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Friday Grab Bag: Big Kindle Sale, Kentucky Derby Point System

June 15, 2012 by

Looking for a sports watch that can track your every move but dislike the bland sameness that seems to pervade the industry? Well Nike has teamed with TomTom to break that boredom with a set of Nike+ Sports watches that come in day-glo colors so that you can match your jogging outfit.

The upgraded GPS watch, which runs around $149, will support NikeFuel and provide users with a wealth of information including position, speed, and the ever popular calories burned. It also can be programmed with reminders and motivational messages.

Apple to kill Ping in next OS release?
Apple has been hinting for some time that Ping, its attempt at social networking, was on a short leash and now it sounds as if it is at the end of its short product life as the company decides not to spend good money after bad.

All Things Digital reports that the technology will be absent in future operating system releases. Of course in hindsight that seems quite obvious considering all of the Facebook integration there will be in the next release.

ESPN loses Premier League broadcast rights
Sports Illustrated has reported that ESPN was shut out of the latest round of broadcast rights for the English Premier League. The winning bid of $4.49 billion was submitted by BSkyB and BT for the domestic TV rights in a 3-year deal. The previous deal, which was split between ESPN and BSkyB was for $1.95 billion.

ITC throws out Google patents in Apple/HTC dispute
The International Trade Commission delivered some bad news to Google when it threw out five of its patents that it had assigned to HTC. HTC needed the patents in its legal battles with Apple where it is trying to bar the import of select Apple products into Taiwan.

According to Foss Patents the court rejected an investigation into the assigned patents and said that it cannot sue Apple over violating patents that it does not own, and which it appears is just renting from Google for the trial. HTC said that it will appeal. Both Apple and HTC/Google have a series of patent lawsuits against each other ongoing around the globe.

HTC buys some patents
So if you can’t rent them, buy them. HTC has confirmed that it is buying once high flying graphics processor developer S3 Graphics, and that a driving reason behind the deal is to get its hands on the company’s patent portfolio.

While not the largest in the industry S3 does own approximately 270 patents, some of which are licensed to other third party developers. HTC is one of the major companies that has been fighting it out with Apple over patents used in mobile devices such as smartphones.

Kentucky Derby Follows NASCAR’s Lead
Ever wonder how a horse qualifies for the Kentucky Derby? Well wonder no more because the races organizers are taking steps to spell out how and why horses manage to gain entry to one of the premier racing events in the world.


Churchill Downs has developed what it calls the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” and will use a point system much like NASCAR’s that will assign points to horses that run select races, based on how they finish. The program will start this fall for the current crop of two year olds and will be used to determine next years crop of horses for the race.

Android growth still strong
Google’s Andy Rubin, who is the head of the smartphone operating system, said that the daily activation of devices running the Android operating system is now averaging 900,000 devices a day. Last year at the same time it was 500,000.

Asus confirms Google Tablet-off the record of course
Android Authority said that it sat down with an executive from Asus at the recent Computex show who confirmed that his company was building a Google-labeled tablet that will enter the 7-inch form factor fray.

Expected to be powered by Nvidia’s quad-core Tegra 3 processor the device is expected to be priced in the $150-$250 range. Look for Google’s big Google I/O conference at the end of the month as the launching pad for the device.

Want to make your pillow a touchscreen? With MaKey MaKey you just might be able to
MaKey MaKey is the latest startup to catch my limited attention span has appeared at Kickstarter, a project that seeks to turn everyday items into functioning touchscreens with the ability to interact with the Internet.

Sound too good to be true, well it is not reality yet but there is a some interesting demos over at Kickstarter. It is simply a board, some alligator clips and an Internet connection via a PC and in no time you to could be using bananas as a keyboard.

Its funding effort, which ends today, has been a tremendous success. Seeking a $25,000 goal it went over the top and at the time of this post had already received pledges worth $533,313 with close to 11,000 backers. Nice bit of overkill.

Kindle scores big with State Department
While Apple gets most of the publicity due to its tremendous success with the iPad the Kindle just scored a major deal with the US State Department. According to a piece from The Atlantic Wire, the State Department will be purchasing thousands of Kindles.

