Gaming industry giant Razer is demoing their new Forge TV product at CES this week and the first impression of the device are quite favorable. Forge TV is an Android powered gaming platform, but rather than a full size (not to mention cost) console, it is about 4” by 4” and is considered a micro console. Don’t be fooled by the small size, as it packs a Qualcomm 805 processor, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. After accounting for the Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system, about 14 GB of usable space remains.

Forge TV seems to fill a niche that I wasn’t sure was clearly defined, a place below multi-hundred dollar price tags yet above more casual mobile options. The micro-console itself goes for $99.99, though you’ll need to spend an extra $50 on the Serval controller bundle. Given that the Serval normally goes for $80 as a stand alone device for Android gaming, paying $150 for both the controller as well as the console is a great deal.

The hands-on experience with both Forge TV and the controller was pleasantly surprising. I was admittedly skeptical walking up to the little box, wondering what kind of punch it could really pack. With ports for an ethernet cable, HDMI, USB 4.1 plus a wi-fi connection, I didn’t have much faith regarding the true guts of the device. Once I was in-game, the graphics didn’t blow me away, but was certainly a clear step above mobile Android gaming. While multiplayer games were not set up, Forge TV does support up to four controllers.

The load times between the games were brief, though there was an instance where the game did give about a 15 second loading screen. That was the exception more than the rule as other levels loaded quickly. At one point my controller did disconnect from the micro-console. Our demo booth had a hard wired connection rather than wireless and it took a simple unplug, plug it back in to fix the issue.

In addition to the gaming potential, Forge TV also showed off its Google integration. From the home menu, familiar options such as Play Music, YouTube, Play Movies & Television shows etc. all appeared. Other apps already on board are Crackle, Hulu Plus and Red Bull TV. The little box also sports Google Cast, thus allowing you to stream web based content directly to your television.

One thing  I missed out on was a chance to see Razer Cortex in action. Cortex allows Forge TV to utilize existing PC games via a $34.99 software add-on. Granting the ability to play PC games on a console for barely half the price of a console game is an impressive move, however I personally don’t like Day 1 add-on costs. Perhaps something like a 7-day free demo will be released by Razer to entice potential buyers.

Minor quibbles aside, I came away very impressed with what Razer has done with Forge TV thus far. As someone who leans towards being a PC gamer, a cheap micro-console that I can play my computer games on has a ton of appeal.

Header photo courtesy of Razer

With the cable-cutting generation in mind, Dish Network has made the effort to meet the cable subscription-free crowd halfway. The satellite entertainment company announced their Sling TV service, granting the ability to stream live television — in particular news and sports — all without a terrestrial TV package.

Though Sling TV is still only in an invite-only beta release, numerous companies have already agreed to sign on. Among the big name entertainment channels is ESPN, TNT, TBS, CNN and Food Network. The service will cost $20 per month, but it is not tied to a contract or any specific time commitment, and thus can be canceled at anytime.

On top of the lack of any long-term commitment as well as the channel lineup already in place, the streaming audience should take note too. Despite still being in an early phase, Sling TV is already compatible with Roku, Fire TV, Nexus player and XBox.

Though the booth at CES did not display Chromecast compatibility, the representative I spoke with did say Sling TV can be used with the Google Cast system.

Sling TV is ready to go with Android and iOS devices as the beta version was already up and running on a number of iPads and Android tablets. While I was able to get a hands-on experience on the mobile devices, I didn’t get a chance to use the Xbox version. Sling TV has been steadily tweeting out updates and news regarding their service.

ESPN, the self-proclaimed “worldwide leader in sports,” has at last released their WatchESPN mobile app for Windows devices. The free-to-download app is available for all Windows 8/8.1 devices and allows streaming sports directly to your mobile device. Of course the standard caveat with any WatchESPN app is that a cable television subscription in order to access the live streams.

Despite requiring a TV package, seeing the field of apps expand for Windows users is a good sign. Though they sold not even 3% of the smartphone market in the third quarter of 2014, Windows phones may very well be on the rise. Microsoft has plans to grow their app market, potentially through the Android app market. As the IDC graphic below illustrates, the vast majority of smartphone units sold in Q3 2014 were on the Android platform — mostly the more budget-rate devices for sub-$200.

Microsoft’s recent focus has been on that particular price point — they sport four unlocked devices for less than $200 each as well as 14 different phones below that either on contract or off. If adding the WatchESPN app is the beginning of a new era of Windows smartphones, all the better for competition.

RosterBot, the service aimed at streamlining all team organization for youth and recreation leagues, will introduce a chat feature in January, Sports Illustrated recently reported. The feature will allow coaches, players and parents to plan pizza parties, coordinate practice schedules or share a video of the game-winning hit, an attractive tool to an already solid team management service.

