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Friday Grab Bag: Microsoft Goes Small and MLB hits it Big

April 12, 2013 by

People seem drawn to March Madness pools like moths to a flame, and this year ESPN’s mammoth pool, 8.15 million strong had a surprise winner, Lanny Kekua. If that name does not ring a bell it is the fake dead girlfriend of Notre Dame football star Manti Te’o.

The name was used as an alias by a fan named Craig Gilmore, who won the tournament and successfully selected Louisville to defeat Michigan in the final. He is now entered into a drawing for a $10,000 Best Buy gift card.

Reebok Spartan Race hits the baseball circuit
Last year the Sparta Race held an event at a baseball park, and it proved to be very popular. So this year it is upping the ante and will be holding a series of events at ballyards, and it has announced the first four venues.

Athletes living near The New York Mets’ Citi Field, The Philadelphia Phillies’ Citizen Bank Park, The Milwaukee Brewers’ Miller Park or The Boston Red Sox Fenway Park can start practicing for the event near you.

Did Windows 8 Launch hurt PC sales?
Market research firm IDC has reported that sales of personal computers continued a downward fall, and is ascribing part of the blame to the latest operating system release from Microsoft, Windows 8. The most recent IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker report shows that in the first quarter of 2013 there was a total average drop in PC shipments of 13.9% compared to the previous quarter.

Bob O’Donnell, IDC Program Vice President, Clients and Displays said that the company’s research showed that not only did Windows 8 not provide the hoped for boost in sales that many had been planning on, it actually served as a major detriment to sales.

At Bat Starts off with hot streak
Major League Baseball’s popular At Bat program for mobile device users has been a hot download at the start of this year’s season. The program surpassed the 4 million download mark last week, five days into the season.

Last year, when the app was also on a record setting pace, it took it 45 days to reach the 4 million milestone. For the year the app was downloaded 6.7 million times in 2012. MLB’s other two major apps At the Ballpark and Beat the Streak had roughly a million additional downloads.

The Rumor Mill

Tom’s Hardware is showing what is reportedly the next generation tablet from Acer, the Iconia tab A1-810 that had been accidentally briefly advertised by a French retailer. The 7.9-inch tablet is said to be powered by a 1.2GHz Cortex A9 processor featuring 1GB of RAM.

Newly leaked images of the forthcoming iPad from Apple appear to show a device that is thinner than previous releases and has reinforced the rumor that Apple is completely redesigning the popular tablet, currently reported to have the name iPad 5.

To the surprise of no one it has been reported that Microsoft has a 7-inch tablet in the works. With the rapidly growing popularity of this form factor a better issue might be what took them so long? The Wall Street Journal, via The Hispanic Business.com said that the tablets are expected to go into production later this year.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Baseball, ESPN, iPad, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, Microsoft, NCAA Hoops, Smartphone, Spartan Race, Surface, Tablets, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

March Madness Ended Like it Started for Mobile Users: Strongly

April 11, 2013 by

mardas

The mobile and online viewing market for the most recent MCAA Division 1 basketball tournament ended just like it started, setting records for viewership and total amount of live game video streamed to fans.

The tournament was a huge televised hit, with the final between Louisville and Michigan garnering a an average 23.4 million viewers, up 12% from last year and a 19 year high, the online virewership was also record setting.

The overall mobile and online viewership hit 49 million live video streams, an increase of 168% from last year with more than 14 million hours of live video consumed by the fans. Both of these numbers set new records.

Not surprisingly the mobile space, with the strong growth of tablets in the last year and the powerful presence of smartphones, saw very strong growth for the tournament. Minutes were up 309% for mobile phones and 194% for tablet users.

PC users still represent a strong viewing group with broadband users represented 5.8 million unique visitors who watched games from their systems and they averaged 105 minutes of live video watched per user while mobile users averaged 70 minutes.

Social media users were also out in force, with the National Championship game netting a total of 3.5 million comments across all social media monitored, up 144% from last year. For the tournament as a whole there were 16.3 million comments, up 112% from last year.

