Archive for apps

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.

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)

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.

Fellow video game enthusiasts, today is a magical day! The annual Steam Holiday Sale went live today, putting hundreds of games on sale. Steam, the game distribution system designed by the Valve Corporation, is free to download, and many games themselves are also free. While these games are limited to PC/Mac/Linux (sorry console gamers), the Holiday Sale is a great time to make bulk purchases to last you all of next year. Most titles are on sale, however two of the three most played games are free to download and play, in Defense of the Ancients 2 — more commonly referred to as DotA 2 — and Team Fortress 2. For sports related titles, Football Manager 2015 is the fourth highest played title thus far today.

In Football Manager 2015 you are tasked with building a competitive soccer club and juggling things from scouting and trades to developing a strong youth program. While the 2015 version is not on sale, the full price is $49.99, the 2014 version is discounted to down to $14.99. Rugby Manager 2015 is marked down to just $9.99.

If you prefer to take the pitch yourself rather than run the operations behind the scenes, Pro Evolution Soccer 2015 — winner of the gamescom Best Sports Game 2014 — is 15% off, costing $33.99 right now. For those who would rather take to the court rather than a soccer field, NBA 2K15 is also 17% off sticker price, going for $49.79

Released not even four months ago, The Golf Club is a solid golf experience in lieu of actually stepping onto the fairway. For me, golf is only available about half the year, thanks to the lovely Michigan snowfall. The Golf Club offers tournament and league play, as well as an option to challenge your friends on existing courses or even build your own. Thanks to the Holiday Sale, one can pick up this title for $24.99, 30% off the regular price.

Possibly the best sports simulations games is Out of the Park Baseball 2015, and of course it is being discounted. On sale for $14.99, OOTP was already given a detailed review by the handsome and brilliant Bradley Woodrum. If you’re looking for a game for a baseball enthusiast, do them a favor and grab OOTP while it is on sale.

In addition to the titles highlighted here, Steam also has dozens of racing games from F1 2014 (half off at 24.99) to Nascar 14 (going for $7.99). Given the fact that Steam is free to download, as are 170 different games, if you’re scrambling for a holiday gift, Steam’s free-to-play games, as well as their sale, make for a great option.

(Header image via Steam)

Fan networking just got easier with Fancred’s latest update. Fancred, a free app specifically designed for fan interactions, now allows users to create albums of photos, videos, posts and updates seamlessly. Community pages for various teams will even display content automatically to present the users with fan-created content.

Picking which team to follow is easy with a simple search function. Yes, I know the teams I root for are…interesting. Once you join a team community to follow their updates, your timeline will be shown other user’s content if tagged with your team.

Uploading pictures of ticket stubs, selfies at the game or stadium shots can now be placed in separate folders or together, depending on if you’d prefer to group things chronologically or categorically.

In a similar vein to Reddit, on any given post you can upvote or downvote, repost within Fancred or share directly to Twitter and Facebook.

Fancred is a growing social network geared specifically for sports fans and has already secured $3 million in startup money to continue their growth. The app is currently available for both iOS and Android devices and simply requires an email login. While already impressive, the app does lack things such as a hashtag search or a way to tweak feeds. For example, rather than get flooded in the wee hours on Premier League or Bundesliga moves, it would be great to stop push notifications on things like comments for my Queens Park Rangers and Leverkusen, while still getting them for the Oakland A’s. Still a work in progress, Fancred has nonetheless shown enough to have earned a place on my phone.

Working with fitness apparel giant Under Armour, NBCUniversal has launched their new Radius brand, a multi-platform workout regimen. As it stands, Radius is limited to iPhone and iPad users as a $10 monthly service, or the videos will be aired on from 6 am to 9 am Eastern Time each weekday on the NBCSN channel.

The mobile version of Radius will produce content in an on-demand format from the television show. For the workouts themselves, there are levels of fitness ranging from beginner to high intensity. As time for workouts — and free time in general — becomes a premium in our everyday lives, Radius also offers a series called “10acious” designed to give a full body workout in just 10 minutes. A recent study showed the significance of mixing a high intensity spurt into a normal workout, specifically even a short workout with a minute or two of sprint-esque action grants significant dividends.

