MOBILE
World Cup In 4G: GOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLL!
Posted by Jonathan in MOBILE on 06-07-10 No Comments
World Cup 1, Tech World 0.
After almost 40 years of development, the nation’s first truly fast wireless phone, the Sprint EVO hit stores last week. And while most of the world, for most of the past decades, could have cared less, suddenly with soccer on the thing, people woke up.
Mobile phones gets sports! Duh!
The World Cup will be streamed live on the EVO and I cannot wait to test it on my test unit. And I am not the sole soccer nut here. There are close to 2,000 articles on the World Cup 4G within the last few hours. And the notion that you can get a soccer match on your phone might just catch the national imagination.
Obviously, what is going on here, is the mobile-savvy, rest of the world is demanding here what they already have overseas: live sports on phones. So in many ways cell operators and promoters have no choice. But still, Sprint gets some credit for being first to bring soccer to phones in any scale.
Again, sports continues to drive awareness in mobile devices. Amazing.
NBA Game Time Playoff Edition: Nothing But Net
Posted by Jonathan in MOBILE on 05-06-10 No Comments
With only 1,223 or so games left in the NBA season … Wait! Oh sorry, that’s only 23 or so games left, it just seems like 1,223 games are left — I’ve finally taken an interest in the series: Lakers/Thunder was actually decent basketball. And I have to say, NBA Digital’s nifty Game Time app updated for this year’s playoffs for iPhone, iPod, I guess for the iPad as well as Android phones and others is really showing me something.
The app is decently priced at $2.99. And it seeks to be a in game companion for the second season of the NBA. In general, the app does a nice job of pumping out player stats, providing what amounts to DIY color commentary on the game. And otherwise helping us all keep Maurice Evans straight from Jamal Crawford. So as one struggles to follow the series — how much do you really know about the Hawks or Los Suns — Game Time helps.
Obviously, the tool is not perfect. video clips are feebe highlights at best, y0u are facing the limits of the cell network on what content gets to the mobile phone and at some point how many screens do you need to follow a game?
But at least for the NBA Playoffs, a portable app that pumps out players stats on demand is a plus. And NBA deserves some credit. Swissh!
The Sports App Wars Begin: Sprint And Verizon Compete For NFL Draft
Posted by Jonathan in MOBILE on 04-20-10 No Comments
Welcome to the age of the competing mobile sports apps.
Starting Thursday, the NFL draft will kick off at Radio City Music Hall in New York. And while I’ve always thought it would be slick if the league mixed things up with some cheerleader drafts — the Rockettes would make an excellent cheerleading combine — this year’s draft will be about one thing tech wise: Not one, but two major cell carriers will be carrying NFL Mobile’s live coverage of the event: Verizon and Sprint both will offer NFL Mobile on many of their phones.
And let the mobile sports app wars begin.
First of all, it’s clear that these sorts of extra-game events are the perfect storm for mobile sports tech. Yeah, ESPN’s prime time coverage of early rounds might be interesting for awhile. Where Bradford, McCoy, Suh and maybe Kyle Wilson from Boise State end up might impact a real game or two across the league. So all fans care. But after those top 25 or so players, what are we really taking about here? How the draft will affect your team. And your players. Who is going watch the full draft all day and night? I mean, please.
And poof, suddenly the NFL is producing a targeted sports event prefect for mobile devices. And the NFL, to its credit, knows it. The league has positioned itself perfectly to get into the house big time with mobile. Its mobile app is essentially a team-specific broadcast of news, blogs and relevant video. And it will be fascinating to see how the 2nd through 7th rounds will be managed by the league.
Here are my predictions.
1) Sprint pulls a Manning: Sprint has invested in lots of unique NFL content for several years. So I expect its draft coverage should be the Payton Manning of the pack: the clear leader. Any serious fan should get to a Sprint phone, and fast.
2) Verizon will show some game, but more like a Jets game. Verizon’s mobile feed is really the wild card, since I have not seen it, and VZ won’t comment on it. But basically, my read is they aren’t even sure themselves what they will get, since they are just hosting the NFL mobile device. So expect a Jets-like rebuilding year with some decent coverage for Verizon’s mobile sports efforts.
3) ESPN becomes the mobile Mets. Clearly, and I mean CLEARLY, the undisputed worldwide leader in sports television is the undisputed worldwide loser in mobile. The Mets analogy is all too chilling for Bristol. After spending hundreds of millions on mobile, starting a half decade ago, where exactly is ESPN for the handheld? Let’s be honest: nowhere. NFL analyst John Clayton is cute and all, and Sportscenter is still fun, but will that be enough of a reason to follow ESPN on your phone when the NFL produces as deep, if not deeper, a product all by themselves?
It’s incredible but true: unless ESPN finds some raison d’mobile and fast, the moving version of sports will be Superbowl III: the big championship game that got away.
Verizon Incredible Ships With Not-Awful NFL App
Posted by Jonathan in MOBILE on 04-16-10 1 Comment
Deep inside yesterday’s rollout of Verizon Droid Incredible — an HTC smart phone due out in a few weeks — is a fascinating sports tech tidbit: With a big honkin’ screen, an 8-megapixel camera and a new touch interface, the unit also comes with the NFL Mobile software standard.
Look what a horse race mobile sports content has become.
The first issue is how will NFL Mobile work on Verizon versus how it currently works on Sprint. Clearly, the bigger screen and fatter processors will run the experience more effectively than, say, the Sprint Hero. But Sprint is kicking some sport tech butt with its 4G network coming nationally this year. And with its new Evo 4g phone due out this summer, chances are the Incredible won’t seem so incredible for long.