The top ranked games across digital platforms during the 2013 NCAA Tournament, based on live video streams. Interesting to note that the final was not the top game

Valparaiso vs. Michigan State – 1,844,000
Bucknell vs. Butler – 1,784,000
Mississippi vs. Wisconsin – 1,778,000
Michigan vs. Louisville – 1,620,000
Albany vs. Duke – 1,488,000

Filed Under: Apps, Basketball, Duke University, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NCAA Hoops, NCAA.com, Smartphone, Sports Social Media, Tablets, Turner Sports Tagged With: , , , ,

Major League Baseball teams with Qualcomm to Boost Ballpark Wireless Service

April 10, 2013 by

mlb

MLB, like all major sports, and for that matter any large venue for sports or entertainment, seems to always have a connectivity problem but unlike many others which seem to have patchwork solutions MLB is actively addressing the issue.

The league’s Advanced Media arm (MLBAM) has teamed with wireless equipment developer Qualcomm in a multiyear effort that will first seek to survey the needs of mobile fans and then look at developing a plan to implement the mobile network technology needed to meet those needs.

They are entering a very fast moving space, where it is still hard to predict what the growth and demand will look like. You need only look at some of the numbers that Baseball has provided to see this. Two years ago fans were primarily looking for downstream data flow, that is downloading e-mails checking voicemail.

That has change so that now the primary need is for upstream connectivity, so that twitter, Facebook updates, Instagram photos and a host of other social media needs can be served. Also these types of files are often much larger than the simple text messages downloaded two years earlier. However the growth has been strong for data flowing in both directions, a 50% increase in downstream and a 300% increase in upstream per year over the last two years.

MLB in fact helps create demand for wireless in its parks. It has a range of apps that allow fans to do everything from find images of themselves in the stands as well as post that type of photo to upgrading your seats while at a game.

The range of services now at ballparks range considerably, and even after this effort is over will still have a good deal of variance since it appears that not all teams will be participating.

The deal is a first for Qualcomm in that in the past it has never had a direct relationship with a sports league. Its Engineering Group will provide in-ballpark assessments of select parks and develop a comprehensive plan for wireless access that will include Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G services. The effort is expected to take two years.

It will be interesting to see if the experts can accurately foretell the future and if the installations will meet with future needs. The San Francisco Giants’ AT&T Park is continually undergoing enhancements and growing pains as fans mobile usage continues to grow. But at least during the recent World Series it held up, while Comercia Park’s network collapsed under the strain of social commenting at games.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Apps, AT&T, Baseball, Cisco, Facebook, Instagram, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, Major League Baseball, Social Media, Sports Social Media Tagged With: , , , ,

Boston Marathon Apps Enables Fans to Track Favorites During Race

April 9, 2013 by

att

April 15 is often a day of dread for many as income taxes can no longer be put off , yet there is an event that will draw at least half a million people that will be cheered by the events of the day, the annual Boston Marathon.

While you may not be able to get to Bean Town to watch the 117th running of the event there is now an app available from AT&T and the Boston Athletic Association that runs the event that will enable you to track the runners and their times during the race.

Marathon apps are nothing new; the New York Marathon has had one available for several years and there are any number of running apps that allow you to post your route and time in real time, but this is still a good way for those who are interested in tracking the times from the event.

However the app and other related programs from AT&T are part of a larger weekend event that the company is using to offer free service to runners, friends and family attending Marathon Weekend.

The marathon app enables users to select up to 10 runners that are participating in any of the races that day and it will provide updates from the 10K point, the halfway point of 13.1 miles at Wellesley Center, the 30K point and the finish line.

For the true athletes that are actually racing there is the Athlete Alert Program that permits runners to automatically update their progress along the course. Runners register prior to the race and as they pass specific points automatic messages are sent out to e-mail addresses, smartphones and other devices.

Other features from the weekend include free commemorative photos at the finish line for both runners and fans and the network will provide free calling centers for race finishers to contact friends via phone or text.

