London2012
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Adidas Social Media Barricade shoe concept moves tweets to the track (video)
Adidas is known for making connected shoes -- but never quite as linked-up as a Nash Money concept making its appearance late into the London Olympics. The Social Media Barricade weaves the guts of a phone and a basic two-line LCD into a running shoe, letting the footwear take Twitter updates very literally on the run through a public account. Even the signature Adidas stripes change their hue through remote control. Before anyone gets visions of athletes checking congratulatory tweets after the 100-meter sprint, just remember that it's an idea rather than a production blueprint: although Adidas is quick to call the Social Media Barricade the "future of athlete connectivity," the only athletes putting eyes on a pair right now are those swinging by the Olympics' media lounge for interviews. Knowing this, we can still imagine some future shoes padding runners' egos at the finish line during the 2016 Rio games.
Data-hungry crowds spoil Olympic TV coverage, archers alerted
With an opening ceremony celebrating social media and a guest appearance by the father of the world wide web, you would think the games are pretty Twitter-friendly. Well, not so much, as the hordes of London have been told to keep non-urgent texts and tweets to themselves to avoid disrupting TV coverage for those who weren't lucky enough to score beach volleyball tickets. The recommendation comes after broadcasters bumbled through the men's cycling road race due to a lack of available data from the cyclists' GPS. The information bottleneck appears to be related to one specific network and sharing the data burden has been discussed, although probably not via Twitter. The IOC knows that telling the masses not to log on likely won't have any impact -- so, what's next for the data haters.
iPhone apps to help you follow the Olympics
The Games of the XXX Olympiad started on Friday with grandiose opening ceremonies in London, England that included a long list of notable English figures like the Queen of England, Mr. Bean and Paul McCartney. Now that the big kickoff celebration is over, it's time to start the competition -- and we've got a list of apps to help you keep track of the Olympic events on your iOS device. NBC began its TV coverage of the Olympics, and iOS owners with a cable or satellite subscription can follow the coverage on their iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. To watch the events as they happen, you'll need the NBC Olympics Live Extra app, which is available for free from the iOS App Store. Besides the live events, you can also watch full event replays and simulcasts of Olympic-specific programming from NBC. There's even a DVR function for most live streams and all full event replays. If you're concerned about missing an event, you can setup push notifications and receive an alert before an event is about the begin. If you don't want to watch the live coverage (or if you don't have a pay TV subscription), NBC is also offering a basic version of its Olympics app that'll keep you apprised of the latest news coming out the summer games. It also includes video highlights, photographs and hometown athlete profiles, which let you follow athletes from your area. Reuters is also on board with the Olympics and offering its own Reuters Olympics London 2012 app. Available for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, the Reuters app has stunning photographs and up-to-date coverage of the results. Reuters also includes a section that tracks the medals awarded to each country and the Olympic records broken in each sport. If you're in the UK, you can check out the BBC Olympics app which provides non-stop coverage of the summer games. The Beeb is streaming up to 24 live videos at a time so you won't miss that important point, goal or race. There is also on-demand video highlights, commentary from BBC journalists and extensive coverage of the results. All content, including the video, is available via WiFi or 3G. Last but not least is the official London 2012 Results app which has breaking news, schedules and results. It has a strong focus on the athletes and provides performance updates, interviews and more.
BuddyTV Guide adds Olympics 2012 quick list to help viewers find the events they want
Over 200 million US viewers are expected to tune into the London Olympics, which starts with the Opening Ceremony tonight. NBC alone has over 5,500 hours of Olympic coverage planned on its multiple cable channels. For a TV viewer, that's a lot to sort through. But there's an app out there that can help you quickly find the events you want to see: BuddyTV Guide. BuddyTV Guide is a free mobile channel guide and social TV app from BuddyTV. The company provides listings for cable and satellite TV providers in the US, including Comcast, Cablevision, Time Warner, Verizon, DirecTV, Dish and more. Users with AT&T U-verse receivers, DirecTV DVRs, Sony Internet TV with Google TV, Logitech Revue, TiVo Series 3, TiVo Premier, and any devices controlled by Google TV and Samsung Smart TVs can also use the app's remote control capabilities. The latest version of BuddyTV Guide has added a new quick list feature that allows Olympic viewers in the US to quickly and easily find the events they want to watch. Using the app, you can add your favorite events to watch lists so you never miss an important moment of the games. The app also allows you to share your favorite events with Facebook and send text messages about the event to your friends. BuddyTV Guide is a free download. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; } #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Samsung Galaxy S III replaces check-in, keycard, TV remote and AC control in Olympic hotel
Samsung has turned the Galaxy S III into the ultimate hotel accessory in preparation for the Olympics. It's equipped 40 rooms in London's Stratford Holiday Inn to use the official smartphone of 2012 to check in and out, order room service, unlock doors and control the TV without moving. VIPs staying at the hotel for the games season will get first dibs on the technology that'll let them call up a snack whilst tweeting -- just as long as Cody Brocious doesn't work out how to intercept it.