For now the Radius app is cheaper than just about any local gym membership, however it is limited due to its iOS device restrictions. Undoubtedly, Android users will soon be able to join in the workouts though the idea of paying an additional sum to work out, even one backed by Under Armour and digital personal trainers, seems a bit foreign. With free apps such as the Scientific 7-Minute Workout already available for both Android and iOS users, forcing potential customer into spending more money may not be an ideal way to reach mobile users. For now, Radius offers promise. However, even with the offer of two free months with a purchase of a six month package or four free months with an annual subscription, it may not be enough.

(Image via Wikipedia)

Staying in good shape and good health is hard enough — though with the new year approaching we all get to hit the reset button on our diets and workout discipline — so anything to make it easier and a more enjoyable time is welcome. Cycling has become the go-to option for many health-minded folks and the makers behind COBI, are aiming to make road cycling enthusiasts not only more eager to maintain their routines, but safer, too.

Though still in Kickstarter phase, COBI offers an all-inclusive option and mounting system for navigation, music (including Spotify, podcasts, turn signals and braking lights all while charging your phone rather than running it down. Their Kickstarter page boasts of over 100 intelligent features to any bike and comes with a variety of mounting systems for different bikes and different phones.

Like many hardware/app combinations, COBI has the basics of tracking, popular routes as well as Buddy Radar, a way of locating nearby friends who are also working out. The brains of the system is controlled by a what is basically a directional pad with a center button that mounts on the handlebars, never making you take your hands off what is important.

What COBI does differently is packing so much into one clean package, from music to heart rate monitors and calories burned calculators to security features. The lock feature boasts motion sensitive alarms plus the system will only respond to your phone with plans for allowed friends and family to also unlock and share your bike.

The COBI system offers a built-in case/screen protector combination with an IPX6 certified rain and mud cover guard, allowing you to take to the streets or mountains in less than ideal weather. COBI integrates with bluetooth 4.1, ANT+ and CAN for making to taking calls while working out or even simply commuting to and from work. Already compatible with Google Fit and Apple Fit, COBI is aiming to hit the ground running in the second quarter of 2015.

If you prefer casually drinking coffee and wearing pajamas while you shop, look no further than Cyber Monday. The new Black Friday, Cyber Monday also offers a wide array of gifts and options for shoppers. I suppose nothing is stopping you from going shopping today in your PJs, but that is really up to you and your local clothing statutes. We here at TechGraphs love our sports, but we’re all nerds at heart. And there are no shortage of deals for our brethren this holiday shopping season.

Just like how Black Friday deals creeping into Thanksgiving Day, some retailers are kicking off Cyber Monday as soon as today. The prices over at Amazon are lower than usual — though if you wait until Monday you may get an even better rate — if you’re in the market for anything ranging from MLB team zip-up hoodies, portable chargers for your phone or tablet, or even a 3D printer.

For the video documentary enthusiasts, make sure to check out HTC’s RE camera. You can hold it in your hand or with a simple mounting bracket the RE can go on your bicycle to record everything from beautiful scenery to bad driers. Regularly priced at $200, they will be on sale all weekend (while supplies last) for half off. The waterproof RE snaps pictures with its 16 mega-pixel camera and records video in 1080p.

On the other hand, if you’re more the style to watch movies than to film them, the Google Play Store is offering some great deals. With almost 90 movies available for less than 10 bucks, Google has you covered if you want to catch up on films. On top of the entertainment available, items such as Chromebooks, Chromecast and smart watches are all being offered at discounted prices. The LG G Watch is $130 dollars off its regular price of $229 and is compatible with any Android device — not LG specific — running 4.3 or higher. Other incentives such as up to $50 toward the Play Store are running on the Samsung Gear Live, ASUS ZenWatch and Sony SmartWatch 3.

If you’re an Apple enthusiast, fear not, as the Apple Store is running up to $100 dollars in iTunes gift card with a Mac purchase or $50 for an iPhone or iPad. AppleTV, compatible with MLB.TV, HBO GO, ABC, Watch ESPN, NFL Now and more, is also offering a $25 gift card. Though it is still being sold at the $99 regular price, with the gift card AppleTV basically 25% and makes for a great gift. Special thanks to AppShopper for already posting marked down apps, including some free apps.