“It keeps (communication) in one place, where you can read it at your leisure,” said Bret Hedican, a former NHL player and current San Jose Sharks broadcaster and RosterBot co-owner, to Sports Illustrated. “There are always things to talk about and we want all that info in one spot.”

For those that want to spend more time coaching and less time on the administrative side of the job, RosterBot is a coach’s dream come true. Coaches enter a team roster and can create events, or games, and players or parents can check off which games they will or will not be attending. The player editor lists players’ names, contact information and positions, and a coach can blast an email team-wide with one click. And with the chat feature to come, gone are the reply-all emails that chew up an inbox’s space and grind at the patience of the recipients.

Created in 2008 as an experiment by Ian Bell, RosterBot received over $1 million in seed funding, as it announced earlier this year. Former NHL player Paul Reinhart’s investing group Sora Capital led the financing and was joined by Hedican along with David Tedman, co-founder of Hootsuite. Additionally, RosterBot has partnered with Invoke Labs, which specializes at accelerating growth for startups, as it did with Hootsuite. Tedman also founded Invoke Labs.

Reinhart, a father of three hockey players — including Sam Reinhart, drafted second overall in 2014 by the Buffalo Sabres — told Beta Kit that RosterBot will become essential in all levels of sports.

“It’s a service that I certainly wish existed 15 years ago when my career as a hockey dad began,” Reinhart said.

But RosterBot’s value isn’t just for youth sports. Ever manage an adult rec league team? The biggest pain is collecting league fees from players. RosterBot will handle the bookkeeping. The app won’t count a player as active until they’ve paid their dues. And can you imagine the smack talk with the chat feature? Expletives galore.

RosterBot (free) is available for both iPhone and Android and users can also log in at rosterbot.com to access their accounts.

(Image via RosterBot)

While Facebook does their “year in review” with everyone’s respective timelines, I’d like to take a look at the my past year’s purchases and orders in either the sports or nerdy fields, sometimes both. Given my personal interests, there should be no surprise to find soccer and baseball dominate the list. In reverse order, this is my very subjective list of my favorite online purchases from the year.

Honorable mentions:
Thrustmaster T-Flight Stick
In what is inarguably my nerdiest purchase of the year, I went out and bought a joystick controller for my computer upon learning was Star Wars: TIE Fighter was available again. I’m not sure how 9-year-old me managed to beat the game, as 27-year-old me has struggled to make it past the third battle.

NCAA Football 2006 for the Xbox/Xbox 360 I’ve ran the dynasty in this game almost since release day. No surprise to say I’ve worn through several discs, but this year’s replacement will probably have at least another year or two in it. When I stumbled across this game for less than six bucks via Amazon, I had to buy it.

5. An Alberto Callaspo Oakland A’s shirsey
It was the top of the 12th inning and at this point the combination of frustration and craft beer had taken its toll on me. In possibly the cruelest turn of playoff events, I made a promise to the Twitter world that if the pinch-hitting Callaspo delivered an RBI hit, I would instantly purchase his shirsey. Well, he did. I ran around my apartment excited, ordered the shirsey, and my A’s lost anyway. Que sera, sera. On an unrelated note, I may be the only man in the world to own the triple threat of shirseys with Daric Barton, Brett Anderson and Alberto Callaspo.

4. FOX Soccer 2Go
Probably a top-five streaming service — excluding Netflix and Amazon Prime — FOX Soccer 2Go is a very clean interface, though not particularly cheap at $119.99 for the year. The quality of the UEFA Champions league matches makes up for the price tag, however top league plays such as the Premier League and La Liga cannot be streamed. I’ll continue to support this, as top flight football fixtures are worth it me, though this may not be for everyone.

3. Two tickets to the 100th anniversary of Wrigley Field

Was it cold? Absolutely. Did I run late and miss out on the Federal jersey? Of course I did. All that aside, it was still a pretty incredible game, plus the view made it worth it.

At the time my iPhone’s Passbook worked  very well, though Apple Pay wasn’t available for in-stadium purchases just yet.

The game itself was entertaining, even in the ninth inning as the Cubs blew a three run lead. The WPA chart is a sad story. At one point the Cubs held a 97.5% chance of winning. Oof.

2. A South Korea Home Jersey + Scarf

I guess I should give props to Amazon for packaging these two options together with their creepily-accurate targeted ads. I was only after the jersey, but they sucked me with a great deal on the scarf. While my home nation flamed out in the group stage — in awful fashion, too as they couldn’t score against a 10-man Belgium side and even conceded a goal up a man — this combination of team pride is something I’ll wear long into the future.

1. MLS Live
As the full version of the review states, the video-on-demand system MLS Live brings to table is the best I’ve come across. The interface is clean, the mobile app is strong on its own and best of all, the price tag for a full season is barely half of MLB.tv’s cost. As a league, MLS is on rise in terms of quality, plus seeing USMNT players at the club level is always grand. This is certainly an annual purchase for myself from now on.