And look how smart the NFL has played the wireless game: By creating freestanding, Apple App independent content, it keeps its games off the general Web, makes mobile-specific riffs on what it does, and then plays the operators against each other to keep pricing high and customer interest sharp.
The NFL really is the smartest league in sports right now.
The Masters @ 30K: Inflight Sports Apps Don’t Suck
Posted by Jonathan in MOBILE on 04-11-10 No Comments
HIGH OVER LOUISIANA: Well it’s come to this: The Masters at 30,000 feet.
I have never been part of the mile-high wifi club. It’s blisteringly expensive. Connectivity basically sucks. And I really — REALLY — hate the in flight Skypers: “I’m on a plaane. Yea, Ma. on a plane. Right. At 30,000 feet … 30 thousand…. ON THE PLANE. Ma, I’m ON THE PLANE!!!!”
Spare me.
But now … I am taking it back: once feeble in-flight data access might have found a killer app: In pocket sports apps. I have been staying on top of today’s The Masters here on the flight back from New Orleans to LGA, using the iPhone Masters app. Coverage has been decent. Scores are accurate. Video is not awful. And over all, I could pretty much stay on Lee and Phil battling it out. And — like most american men — stare in at Tiger and wonder what all those chicks must have been like.
And if you think about it, mobile sports apps make a lot of sense for in-flight entertainment. They do not rely on heavy data connections, like most sports web sites. They can run on even the crappiest smart phone. And developers actually get paid to make these apps, so in all they offer a smooth, high-quality high tech sports experience.
Which honestly, is better than what YouTube can deliver.
So next flight out: Toss on the NBA, Masters or MLB app, and you’ll see. These all offer the exact right amount of connectivity, without turning your trip time into a complete gadget fest. I realize this is two things I am liking in the same week. So I must be going soft. But the fact is, smart phone sports apps might just be the sleeper tech pick for sports right now.
Not bad.
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Episode 48 — “Spain’s Putting HGH In The Water”
Dan makes it back from the beach alive, so we break down the cutting edge in NFL Preseason analysis: Old school print mags. Blum is agog at the Triple Crown winner in auto racing. Dan talks up the X-Games. And we wonder what drug is in the water in Span. They’re winning everything, everywhere. (24.1 MB. [...]
Episode 47 — “Lance is Gettin’ Screwed”
Dan takes a much needed vacation poolside so Blum flies solo this week. Seth The Technihilist calls in with the latest scoop on tech tools to keep his Pirates awful. Blum plays the Old Course, on Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Online, that is. And we throw a techno-bone to Lance: There’s no way he doped [...]
Episode 46 – “Show Em Your Big Fly Stick”
Dan and Blum give it up to King George Steinbrenner. then Blum breaks down some big bats for big home runs. And Dan gives us the skinny on EA’s NCAA Football 11. And finally what a royal jerk Lebron really is. (7/15/2010. 29.1 minutes)
Episode 45 – “They’re All Takin’ Drugs”
Dan, Blum, and Seth wonder out loud what the world needs with Sirius’ new all fantasy sports channel. Dan gets sucked into the Back to the Future vibe and brings us sports technology in 2015. Blum sees an All-Star conspiracy in Kevin Youkilis not getting on the All-Star team. And with Floyd Landis spilling his [...]
Episode 44 – “The age of free stuff is over”
Can Sports Illustrated save themselves with a fancy iPad app? Plus: Why high school can’t afford to protect their football players with modern helmets, a look at what FIFA could do with goal-line technology, and Jonathan found some “interesting” items at the Outdoor Retailer Show. [7/1/2010, 30:29m]
Episode 43 – “This is the geek’s delight”
Seth, the tech nihlist, thinks 3D television is just going to be a rich guy’s thing and has a long way to go. Plus: Jonathan philosophizes on technology and the ever-changing sports medium, Dan got to play with the Xbox Kinect and wants to have its baby, and a little airplane tech from the Red [...]
Episode 42 – “We make the invisible visible”
TSC brings in Ron Imbriale from Flexxcoach to discuss their innovative software/video solution for regular athletes. Plus: The inflatable motorcycle crash suit, a discussion of Abby Sunderland’s failed around the world sailing trip, and we look at what ESPN on the Xbox really means for sports fans. [6/16/2010, 31:32m]
Episode 41 – “I was detained, I was almost ejected”
Jonathan recounts his story of trying to take pictures at Yankee stadium. Plus: Seth, the Tech Nihlist, joins us to discuss the NCAA’s rules on texting and other technology, Jonathan’s ideas on how to do instant replay in baseball, and Dan tells us where and how to watch the World Cup on any device. [6/9/10, [...]
Episode 40 – “This sounds geeky and it is geeky but it’s important”
Jonathan was in his watchtower surveying the TVs of tomorrow and reports back on what we can expect in our homes and stadiums in a few years. Plus: Our feelings about The Danikapolis 500, the controversy surrounding the Adidas World Cup ball, and we take a quick look at Lacrosse equipment technology. [6/2/2010, 27:05m]
Episode 39 – “If you don’t like the game, drop your nachos on it”
The new Madison Square Garden is coming, complete with… skybridges? Plus: What Google TV could mean for sports fans, what kind of gear does it take to climb Mt. Everest (hint: it’s a lot), and why the PGA has their heads up their you-know-what when it comes to allowing new technology in golf. [5/26/2010, 29:42m]