Factor in other sites such as NewEgg, Tiger Direct and of course PC Part Picker (all are among my favorite sites to shop), there is no shortage of incredible deals to take advantage of. Rather than fighting for parking or bruising my elbows over in-store deals, I think I’ll enjoy this coffee and only worry about whether or not I want to eat left-over turkey for lunch or dinner. Maybe both.

(Image credit via IMDB)

Purchasing tickets online is nothing new, but Gametime has made the process even easier when buying from your mobile — Android or iOS only — device. The company has just update their free mobile app and now rather than refreshing a page again and again, the app now has a “pull to refresh” email style option. It’s a small change that goes a long way in terms of convenience.

Not only is it easier to search for tickets with the pull to refresh option, Gametime now shows exactly where you’ll be sitting. With a birds eye view of the stadium or a field view, you know if you’ll be up in the nosebleeds or right on the sideline.

The field view gives the section, row and seat while showing what the field/court/rink will look like from the seats you’re interested in.

The app allows purchasing up to 20 tickets per transaction and is within one second of real time availability. In an interview with VentureBeat, Chief Executive of Gametime Brad Griffith said of the updated ticket availability:

“We shifted to a video game style technology that can be immediately updated…It’s like playing a video game with another player. You have to keep it synchronized or it’s not a good experience.

Gametime currently works in 22 different cities and 60 venues. With app you can purchase tickets to NFL, MLB, NCAAF, MLS, NBA and NHL games. One downside is you’ll need a credit/debit card on file, as neither Paypal nor Venmo is currently a pay option.

Another curious quirk was the start times of certain games is wrong. After selecting Detroit as my city, it showed the Lions are playing at 8 am on Sunday, November 9. The game actually kicks off at 1 pm.

Gametime did get the University of Michigan game and the Pistons start time correct, but they were an hour early on the Michigan State game. There wasn’t a way to change your timezone, so make sure to cross check the actual game times with what is listed. After checking more Lions games, it appears as though each game time for the Detroit football team is wrong.

If you happen to find any other unusual goings on, reporting them to Gametime is as easy as shooting an email to their feedback email address or one could call or text them from 8am-11pm Pacific at their 1-800 number. Both help options are listed on their website FAQ, not in-app however.

Overall the app does exactly what it should: purchasing tickets from mobile quickly and easily, usually  without having to print them off. A small number of venues still require a paper PDF ticket but that is outside of Gametime’s control. It can certainly be a useful app for everything from a last-minute decision to go to a game or if you just need an extra ticket while on the way to the stadium.

Strava, makers of the workout app of the same name — available for free on iOS and Android — is venturing further into their client’s lives. On top of their GPS tracking, challenge-a-friend routines and viewable stats, Strava is seeking to join you up with local runners and cyclists as well.

With their Strava Metro system already in place showing where people are running or biking, the next step for the company seems to become a social app as well as a fitness one. With $18.5 million from the latest investor group, Sequoia Capital, and prior groups Sigma West and Madrone Capital Partners, Strava is seeking to bring fitness-minded people together.

In a press release, Michael Moritz, Chairman of Sequoia Capital said:

“Strava is building tomorrow’s sporting network in the manner that Facebook and LinkedIn have developed today’s social and professional networks. Even for the hapless and occasional athletes at Sequoia, Strava has become the essential and amusing way to post and compare our woeful performances and share them with friends and family,”

From using Strava Metro to map out a popular routine, to soon being able to map out a group run with similarly-conditioned strangers, Strava is aiming to becoming a social workout company. Strava already ties in with Instagram so hashtagging, taking morning sunrise pictures or anything that may catch one’s eye is quick and easy. Given the recent investment and the idea on how to use said investment, Strava CEO Mark Gainey was quoted as saying:

“Since day one we have focused on building a network that serves to motivate and entertain the world’s athletes. With Sequoia joining our team, we are better positioned to execute our mission and strengthen Strava’s leadership in digital sports.”

According to the company FAQ, Strava has collected over 300 billion GPS points and boasts over 2.5 million GPS tracked activities being uploaded each week. With funding in hand, a growing user base and a constantly expanding sample size, Strava appears to be the app of choice for many running and cycling enthusiasts.