(Header image via Forbes.com)

With the seemingly inexorable rise in the price of sports programming, it seemed inevitable that cable operators would have to charge subscribers for the privilege of watching American sports. According to Multichannel News, that time has already come with Time Warner Cable, as they have announced that they will be adding a $2.75 sports surcharge to subscribers’ bills starting in January 2015.

In the announcement, Time Warner cable claimed that the cost of cable sports programming has risen 91% since 2008, and according to Patrick Hruby of Sports on Earth, the average cost of a regional sports network has has risen 52 percent over the past five years. This is certainly conceivable with the types of TV deals being reached in the past few years, like the 9-year $24 billion NBA-ESPN deal in October of this year.

In Forbes, Maury Brown noted the irony of Time Warner’s announcement after their struggle to get distribution for SportsNet LA, the regional sports network they manage. The costs of carrying the channel jumped after they made a 25-year deal worth over $8.35 billion  to broadcast Los Angeles Dodgers games. This led to a standoff between TWC and other cable operators like DirecTV for distribution rights, leading nearly 70% of Los Angeles area residents unable to watch Dodgers broadcasts this past season.

After the Supreme Court’s ruling against cable disruptor Aereo, and with John McCain’s Television Consumer Freedom Act having little hope of passage in Congress, there doesn’t seem to be much hope for governmental intervention in the cable arena. Regardless, speculation of an approaching sports cable bubble persists. However, it will likely take years for this bubble to burst, requiring an increasing rate of cord-cutting and rising prices for cable subscribers.

(Header photo via NewYorkTrendNYC)

There is no denying the holiday season brings a boon for the most sales industries, in particular the wireless field. With that in mind, many of the staff and readers of TechGraphs have no doubt received a device of some sort, so here today are some post-holiday season add-ons. Ranging from music to films and television to apps and video games, we have a wide assortment of free and reduced price things for you to browse.

Kicking things off with a topical, or at least seasonal, item today via the Google Play Store the entire Frozen soundtrack is free to download. All 32 tracks — I couldn’t believe there were than many either — are free today. So quite possibly for the first time in forever (I had to sneak a little play in), grab the score from the biggest grossing animated film of 2013. For a different sound, pop-punk band Pararmore has made their track “Ain’t It Fun” also free today along with nine other singles from various artists.

Of course, if you’re looking for a good read instead, H.G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds” is free in the Play Store as well. In lieu of classic reading, given the new year — not to mention new year’s resolutions — then check out some of the various free workout guides. Factor in the end-of-the-year sales on apps such as Runtastic Butt Trainer, no really, as well as a sleep aid app (also by Runtastic for free) and the Play Store offers plenty of options.

Not to be outdone, Amazon has offered a bevy of apps marked down to free for their Kindle tablets. Head over to their App Deals or specifically the Fire Tablets page for them. On top of the apps and games, there are more than 22,000 songs (over 45,000 if you include Prime only tracks) also available to download at no charge. If you prefer the old fashioned pages of a real magazine rather than a digital screen, now is the time to get yourself a 12-month subscription to Golf Digest, normally almost $100, now less than 20 bucks. As with many Amazon purchases, the digital version is available instantly with the paper version shipping within a few weeks.

Apple and iOS users have great options as well, including a reduced price on the instant video add-on via Coach’s Eye. Both NBA 2K15 and NHL 2K have been marked down 50% to $3.99 each. Mere days ago Apple released their list of the top free and paid apps — only viewable in iTunes unfortunately — but the list of this week’s hot apps is available as always directly on the iTunes site.

Be it a Kindle Fire HDX, an iPad Air Two, or a Nexus 8 — no matter which device you were fortunate to receive (or treat yourself to) there is no shortage of cheap and even free entertainment. Make sure you don’t miss out on the holiday specials!

(Header image via 401korganizer.org)

WatchESPN — ESPN’s online streaming site — has been providing access to all kinds of sporting events for some time now, but the ability to use the site has always been contingent on which cable/satellite package one subscribed to. Many of the big players like Comcast, AT&T U-Verse, and DISH already have agreements with ESPN/Disney to offer said streaming content. But anyone who had DirecTV as their television provider was left out in the cold. According to a press release from ESPN, those days will soon be over.

Thanks to a new agreement between the provider and Disney, some 39 million DirecTV customers will soon have access to WatchESPN as well as many other Disney streaming services. The deal is set to kick in sometime in early 2015. While this might be too late for this go-round of college bowl season, DirecTV customers will soon have access to a large swath of sports streaming content including NCAA basketball, NBA, the SEC and Longhorn Networks, and original ESPN programming like SportsCenter and Around the Horn on their computers and mobile devices.

