Angry Birds, Apps, Grilled Cheese: Tech Highlights of SXSW

As the technology and interactive show winds down, ABC rounds up the highlights.

ByABC News
March 13, 2012, 5:50 PM

March 13, 2012 — -- South by Southwest Interactive, or what we have been calling geek spring break, is winding down in Austin, Texas today. It certainly was an interesting festival when it came to social tools and technology; if you missed our live coverage from Austin, we've put together a roundup of the highlights.

Homeless Hotspots - This one isn't really a highlight per se, but it was a headline maker. The BHH advertising agency equipped homeless people with wireless hotspots. Read more about this homeless hotspot program here.

Frictionless Sharing - Lots of social networking apps were being used at the festival, but apps like Highlight and Glancee got lots of attention. The apps are a new breed, allowing you to share primarily through location. They automatically inform other friends on the service when you are in the same areas as them.

Angry Birds in Space - The new Angry Birds may have debuted in Austin, but it technically launched on the International Space Station. Thanks to a partnership between the game maker and NASA, the new Angry Birds Space brings the pigs and birds to outer space and takes gravity out of the equation. Check out our first impressions of the game here.

Google Houses - There were tech companies everywhere in Austin, but Google did the best job of setting up camp. Google took over four houses on a block and outfitted them with Google products. Check out pictures of the house here.

Nike FuelBand - Nike's putting an incredible emphasis on the social aspects of its new FuelBand, a bracelet that tracks your steps, calories, etc. The device can be linked to your phone and to Facebook, where you can compete with your friends. Nike brought the competition to the physical world in Austin, where attendees at its party competed to gain the most fuel points.

Kobi Eats GroupMe's Grilled Cheese - We can't say this one has too much to do with technology, but it's certainly fun. GroupMe, a service for group text messaging, hosted a grilled cheese grill across the street from the convention center and invited competitive eater Kobayashi. Kobi ate 13 grilled cheeses in one minute. Check out video of that here.