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ESPN Adds Twitter, Facebook ‘Share’ Buttons to In-House Commenting

March 22, 2012 by

For a long time, we’ve wondered how ESPN was going to resolve the two different social worlds it was playing in — the comments on its own posts and games from “registered” ESPN users, and the Tweets and Facebook comments it used to add fan commentary to its shows, columns and more.

The answer? We just noticed in our ESPN bracket that if you comment in a group, you now have the option to “share” that comment to Twitter or Facebook. See the screen grab to the left:

When you Tweet it appends code showing the comment came from ESPNFantasy, which is a great way for ESPN to get people to play games on their site. Now all we need to complete the circle is the ability to “sign in” on ESPN with our Twitter handles so we don’t have to have all these logins.

Make it so, Worldwide Leader. Make it so.

UPDATE: According to the great folks on the ESPN PR team, Facebook and Twitter share have been a part of the site for almost two years now. But I would swear that I haven’t seen them integrated into the comments system, like they are for the fantasy games and now even in the regular story comments, like the one I just grabbed below. Anyone else notice these things before? Since I am not a “regular” ESPN commenter maybe I’ve just missed them.

UPDATE II: I think I am right and these things were added recently. If you look at the screen shot we took of the ESPN site when the whole “Greater than Tebow” thing erupted on their comments pages, you can see that the tools that are available now for sharing weren’t there last fall. So this has to be a recent, and much welcome, addition. Looking for the day that the whole ESPN and other-site registration thing goes away… we don’t need a personality for every site.

UPDATE III: According to ESPN, the new sharing buttons were just added this week. We stand by our story! 🙂

Filed Under: ESPN, Facebook, Twitter Tagged With: , , ,

Acer Takes the Wraps off Iconia Tab A510 Tablet

March 22, 2012 by

Acer is the latest to being a quad-core tablet to the American market with its release of the Iconia Tab A510 tablet, a device that should be well positioned to function as both a work and home entertainment device.

The Acer Iconia Tab A510 is a special Olympic Games Tablet Edition of the Acer Iconia Tab line that will include the Olympic logos on the chassis to celebrate the company’s sponsorship of the upcoming 2012 Olympic Games.

The heart of the 10.1-inch tablet is the Nvidia quad-core Tegra processor that is touted as having a fifth, battery-saver core that is designed to help handle low-power tasks like active standby, music, and video, and is transparent to the OS and applications. In active use the four cores handle activities such as video streaming, music and a host of other activities. In addition the tablet uses an Nvidia performance 12-Core GeForce graphics processor.

The tablet features the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system and comes with a 10.1-inch capacitive screen that features 1280 x 800 resolution and supports 720p video. It also includes Dolby Mobile 3 audio. The company claims that the use of the Tegra processor enables the tablet to be able to support 12 hours of video playback.

Other nuts and bolts of the Acer Iconia Tab A510 include 1GB of RAM, 32GB of storage that can be doubled using a 32GB Micro Card. It includes a micro HDMI port for streaming video and features a micro USB 2.0 port. It has both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and has a 1MP front facing camera as well as a 5MP rear facing camera.

I think that Acer is smart in trying to position the A510 as a business tool as well as a top entertainment device. It includes a comprehensive suite of productivity apps so that a user no longer has to worry about using the tablet as a tool at meetings or just away from the office.

The key to this is inclusion of the full suite of Polaris Office 3.5, a software package that is compatible with Microsoft Office and allows reading and editing of various document formats for mobile devices. It also includes Acer Print, so customers have a convenient and seamless way to print wirelessly from their tablet and includes HDMI to VGA support for quick connection to projector for business presentations.

It has Evernote, a personal assistant program that enables users to capture and save web pages, photos, ideas and documents and then store them to the cloud, where they can be later accessed from a variety of devices including PCs.

This looks like a well rounded system and one that is designed to fit in more than one usage model. So many keep trying to either attack Apple or Amazon rather than seek to establish their own niche or product persona. With a starting pre-sale price of $450 it stands a good chance of doing just that.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Olympics, Tablets Tagged With: ,

NCAA Sweet Sixteen: TV and Online Viewing Guide

March 22, 2012 by

Now that the craziness of the first week is over, it’s Sweet Sixteen time — in my mind one of the best weekends of college hoops because A) the teams playing the best are the only ones left and B) the pressure increases exponentially with every game. Even if your bracket went to hell (and yes I am proud of calling the Duke exit) you can still have fun watching the games. Here’s our guide for TV and online coverage for Thursday and Friday:

(all times Eastern)
Thursday March 22
7:15 p.m. — Wisconsin vs. Syrcause, CBS
7:47 p.m. — Louisville vs. Michigan State, TBS
9:45 p.m. — Cincinnati vs. Ohio State, CBS
10:17 p.m. — Florida vs. Marquette, TBS

Friday March 23
7:15 p.m. — Baylor (the unforgiving upsetters of Colorado) vs. Xavier, CBS
7:47 p.m. — Ohio vs. North Carolina, TBS
9:45 p.m. — Indiana vs. Kentucky, CBS
10:17 p.m. — North Carolina State vs. Kansas, TBS

Remember: All games being broadcast live are also available live online at the respective network’s website. If you have a cable subscription, you can watch for free. If you want to follow on a mobile device you can download the March Madness app and pay $3.99 if you haven’t already.