Mobile Miscellany: week of July 9th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, Motorola debuted the RAZR V in Canada and the Sony Xperia Ion was spotted at Rogers -- curiously, the phone has yet to be formally announced for the carrier. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of July 9th, 2012.
BBC launches updated, interactive live video player ahead of Olympics; lines up 'summer of 3D'
As the London Olympics creep closer, BBC is unveiling more of the technology it plans to use to bring the Games home to UK viewers. In the last few days it's shown off both the new live video player shown above, as well as a new Facebook app in beta for BBC Sport. The interactive live video player is built to deliver up to 24 HD streams during the Olympics, along with alerts for key events and extra information and stats. It will work on computers and tablets that support Flash, and for those notable ones that don't, there's a stripped down version for mobiles and iPads that loses the extra interactivity. The BBC Sport Facebook app will also be able to stream the Games, but also let you see if any of your friends are watching the same stream or what sport is the most popular. Finally, the Beeb has lined up what it's calling the "Summer of 3D" with a lineup that includes Planet of the Dinosaur, Last Night of the Proms, Wimbledon and the Olympics. There's a lot going on, hit the source links or check the press releases after the break for the highlights.
UK 2012 Olympics Super Hi-Vision tickets are available, grab a seat for some Ultra HDTV
If you're a UK resident, missed out a ticket to the London 2012 Olympics and find the extensive home and mobile coverage to be lacking in pixels have no fear -- free tickets are available for Super Hi-Vision screenings at three locations. While certain days and times are already fully booked, you can still get one of the first public glimpses of NHK's 8K Ultra HDTV technology at the BBC Radio Theatre, BBC Scotland (Glasgow) and the National Media Museum in Bradford (other viewing locations are in Japan and Washington D.C.) Before the games get started, the Radio Theater is screening a London Prepares promo from July 23rd to the 28th. During the games (July 28th - August 12th) all will have highlights of the previous day's action from the Aquatic Centre, Olympic Stadium, Velodrome, and Basketball Arena plus clips of the Opening Ceremony. The lone live feed is scheduled for Sunday July 29th, from the Aquatics Centre. Sure, you could be paying a fortune for scalped passes to be in the house when Usain Bolt, Ryan Lochte or Michael Phelps are doing their thing, or you could be enjoying 33MP video and 22.2 channel surround sound in one of the custom setups TechRadar previewed in March. Your choice.
The BBC's coverage promises to make you sick of the Olympics by the time it's done
How much Olympics is too much Olympics? The BBC aims to find out at this year's London 2012 games, by offering up "the most comprehensive coverage ever," a list that includes 2,500 hours of coverage via the broadcaster's site and up to 24 live HD streams. Live coverage will be offered up for every sport and each sport, athlete, venue and country will have its own page on the site. The BBC will also be providing a free mobile app, a mobile browser site and apps for connected TVs -- 3D and Super Hi-Vision coverage is a bonus. Check out an explanatory video about the new video player after the break, as well as some scheduling information in the source link below. And maybe think about a training regimen to get ready to watch this summer's games.
London 2012 Olympics to get live 3D coverage from Eurosport and Sky 3D
Didn't score a ticket to the 2012 Olympics in London this summer? If you're in the UK at least you can still catch the games live and in 3D, since even though the BBC is tape delaying its 3D coverage, there will be live action available on the dedicated Sky 3D channel from Eurosport. There's no word on what other carriers or regions may have access, but those two are promising over 100 hours of 3D action over the course of the games, with eight hours of live coverage alongside four hours of highlights. That's enough to cover events including the opening and closing ceremonies, men's 100m dash final, gymnastics, swimming, basketball and more. Also, Sky plans to open up the channel to all of its current HD subscribers during the Games instead of just the current 250,000 subscribers, so all you'll need to bring is a 3D-ready HDTV and glasses (maybe). There's a press release after the break with all the details currently available, and also Stephen Fry's introduction to the channel for no reason other than that it's Stephen Fry.
