besides do you really think they would trust a $400 Storm with a 4+ million dollar F1 race car..

I think not.

Posted by ChuckH0308 Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009 1170 days ago

At 2:14 I can not only see the tires moving, but I can hear them squeaking on the floor. It is clear to me that the steering system is at least connected to the wheels.

As far as the dollar amount of the car, you have to keep in mind that these teams usually have test cars, promotional cars, and even old cars. It's entirely possible that they used one of last year's cars or even older that they just don't worry too much about anymore. If it's a promotional car then it would have less expensive components, lesser engine, etc. than one of the actual race cars.

Again, I'm not saying that it wasn't controlled through another method, just that I can see and hear the tires moving and I find it completely possible that this was actually done.

Posted by amt257 Thursday, Mar 12, 2009 1170 days ago

quote
"As far as the dollar amount of the car, you have to keep in mind that these teams usually have test cars, promotional cars, and even old cars. It's entirely possible that they used one of last year's cars or even older that they just don't worry too much about anymore. If it's a promotional car then it would have less expensive components, lesser engine, etc. than one of the actual race cars."

Even the test, promo and old cars are very expensive. the chassis alone is north of $100k.. Their is no such thing as a cheap F1 mock up or not. You have no clue on how much effort this would take to get done. This is something you just don't do in a weekend, especially on an F1 car. F1 cars are NOT toys! People can kill them selves if they don't know how to drive one. Again these cars are not TOYS!

There is no way their insurance company would touch this with a 10' pole..

Posted by ChuckH0308 Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009 1171 days ago

So, I shared this with all my friends and not ONE of them with an iPhone had any comment...lol!

Posted by amt257 Thursday, Mar 12, 2009 1170 days ago

Unless Vodafone, RIM or someone on the Vodafone F1 team comes out and proves this is legit. It's completely FAKE and all done for the advertising of three companies involved.

Think Creative Suite 3 or 4 and Final Cut Pro first before assuming such.

There would be no purpose or business sense to make a remote controlled F1 car other than the cool factor or to prove a point that it can be done.

Posted by kennyboy81 Thursday, Mar 12, 2009 1170 days ago

Usually I hate internet videos, but that is SICK.

Posted by Smooch Thursday, Mar 12, 2009 1169 days ago

Faked or not .. who fereakin' cares,.. it's the concept that matters.. get yer groove on will ya ! IT ROX