Filed Under: Android, Apps, AT&T, Contests Tagged With: ,

MLB teams with GigaPan to Engage Fans With Game Images of Crowds

April 8, 2013 by

tag

Ever looked at photos of a ball game that you attended and you searched to see if you could find yourself? Well that has just been made a whole lot easier with one of the new efforts that MLB Advanced Media and GigaPan have launched this season.

They have developed a program that shows the crowds at games in a high-definition, interactive panorama located at MLB’s TagOramic web site that allows a fan to zoom in on sections of seats and find themselves and friends. Having tried it I found several friends at a recent Giants game. You can then tag yourself, which will appear as a blue dot above your head as well as share photos via Facebook Connect.

This is part of a partnership between the two that has also given birth to a a new series of programs that are digital interactive scavenger hunts. The goal is to find a hidden object or person and you can win prizes.

The first one, called the Scotts Ultimate Home Field Advantage Sweepstakes – was introduced on March 25, and offers fans the opportunity to #FindScott and tag him in theTagOramic for a chance to win a $25,000 backyard makeover. Clues and hints are available from MLB’s Facebook and Twitter feed.

There are plans to run multiple contests over the year. MLB has been very aggressive in using mobile and social media to not only engage fans but also to enhance the experience at the park by allowing you to order food or upgrade seats with a smartphone or tablet. The league appears to be far ahead of its rival major sports leagues at this point and continues to push the envelope on what it can offer. While this program is hardly a epoch making event it does signify the leagues continual interest in providing for its fans.

Filed Under: Apps, Baseball, Contests, Facebook, Major League Baseball, Smartphone, Sports Social Media, Tablets Tagged With: , , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: The Cost of Hot Dogs and New Nexus Coming?

April 5, 2013 by

If you cannot get enough of Facebook on your mobile devices this will be very good news. The company has delivered an app called ‘Facebook Home’ that is an Android program which replaces your normal Android home screen.

Scheduled to be launched within the next two weeks the app will also come preinstalled on new HTC First Phones that will be available from AT&T. Facebook is working to launch a version for tablets in the near future. Head over to TechCrunch to see what the new features will be.

Next Gen Nexus rumored for July
The latest in the tablet rumors is that Google’s popular Nexus tablet will be seeing a platform refresh this coming July, according to a report in Reuters, and from the sounds of the report the company plans to be very aggressive in its pricing.

The new Nexus would feature greater screen resolution, a thinner bezel and a new processor, dropping Nvidia in favor of Qualcomm. It is reported the company will be seeking to sell 8 million tablets in the second half of the year.

Speaking of Google rumors another has it building an Android powered notebook that it is planning to launch as early as in the third quarter of this year.

Amazon Kindle Phone on the way?
Computerworld is reporting that Amazon is looking at developing and delivering a smartphone that it would deliver later this year. It is not clear of Amazon would make it a type of Kindle phone or if it would be a more traditional Android device.

Amazon recently hired Charles Kindel who had formerly headed up Microsoft’s Windows Phone application and platform developer relations. Apparently Kindel has been blogging that he was hired by Amazon to ‘do something secret” I am sure blogging will help keep it a secret.

Ematic delivers low cost Android tablet
If you are looking for a low cost tablet, possibly as a single use device or one that you are not afraid to have damaged you might want to look at the latest offering from Ematic and its $79.99 7-inch Genesis Prime tablet.

While certainly not designed to set the world on fire with its features it does have a 1.1GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 4GB on-board storage, 5GB cloud storage, 512MB of RAM, front-facing VGA camera and 4.5 hours of battery life.

No peanuts or crackerjacks here
Sports fans are always competitive and now they can see how they rank in two very important categories- how much they are spending on beer and on hot dogs at the ball yard, thanks to a survey by CNN Money.

I have to say I surprised at the differences. You can buy six hot dogs at Cincinnati’s Great American Park for the price of one at the New York Met’s Citi Field, for instance. Beer is most expensive in Washington D.C. and cheapest in Cleveland.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, AT&T, Baseball, Google, Intel, iPad, Kindle, Major League Baseball, Microsoft, Smartphone, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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