It’s a little surprising that it took this long for ESPN to strike a deal with such a large television provider, but better late than never, I suppose. Download those apps, DirecTV customers. Soon you will have the span of nearly every ESPN offering in the palms of your hands. It’s a Festivus miracle!

Sitting atop this week’s most popular Android apps is Coach’s Eye, a free app designed to give feedback and help hone skills for everything from track & field to baseball to golf to tennis. By providing on-the-fly feedback, Coach’s Eye can show tips on mechanics ranging from rotation to hand positioning.

While the app itself is free, most of the analytic tools cost either $2.99 or $3.99. The tools include packages such as the Angle Tool, Line Tool, Circle Tool and like, displaying various things on screen. There are also advertisements ranging anywhere from 10 to 30 seconds longs. However, you can remove those for $4.99.

Despite the nickel-and-dime feel for certain features, Coach’s Eye does offer some incredible free features. The ability to create GIFs on your phone is awesome, and the so called “Channels” is great as well. The built-in GIF maker within Coach’s Eye takes just a few moments to turn a video clip into a GIF. Within the file size parameters you can pick when to start and end the GIF as well, thus capturing only what you want to.

Channels is a three-part listing including Staff Picks, Leaderboard and Latest video clips. Staff Picks include proper weight lifting techniques, how to make better contact on the golf course and even a Stephen Curry workout.

The Leaderboard tab shows popular videos, occasionally with breakdowns on it. For example, a field goal kicking breakdown is available to watch.

The hub labeled Latest is just that, the most recent user-created uploads. It could be a goalie on the ice, a runner on the track or someone in the batting cage. There is no shortage of uploads.

Coach’s Eye brings unique and needed instant help to athletes, though some may get frustrated with the advertisements and the need to purchase add-ons to get a full feel for the app. Even just the free version is well worth the download as the Staff Picks and Leaderboard videos are great, as is the ability to create a GIF of yourself or your friends instantly.

Starting tonight, Orlando Magic fans have a new way to pay for those ten dollar cold ones.

The Magic is the first team in the National Basketball Association to offer Apple Pay to its customers. To start, it will only be available at 60 concession and retail locations throughout the Amway Center. However, the team will be expanding locations during the season and aim to reach 200 for the start of the 2015-16 season.

This, however, will not be Apple Pay’s debut in professional sports. MLB Advanced Media paid an undisclosed figure to install more than 300 terminals at Kauffman Stadium and AT&T Park in October for the World Series, marking the first use of the service at any sports facility. Meanwhile, down on the farm, the minor league Akron RubberDucks announced in October that it will accept Apple Pay at Canal Park for the 2015 season.

Here’s how it works. Using a near-field communication (NFC) chip, the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus will send a payment to a store or restaurant’s reader when the user holds or waves the phone while keeping a finger on the Touch ID home button, which uses fingerprint recognition security. The payment will be processed using credit card information entered in the Passbook app that will assign a device an account number, which is encrypted and securely stored. Each transaction is authorized with a one-time unique dynamic security code.  All major credit card companies are on board, as are a growing number of banking institutions and credit unions. Unfortunately, older iPhone models are not able to use the Apple Pay feature.

Ideally, a customer would wait in line to buy food. After ordering, the cashier rings up the cost, and the customer pulls out the phone, holds the Touch ID button, waves it in front of the reader and the payment is complete. This should take, what, ten seconds? Can we dream of an in-stadium experience where we won’t miss two innings waiting in line for a hot dog and a beer?

Alex Martins, chief executive of the Orlando Magic, told the New York Times earlier this week:

“One of the biggest pieces of feedback we get from our fans is that the food and beverage lines are too long,” Mr. Martins said in an interview. “It keeps them from going to the concession stand because they don’t want to miss the action. This, and technologies like Apple Pay, will speed up our service.”

To be fair, it’s not like what Apple is doing is anything new. Samsung, MasterCard and Google Wallet have been around for some time. The optimism is that because of Apple’s reputation and giant consumer draw, any problems that existed with previous tap-to-pay services will evaporate.

For now, the Apple Pay experience is raw. Anecdotal reports reflect retailers don’t know how to use the system correctly, if at all. And that Apple training retailers would go a long way to create a much smoother experience. Fast Company’s technology editor Harry McCracken went a week without his wallet, only using Apple Pay to make his Whole Foods and McDonald’s purchases. And while he faced plenty of problems, McCracken, as he wrote in October, is hopeful about the future of the product.

But even though my experience with Apple Pay wasn’t perfect, and despite obstacles such as recalcitrant retailers, I had a good time using it. I expect to reach for my phone rather than my billfold quite often from now on—partly for convenience’s sake, and partly for the privacy and security benefits of being able to pay a store without sharing any information about myself. And if mobile payments finally start to catch on—which seems likely to me—we could end up looking back on last week as the most important moment so far in the history of the technology.

Whatever it takes for me to get my beer quicker.

(Image via Tom Baker)