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Friday Grab Bag: iPhone 5S Security, Office for Android?

September 20, 2013 by

Monster, probably best known for its high quality audio technology, has moved into the tablet space with a colorful set of offerings in both the 7-inch and 10.1-inch form factors, the Monster M7 and the Monster M10.

The M7 will be the first available and the company said that it will start at $149 at Walmart. While Apple made a good deal of noise with its iPhones now available in several colors, Monster has gone one better and will offer the M7 in eight colors: Candy Blueberry, Candy Tangerine Orange, Candy Grape Purple, Candy Apple Red, Candy Lime Green, Cotton Candy Pink, Frost White and Midnight Black.

Apple Press Event for Oct. 15
There were a number of hardware products that had been rumored to be on the plate earlier this month when Apple introduced its new iPhones and iOS 7 operating system that did not see the light of day, and now the rumor is that they will be unveiled on Oct. 15.

Among the expected products are completely redesigned versions of the iPad and iPad Mini as well as the company refreshing both its computer offerings with new Macintoshes and the latest and greatest in Apple TV, something that seems to be rumored every six months.

A side by side look at Pebble vs. Samsung Galaxy Gear
Now that there is more than one smartwatch on the market consumers will want to make comparisons on the features and capabilities of the varied offerings in order to make an informed decision so that they do not end up with unmet expectations.

Gizmag has gone to the trouble of doing that with two of the first offerings in this space: Kickstarter hero Pebble and Samsung’s Galaxy Gear. The basic breakdown is Samsung=advanced, Pebble=basic. But then it all depends on what you need and how you will use it.

Good news on iPhone 5S security
One of the new features that will be included in the iPhone 5S, due today, is that it has a fingerprint sensor. First off this will make it easier to access the phone and secondly it should serve as a deterrent to thieves who will not be able to use and sell the phone.

Of course people have started to look at workarounds, including a child using their sleeping parents’ finger to open access. But one method will not work; according to the good people at Slash Gear, a severed finger will not be able to unlock the phone. Phew!

Microsoft Office to the iPad/Android?
Microsoft’s departing CEO Steve Ballmer has implied that the company has a version of Microsoft Office in the works that will operate on Apple’s iOS iPad as well as on tablets that run the Android operating system.

He did not come right out and say that it was a done deal but according to IT World Ballmer listed porting popular Microsoft products to non-Microsoft platforms was a potential growth area for the company going forward.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, iOS, iPad, Microsoft, Samsung, Tablets, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Despite Macintosh Issues, NBC Records Record Audiences for Sunday Night Football Online Streams

September 17, 2013 by

Even though Macintosh users are now second-class citizens when it comes to watching NFL games online, NBC this season has still racked up record numbers of online streams of live action, according to NBC.

The NFL’s season opening game, carried by NBC on Thursday Sept. 5, accounted for more than 20 million minutes of online streaming, making it the biggest-ever online sports event that wasn’t a Super Bowl or Olympics, according to NBC. And this past Sunday’s game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks racked up another 18 million-plus online minutes, making it the new #2 such online event (surpassing the Week 1 Sunday night show, which totaled nearly 12 million online minutes, according to NBC).

“It’s safe to say we’re definitely seeing a significant increase in online viewing,” said an NBC spokesperson, who spoke with us via phone on Tuesday.

In regards to the issues we (and some of our readers) had in accessing the live game streams from Macintosh computers, NBC had this official response:

“We [NBC] have the ability to stream our linear Sunday Night Football coverage to all desktops, and to tablets through the browser. However, for the 2013 season, we do not have the ability to stream our enriched package, which includes alternate camera angles, to non-Microsoft operating systems.”

Why are Mac platforms second-class citizens this year? It’s an educated guess, but it can probably be traced to the NFL’s deal with Microsoft made earlier this year, though we have no official confirmation of that being the reason. You make the call. What does that mean for Mac users? On Sunday night online, only Windows devices will have access to the “enhanced” online features, including multiple camera angles and social media links. Mac users should still be able to view live action, but only using Safari browsers — Chrome or Firefox won’t work.

So why do some Mac users see no video at all? In my case, I suspect that my reluctance to upgrade my desktop OS or an older version of Safari (which I only use sparingly) is behind my inability to see live video. While some readers said that de-installing Safari AdBlocker allowed them to see live video, others were like me, and couldn’t get the stream to work at all. The NBC spokesperson said they aren’t seeing or hearing about any widespread problems; readers who still have problems next week Sunday, please let us know!