NBC, YouTube pair up for synchronized streaming at London 2012
If the news that the Olympics is but 141 days away fills you with excitement, then you'll be overjoyed to know that NBC has abandoned Silverlight for YouTube, which is the network's official on-demand partner for the games. All events will be streamed live on Google's backbone (presumably via NBC.com), with replays of web-exclusive events, all the TV broadcasts and "behind the scenes" footage all available at your whim. Good luck finding the 3,000 plus hours necessary to watch it all, unless this is the reason you've been looking for to quit your job over the summer.
Caption Contest: Samsung hires David Beckham as a global brand ambassador
David Beckham is a man that needs no introduction. Indeed, Samsung hopes he'll be the one making the introductions, as it's just signed up the English footballer to act as its global brand ambassador. Mr. Becks will be responsible for disseminating the news that Samsung is one of the major sponsors of the London 2012 Olympics, and we can see he's already received the first tranche of his remuneration in the form of a Galaxy S II. Lucky him. Thomas: "I'm sorry, I got the Spanish version, this one says 'Sii' on it." Vlad: "At 8.49mm, this phone's almost as thin as my wife!" Tim: "I don't know who you are or what this is, but I'm sure Victoria will love it." Amar: "Finally, a Galaxy that won't bench me!" Darren: "Man, this thing crushes my Aura." Richard Lai: "As part of the deal, Samsung will also be announcing the Galaxy S Beckham. OK, it's just a golden dual-core." Myriam: "So you want me to drop-kick this in front of the cameras, right?" Zach Honig: "Maybe in this Galaxy I can win a World Cup."
Samsung and Visa join forces to enable NFC mobile payment at 2012 Olympics
From a gadgeteer's point of view, one of the best things about the Olympics is its tendency to bring in new technologies to the hosting city. Take the 2012 games, for example: not only are the London Underground stations getting WiFi hotspots, but news has it that Samsung and Visa are holding hands to deliver NFC mobile payment solutions to the city. In fact, more than 60,000 locations in London are already geared up with contactless payment systems, and right now Visa is negotiating with banks to get its contactless cards and mobile phones approved. For the latter, one such device will be Samsung's Olympic and Paralympic Games mobile handset that comes with a Visa-enabled SIM card, and it'll be made available to sponsored athletes as well as various retailers. Furthermore, this alliance will continue after the Olympics, and Visa is rolling out its mobile payment system in many other countries as we speak, so it shouldn't be long before we hear more Visa handset announcements.
Pentathlon switching to laser pistols for 2012 Olympics
It looks like your chances of hearing someone say "pew pew" at the 2012 Olympic games just got a whole lot better -- the world governing body for the Pentathlon announced this week that the sport will be switching from air pistols to laser pistols for the next summer games. That follows a successful trial at this month's inaugural Youth Olympics, which apparently went off without a hitch and without any impromptu games of laser tag. According to Klaus Schormann of the UIPM governing body, the switch will now also allow for competitions to be held in places like parks and shopping malls, and it will make it easier for athletes to travel with their guns on airplanes. Of course, the move could also open up a whole new can of worms: performance-enhancing hacking.
UK temporarily giving LTE spectrum to cameras for 2012 Olympics, tells carriers not to worry about it
You might recall that British regulator Ofcom recently got things in order for an auction late next year of Old Blighty's 2.6GHz spectrum for 4G use, but it turns out that spectrum's going to make a quick pit stop before reaching its final destination. Broadcasters at the London Olympics have been given the green light to use the bandwidth -- which will have already been sold by the time the games kick off in mid-2012 -- for wireless cameras, with the government saying it's fairly certain that carriers wouldn't have had an opportunity to deploy LTE in that spectrum by then anyway. Though Ofcom's original spectrum utilization plan from last year didn't call for using 2.6GHz, it apparently got a wake-up call from the Vancouver games, which revealed higher demand for both wireless cameras and 3D broadcasts than the agency had anticipated -- and unlike carriers, which are expected to pay billions of pounds sterling for LTE rights, Ofcom will be extending use of the bandwidth to broadcasters during the Games gratis. Awfully kind of them, isn't it?