The total value of the deal has been reported at $16.5 million and will call for the tablets to come with a teaching program. The initial buy for the project is 2,500 devices and they will be sent to libraries and other education around the world.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Asus, English Premier Soccer League, Google, iOS, Kickstarter, Kindle, NASCAR, Startup, Tablets Tagged With: , ,

U.S. Open Online Ditches Rory-Luke-Lee Group, Will Show Furyk-Sergio-McDowell Instead

June 14, 2012 by

For its online-only coverage the USGA has been featuring “marquee” groups, starting Thursday morning with the Tiger-Phil-Bubba pairing and then switching to the “world top three” group of Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald in the afternoon. Those two groups were supposed to switch places on Friday, with the top three group as the morning show and the Tiger squad later in the day.

But apparently the Thursday afternoon group’s disappointing performance has caused an online switch, as now the USGA says it will feature the group of Jim Furyk, Sergio Garcia and Graeme McDowell Friday morning. We first heard about the switch in a late Thursday tweet from the main USGA feed:

I guess the switch makes some sense, since McDowell is tied for second after a 1under 69 Thursday, with Furyk only a stroke back at even par and Me, Sergio, still not out of it at 3-over. McIlroy (77 Thursday), Westwood (73) and Donald (79) might have gone south Thursday, but I think it would have been interesting to see them go for broke Friday, trying risky shots to maybe make the cut. At about 11 p.m. Thursday we are trading DMs with the USGA Twitter operators trying to figure out who made this call. Will update this post as we learn more but — if you were hoping to see a Rory comeback online Friday, you are outta luck.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Golf, iOS, Tiger Woods, US Open, USGA

TaylorMade the Big Hitter in Social Media at U.S. Open

June 14, 2012 by

The U.S. Open, refreshingly void of title sponsorships in its logo or direct marketing, still has plenty of affiliated brands, some of which have strong social media activities at the event, some of which do not.

CallawayGolf and adidas reference the tournament with their respective apparel lines and contracted athletes.

The shirts Sergio Garcia and Dustin Johnson have chosen to wear in each of championship rounds, are featured on the adidas site presuming, of course, the golfers will play in all of the rounds.

CallawayGolf company’s Facebook page also features a post and link to the hole-in-one made by Alvaro Quiros during Wednesday’s practice round on the 288-yard par 4 seventh. It’s only 30 seconds and doesn’t show the shot, but rather the golfer’s reaction.

But it’s TaylorMade that likely has the biggest social media presence among the manufacturers represented at the U.S. Open.

Twenty-two golfers in the field — Retief Goosen to D.A. Points and Tim Herron to Martin Kaymer — all sponsored by the company, have direct Twitter links listed on the right-hand side of the company’s home page.

And on the left-hand flank is a steady stream of Twitter posts from tournament fans. The feed was active from the first pairing of the opening round Thursday morning and continue throughout the day with a new post at least every few seconds.

James Raia is a California-based journalist who writes about sports and leisure. Visit his golf site at golftribune.com

Filed Under: Golf, NBC Sports, Nike, TaylorMade Tagged With: ,

Watching Golf this Week: Many Ways to Watch the U.S. Open

June 14, 2012 by

Why is this post a little late in delivery? Because I’ve been spending the morning watching the U.S. Open live, on a window that’s open just to the left of the one I’m typing on. I could go over to the couch and watch ESPN’s live coverage, which starts at 9 a.m. Pacific time today and Friday. But I like the online focus, which today is following the Tiger-Phil-Bubba group from start to finish.

Unlike the Masters online coverage — where you had choices of different groups or different holes — the US Open online video is one group at one time. But there are so many ways to get U.S. Open coverage, from the ESPN overload on Thursday and Friday — which is sandwiched around a couple hours of NBC coverage Thursday and Friday — that you won’t go lacking.