Filed Under: CBS Sports, NCAA Hoops, NCAA.com, Turner Sports Tagged With: , ,

Watching Golf This Week: Arnie’s in the House

March 22, 2012 by

Welcome to a new feature here at MSR, something we are calling “Watching Golf this week,” at least until we come up with a better title. Anyway, what we’re doing is compiling all the ways you can watch the PGA Tour this weekend — online, on TV, on Twitter, and anywhere else we can find. Please give us a shout in the comments if you know of other outlets or have favorite columnists or reporters who follow pro golf. It’s all about sharing here so don’t be shy.

With just two weeks to go before the season’s first major, all eyes this weekend will be on prodigal son Tiger Woods, and whether or not he is healthy or capable of contending at the Masters. This weekend’s tour stop is the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Fla., and Tiger has started off well on Thursday, getting to 2-under early in his round. Here’s where to follow the action:

ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY MASTERCARD

(all times Eastern)
TV COVERAGE
Thursday, March 22 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Friday, March 23 — Golf Channel, 3 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 24 — NBC, 2:30 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Sunday, March 25 — NBC, 2:30 p.m. — 6 p.m.

RADIO
SIRIUS XM (Satellite)
12 p.m. — 6 p.m., Thursday-Sunday

ONLINE
LIVE @ PGATOUR (click this link) “Watch exclusive live online coverage of all four rounds from the par—3 14th and 17th holes at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Fla.”
Thursday, March 22 — 1 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Friday, March 23 — 1 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 24 — 12 p.m. — 6 p.m.
Sunday, March 25 — 12 p.m. — 6 p.m.

PGA SHOT TRACKER
This thing is addictive. Live updates of every shot, with length, where it landed, how far the player has to go to the hole. Like eating potato chips.

GOLF CHANNEL TIGER TRACKER (live blogging of Eldrick’s rounds)
Click here for the Tiger Tracker coverage.

TOP TWITTER FEEDS TO FOLLOW
@PGATOUR — official PGA Twitter feed
@StephanieWei — great golf writer who is a Twitter fiend

LOCAL FLAVOR
If Orlando is golf central, then the Orlando Sentinel is its oracle. Lots of tour coverage and more.

WHAT’S THE COURSE LIKE?
Check out the PGA’s Inside the Course feature for a look at Bay Hill.

WHERE ARE THE LEADERS?
Last week’s tour winner and now new No. 1 overall Luke Donald is NOT at Bay Hill this weekend, and neither is overall No. 2 Rory McIlroy. And those absences don’t sit well with the king.

WHO WON THIS THING LAST YEAR?
If you remember Martin Laird, you are a golf trivia expert. Here’s a list of past champions and tournament trivia.

FEDEX CUP LEADERS
1. Rory McIlroy, 1,015 points
2. Kyle Stanley, 954
3. Johnson Wagner, 920
4. Mark Wilson, 877
5. Phil Mickelson, 835
See the full standings for the FedEx Cup points list.

WORLD GOLF RANKINGS
1. Luke Donald; 2. Rory McIlroy; 3. Lee Westwood; 4. Martin Kaymer; 5. Steve Stricker.
See the official World Golf Ranking list.

UPDATE: Here’s Ryan Moore showing how to not have to use your putter. It’s in da hole! Watch:

Filed Under: Golf, Golf Channel, NBC Sports, PGA Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Mobile App Startup Fund expands to New Platforms

March 22, 2012 by

For developers looking to break into the market for sports apps, or any other type of app, and that are looking for funding there is a new financial resource available as ATP Capital has expanded into new markets with its latest effort.

Some might remember ATP as the company that manages a fund that is seeking to help cultivate an ecosystem of developers on behalf of Research in Motion BlackBerry via its Blackberry Partners Fund program. While RIM goes through some painful issues right now both internally and externally Capital is looking to expand its reach in the app space.

With that in mind it has refocused its efforts on a new fund that will be platform agnostic and look to invest in startups in not only the BlackBerry space but also look for new companies that have Android, Apple iOS and Windows 8 developments underway.

As a first step the company, which aside from the BlackBerry fund also manages Clairmont Capitol and JLA Ventures, has rebranded itself and will now be called Relay Ventures and along with the new name is a new $150 million fund, which will go by the name of the BlackBerry Partners Fund II. The new fund will continue to be an independently managed, platform agnostic, early stage venture fund with a singular focus on mobile computing.

The funds lead investor is Northleaf Capital Partners and includes partners Corus Entertainment, Thomas Rueters and of course Research in Motion. ATP has had success with its efforts in funding mobile app startups, with 32 having received some level of funding and six have already been acquired.

Relay Ventures is also uprooting itself from Toronto and is moving to new offices in Menlo Park, Calif. This reflects on the fact that the company has made almost half of its investments in startups from that area.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Research in Morion, Startup Tagged With: , , , ,

PlayUp Releases Version 2.0 of Fan-Interaction App

March 22, 2012 by

PlayUp has released version 2.0 of its fan-based social networking app, with improved navigation and “Live Now” scoreboards for individual sports.

PlayUp, which has signed several exclusive deals with college conferences and schools this year and also hosted NFL players for exclusive online chats during the Super Bowl, said the new features available immediately include:

— The ability to choose your favorite leagues to easily see live scores, stats and hangouts for the sports you care about most
— “Live Now” scoreboards by individual sports
— An enhanced interface with bigger and brighter graphics
— Improved navigation and user experience including faster load times, better calendars, and quicker access to live updates
— Enhanced Facebook and Twitter integration
— The ability to receive notification alerts when fans add you as a friend or when you are invited to a game
— The ability to message easily across multiple rooms with “Recent Hangouts” for the latest action you and your friends have been following

Screen shots of the new version of the app are below. Click here to download the PlayUp app.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, Facebook, PlayUp, Twitter Tagged With: , , ,
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