Tech in a Bag

Superbowl 51 has just played out with one of the greatest sports comebacks, and if I was in the USA I’d know I would have been watching the game chomping down on a packet of Tostitos corn chips.

Not because I prefer their taste or crunch to any other corn chip, in fact I’ve never tried them, but because they have a packet utilising the coolest tech!

Now I’m sure all the crew in the office would give me heaps about that last statement as they like nothing better than giving it to me about being a tech Luddite due to my phone. The phone is not a smart phone, it is some kind of generic old school design that uses a keypad beneath a small screen with graphics circa 1984. But you know what, I can talk to people on it and that’s all I want from my phone, (texting is near on glacial with the keypad).

Anyway if I need to find something on Google, Skype etc I can use one of the many devices that surround me both at work and home. That’s the thing about tech, it can make a situation better, whether this means easier, quicker or more fun it doesn’t have to be intrusive, just used as and when required.

Now back to this bag of chips, given the fact that I like a beer or two when watching sport and considering the game went even longer and was a nail biter, more snacks and more beers would have been sucked down and suddenly I’m not sure if I’ve had too many and should be going home in a taxi. By blowing into a spot on the bag the label changes a green circle on the front to a red steering wheel with a ‘don’t drive’ message.

The Tostitos bag of chips uses near-field communication (NFC) technology to call an Uber for you and gives you a $10 discount.

Now that’s a bag I want to buy not just because of the service it provides but to try it out and partake in the user experience.

And if they taste as good as any other corn chip brand it will be the tech that is the difference to enticing me to purchase the Tostitos chips for my future viewing snacks!

Check it out here.