It’s possible that all the problems of favored or shunned client platforms could become a thing of the past in the short-term future, when new NFL TV contracts kick in next year. Part of the problems are simply that technology is moving faster than TV rights contracts — the last time the NFL signed TV deals, tablets didn’t exist at all, so there was no legal language spelling out who could and who couldn’t use them to access live action. Verizon’s NFL Mobile package suffers from similar restrictions, with viewers able to only use cellphones and not tablets via a cellular connection to view live action via the NFL Mobile app. It’s a mess right now, and viewers are paying the price in more ways than one.

What is clear is that many more viewers see online as just another method to access content they have already paid for, either via a cable contract or a cellular or a satellite deal. The onus, I think, is on the league and its content partners to take better care of its customers, who are just trying to watch their favorite sport. They shouldn’t have to both pay and experience the pain of little or no support.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, iOS, iPad, Microsoft, NBC Sports, NFL, NFL Mobile, Verizon Wireless Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

MLBAM adds Ticket functions to At the Ballpark App

September 17, 2013 by

mlb

Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) continues to push the envelope in providing fan friendly apps that do everything from allow you to listen to games on the road, seat upgrades to ordering food at select ballparks and has now expanded its At the Ballpark app to allow access to tickets.

MLBAM has developed the feature with Tickets.com to create MyTickets Mobile, a feature that will reside in the already shipping At the Ballpark app. The app is designed for not only season ticket holders but also fans that have purchased a single game ducat.

Using the At the Ballpark app a user can access their ticket, which will include what is expected such as opponent, seat, row, section, game time and secure bar code that are on a printed ticket. So now the ease with which you can show a plane boarding pass or pay for your coffee at leading outlets is also available for baseball fans.

The app will also support users of Apple’s Passbook so that tickets can be stored there for use and overall the app is supported by both Apple iOS devices as well as ones that run the Android operating system.

The program will not be available at all ballparks upon release with only these 12 teams supporting the program: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. MLBAM said that additional clubs are expected to support the app at some point in the future.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, iOS, Major League Baseball Tagged With: , ,

SideDraft App Designed for Peer-to-Peer NFL Fantasy Betting

September 16, 2013 by

money

So you have won your NFL Fantasy League for 2 years running and are now looking for greater fields for your talent? Then you might give a new mobile app, SideDraft, a try and see how you do with the cash prizes as the goal at the end of the rainbow.

The app, slated to be released Sept. 17 by Blue Ox Entertainment, is a departure from traditional fantasy football programs in that a player’s lineup is different each week, or against each new opponent, so while your powerhouse team may not be able to dominate for a season, conversely if several of your star players turn out to be monumental busts you are not stuck with them for 16 games either.

A player funds his account and then SideDraft has a player draft each week. A player selects a payout that can range from nothing to $1,000. They then select an opponent and the two have a draft, each alternating for six selections each.

Then the real players hit the field and accumulate points for their respective teams, and obviously the one with the most points wins. The app tracks the games in real time and afterwards it’s time to brag or hang your head low, depending on the outcome. That and collect your winnings if you fell into the first category.

Depending on your confidence and budget a player is not limited to a single match each week but can offer multiple challenges and field a number of teams, using the week between games to conduct the drafts needed to fill out their fantasy rosters.

SideDraft officially launches Sept. 17 and initially will only be available on iPhones and iPads.

The area of sports and social betting is one that apps have been addressing for some time, and while it’s hard to judge it does not look as if any have really risen to the top of the pack. In part that is likely because there is such an overwhelming number of apps out there that even interested parties have a tough time sorting through the chaff to find the gems.

This is Blue Ox Entertainment’s second dip into the betting pool, with its SideBet app having been released in 2011 and then updated and enhanced last year, an app that enables individuals to bet against each other. There have been a variety of other betting apps released such as 2Bet2, GrabFan and Pickmoto.

Pro Football seems like it has the potential to be the space that breaks open this market. Its national viewership is massive. According to Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA), more than 23 million Americans will play fantasy football in 2013, and NFL betting is the single largest betting segment at sportsbooks, so SideDraft has a huge potential market to draw from. It will be interesting to see if it can gain the market awareness needed to break out in this space.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, Betting, Fantasy Sports, iPad, iPhone, NFL, Pickmoto, SideDraft Tagged With: , , , , ,

Sunday Sermon: More Support and Execution Needed for Mobile Sports Apps

September 15, 2013 by

So far this NFL season, we’ve had two weeks and two big failures on the mobile football-viewing application front. For the opener there was the (still unexplained) meltdown of Verizon Wireless’ NFL Mobile app, a snafu that probably caused millions to miss live coverage that they had paid for on their phones.