Since this is the first U.S. Open we’ve been able to cover live, it’s been an incredible learning experience to see a course like Olympic up close and personal. Check out our previous links for info that will help you with your viewing. We’re also big fans of the U.S. Open site itself, since it has a plethora of info (live scoring, archived video interviews, and a new feature called “Playtracker” which shows a live view of the groups on the course, with stats for each player in each group. (This would be cooler if it had a live view of where the players were on each hole, like a visual Shot Tracker. Maybe next year?)

So far, we haven’t seen many glitches with the live online video — like the Masters coverage there are intermittent stops and stalls but we’ve found that when that happens, it’s easy to just close the old window and re-open a new one. Since I had to stay home this morning for work and family reasons I wasn’t able to use my press pass to watch the golf up close and personal — but I bet I have a better seat than most press folks there, because the blanket coverage of the marquee group has been phenomenal, and I can sip coffee and sit in my comfy office chair while watching. Enjoy the great weekend of San Francisco golf!

Here’s where to follow the action:

2012 U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

(all times Eastern)

OFFICIAL U.S. OPEN COVERAGE SCHEDULE

TV COVERAGE
Thursday, June 14 — ESPN, 12 p.m. — 3 p.m.; 5 p.m. — 7 p.m. NBC, 3 p.m. — 5 p.m.
Friday, June 15 — ESPN, 12 p.m. — 3 p.m.; 5 p.m. — 7 p.m. NBC, 3 p.m. — 5 p.m.
Saturday, June 16 — NBC, 1 p.m. — 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 17 — NBC, 1 p.m. — 7 p.m.

RADIO
Radio this week is via the U.S. Open app, or the U.S. Open website.
1 p.m. — 7 p.m., Thursday-Sunday

ONLINE
See above. Live online at USOpen.com, Thursday and Friday, following a “marquee group” in the morning and afternoon. Morning tee times around 7:30 a.m., afternoon tee times around 1

PGA SHOT TRACKER
No shot tracker this week — hard to believe, but true.

FACEBOOK PAGE
The USGA is doing a great job with its Facebook page. Like.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW
US Open — The official Twitter feed for the championship is active and great, with lots of links, live info. Add it to your feed now.
Geoff Shackelford — well known golf writer — go back in his timeline this week for some great videos showing the holes on the Olympic course. Maybe the top golf Twitterer out there, especially when it comes to analysis/insight.
Golf Channel — official Golf Channel feed
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend. Works hard and long every day, and also has great insider views, via Instagrams.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
If you haven’t had your fill of Olympic info, you’ve been on another planet. So far the overall view we like best was the Sunday special in the San Francisco Chronicle, where beat writer Ron Kroichick interviewed Ken Venturi for a hole-by-hole breakdown of the course. The official Open website also has an extensive hole by hole page with flyby views, etc. etc.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST YEAR?
Rory McIlroy, the boy wonder.

LOCAL FLAVOR
The columnists and writers at the San Franciso Chronicle do golf right.

FEDEX CUP LEADERS
1. Jason Dufner, 1,735 points
2. Hunter Mahan, 1,477 points
3. Tiger Woods, 1,404
4. Zach Johnson, 1,386
5. Bubba Watson, 1,372

See the full standings for the FedEx Cup points list.

WORLD GOLF RANKINGS
1. Luke Donald; 2. Rory McIlroy; 3. Lee Westwood; 4. Tiger Woods; 5. Bubba Watson.
See the official World Golf Ranking list.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, ESPN, ESPN Radio, Golf, Golf Channel, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NBC Sports, PGA, The Masters, Tiger Woods, US Open Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

NASCAR and Twitter Reach out to Racing Fans

June 14, 2012 by

If you noted something a bit different while following last week’s NASCAR race at the Pocono 400 Presented by NASCAR it could have been the results of an alliance between Twitter and NASCAR designed to ratchet up fans’ participation in the sport.

The two launched #NASCAR as a tool to bring fans into the mix during races and it will feature a curated site that will focus on races and select other events and will include Tweets and photos from race drivers, teams and fans. NASCAR also has a @NASCAR account

It’s funny when I was watching the race last week on TNT I noticed that they had started running Tweets from race teams, and I am not totally sold on it, at least in the manner in which it appeared in the middle of the screen rather than at the top of bottom, which I prefer. But it did bring some interesting info into the mix.

The effort is still a work in progress and it looks like some drivers and teams are much more active than others, but then it takes some time to just establish this in your routine, so I suspect that it will improve as everybody gets used to tweeting on a regular basis.

I do not follow any of the drivers on a regular basis but have found that Brad Keselowski has been uniformly amusing and engaging, which is probably why he was selected to be in the first ad that was run about the partnership. His tweet about the crash at Daytona 500 was a huge hit earlier this year.

I hope that NASCAR continues on this trend and brings its partners further into the fold. Having spent some time on many of the circuits track’s web site I have found that they vary greatly in what they offer fans.

The best of them include track Twitter feeds, videos and photos as well as areas where fans can participate. Then there are some where the site basically just serves an online ticket office, providing little if no interaction with the fans.

In addition I hope that the tracks ensure that they have enough wireless capacity to carry the Twitter traffic, it can be very disappointing to try and connect and get nothing. Both MLB and the NFL are working to upgrade their capabilities in this area.

I would not like them to follow the MLB direction where all the team sites are almost identical, different tracks’ should have different personalities, just as the drivers do. But encouraging them to have a more powerful online presence will only enhance the sports appeal to fans.

Filed Under: Major League Baseball, NASCAR, TNT, Twitter Tagged With:

PGA: All Tour TV Coverage Will be Simulcast Online and Via Mobile Apps in 2013

June 14, 2012 by

All the live coverage of PGA Tour events next season will be shown simultaneously on the tour’s digital platforms, including via its mobile apps and at the PGATour.com website, a tour executive said Wednesday.

In a phone interview with Luis Goicouria, the vice president of operations and business development for PGA Tour Digital, Goicouria said that for the 2013 season, all live tour TV coverage will be simulcast online, giving mobile and web-connected fans the same experience as those sitting in front of a TV. The expansion of live video content, Goicoura said, is a direct response to fans’ desire for more mobile content, especially live video of tournament play.

“Our [online + mobile] video content consumption is going through the roof,” said Goicouria, who said that tour-hosted video starts are up 81 percent so far this year over last, and YouTube views of archived videos has increased 94 percent in the same time frame. Currently, the Tour offers its “Live@” program for 10 selected tournaments during the season, typically the bigger ones like the recent Memorial tourney. The Live@ production is separate from and typically less comprehensive than any network coverage, though of similar production quality. According to Goicouria, the Live@ broadcasts typically attract between a half-million and a million video streams per event.

The Live@ coverage typically focuses on one or two “scoring” holes or signature holes, like the island green at the Players Championship. Though it doesn’t offer the breadth of coverage a typical network broadcast from partners Golf Channel, CBS, NBC or ESPN does, the Live@ shows aren’t chopped liver either.

“It’s not like we just slap a couple webcams on a green,” Goicouria said. “It’s a full-blown studio production.”

But Goicouria said the costs associated with such production keep the tour from rolling out Live@ at every stop. Unfortunately that leaves online-only or mobile-centric fans behind their counterparts on the couch when it comes to live video. Next season that ends, with the digital platforms (the website, as well as the iOS and Android apps) offering simulcasts of the live TV coverage, as well as Live@’s additional focus at the selected events.

Goicouria also said that the tour is working to make its addictive Shot Tracker feature (screen grab below) available for mobile devices, but didn’t yet promise a delivery date. Shot Tracker, which gives real-time updates on a tournament field by showing how far a player has hit a shot and how far he has left to the hole, can be mesmerizing, with players’ statuses constantly updating. The main reason it hasn’t been available for mobile platforms, Goicouria said, was due to the fact that the application was built with Adobe Flash, which isn’t supported on Apple devices like the iPhone or iPad.

“If there was one thing I wish we had for mobile that we don’t, it’s Shot Tracker,” said Goicouria, who pledged a “complete revamp” of the feature for next season.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Golf, Golf Channel, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, PGA, Smartphone, Tablets, The Masters, Tiger Woods, YouTube Tagged With: , , , ,
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