This weekend, we’re still not sure of the extent of the problem (or whether it was something NBC knew about) but I was unable to view NBC’s Sunday Night Football game on the web, even though as a Comcast subscriber and a Mac user NBC’s own site tells me that I can. Attempts to watch in Chrome or Firefox met with error messages pointing me to Safari. And while some of our readers said that disabling an ad-blocking extension allowed them to use Safari to watch SNF online, even using Safari I wasn’t able to connect and neither were other readers. The bigger question is, why, in 2013, is a major network restricting access to different browsers and OSes? Aren’t we past all that?

Apparently not. The bigger problem, I think, is that there’s too much money and attention being spent promoting online and wireless sports-viewing apps, and not enough spent on the coding and technical support. When I finally got through to a Verizon support rep on opening day that person tried to say that errors couldn’t be fixed because “high call volume,” as if that’s a believable phrase anymore, was taking resources away from tech support. And even the NFL Mobile support’s efforts to pass off Verizon’s errors as a “server hiccup” are lame. Verizon makes something like $40 billion a quarter, and can pay $1 billion just for mobile NFL rights. But they can’t keep their phone banks staffed or their biggest sports app working on opening day? That is a priority decision that is a head slap to the users who pay $5 extra a month for NFL Mobile. But it’s apparently about the norm for mobile sports viewing apps.

NBC’s apparent decision to alienate Macintosh users is harder to figure out. At the very least, if they are going to take money from Microsoft and that is behind why NBC is “enhancing” things for Windows viewers online, be honest and tell Mac users upfront that you’re not going to get access.

If I can send any advice to teams thinking about putting in stadium apps, it would be to make sure you also have budget for technical support. I know it’s not easy to design an app or a web service that works with the dizzying amount of client devices and software install versions out in the world today. But when the biggest companies out there now are falling down on the job, it’s not a good sign for the industry overall. More support for mobile apps, please — before users stop trying them out of sheer frustration.

Filed Under: Apps Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: NBA STATS, Pac-12 & U-verse

September 13, 2013 by

The NBA has expanded a limited partnership with STATS to full time and will be installing motion tracking cameras in every arena this season. This will enable teams to amass a huge amount of data that can be used for in-game decisions as well as for other uses.

First used in 2009 for the NBA Finals, and now used by 15 teams, it allows for the analysis of player movement and a team can see how well or poorly its players fare in head to head matchups, among other uses.

Lenovo Enters the Phablet Phase
Lenovo has taken the wraps off of its 5-inch Vibe X Phablet. The smartphone features a 5-inch display that has 1920 x 1080 resolution and is powered by a 1,5GHz quad core processor. It has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage. However it is not clear how wide of a distribution the device will have.

Panasonic teases with 20-inch tablet presentation
It looks like Panasonic is preparing a 20-inch tablet that could be for the mainstream market that is being touted as the thinnest and lightest. The company showed it a in a presentation at a pre-IFA event last week in Berlin.

The Panasonic 4K tablet is expected to have 3840 x 2160 pixel resolution and was shown as a concept offering, but the company has shown in the past that it is building a 20-inch device. Slash Gear reported that it could simply be a scaled down version of a previously shown model.

Pac-12 Networks inks deal with AT&T U-Verse
The Pac-12 now has an official wireless provider for all of its athletic venues in the form of AT&T and its U-Verse service. The deal, signed last week has already resulted in the broadcast of five football games last Saturday.

Going forward AT&T will deliver web and app access to the games but the timing for those was not announced. It will rebroadcast a number of Pac-12 Network broadcasts for the time being in both HD and SD.

NFL Teams with Sporting News for video
If you are always looking for NFL videos and highlights during the offseason then there is good news for you as the NFL has signed a deal with Sporting News Media to just that by bringing the 2013 NFL regular and postseason to the SN ePlayer platform.

Sporting News will have video on demand highlights from the NFL games as well as additional content and will make it available to fans year round so that they can relieve the highlights or lowlghts of the season over and over again.

Microsoft has big event Sept. 23
Press invites are making their way to the appropriate people inviting them to a major event that Microsoft will be hosting on Sept. 23 that will be held in New York City. The event, listed as a Surface event, is expected to bring the company’s second generation tablets to the public.

Intel to develop low cost chip for tablets
The annual Intel Developers Conference was in full swing last week with a huge outpouring of press releases and talking points, and one that is of particular interest is its pledge for a new processor targeted directly at Android tablet makers.

Intel said that it is making an as yet unnamed processor in the Atom family that will enable Android developers to offer tablets at sub-$100 rates. Of course since Apple makes its own processors don’t expect an iPad in this space anytime soon.

Filed Under: Android, Apps, AT&T, Lenovo, Live sports via mobile, Microsoft, NBA, NCAA Football, NFL, Pac-12, Surface, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , , , ,
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