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Video: Philips hue and two fun apps stir up FIFA World Cup finals fever
Do you have any of the Philips hue smart lightbulbs installed in your home? If you do, grab your iPhone, pull up the App Store, and grab two apps that promise to get you in the mood for the remaining FIFA World Cup games. Those games are scheduled for Saturday at 4 PM ET to determine the third-place team (host country Brazil vs. The Netherlands) and on Sunday at 3 PM ET to crown the World Cup champion and second-place team (Germany vs. Argentina). The first app is Hue World Cup for Philips hue (US$1.99), which is a "sound and light effects board" that works with the Philips hue bulbs to create a wild mix of light and sound. Select a country, and you can play the national anthem accompanied by a light show featuring that country's flag colors. There are plenty of sound effects to get you in the mood, even if you can't be in Brazil for the last few games: crowd noises, drums, horns, you name it! Developer David Pewzner's OnSwitch for Philips hue and LIFX (free) provides different moods that evoke Iceland, New Mexico, the Sahara, and other light tints. He's added special World Flag effects now, which provide special lighting and sound whenever a goal is scored. Of course, being "that guy" who likes to control everything in his house from his iPhone, I just had to give this setup a try with the Philips hue lightbulbs I have installed. The free OnSwitch app was tested first -- the app provides two sets of country flags. On Saturday, for example, I could use the World Flags 1 set which contains both Red/White/Blue countries (Netherlands) and the Green/Yellow/Blue flag of Brazil. Selecting a flag for the team I'm rooting for lets me know that if I'm running the app when a goal is scored by my team, the lights will flash in a spectrum of colors and I'll hear a horn. The rest of the time, the app cycles the lights between the country's colors -- with the Netherlands, it cycled between red, white and blue. . But it's the Hue World Cup for Philips hue app that is really a lot of fun. You can start off the game with the national anthem of your country's team, accompanied by the flag colors flashing on the lights. There are a number of sound effects you can choose to play, and all of the sounds can be sent to speakers over AirPlay. Crowd noises, horns, drums, clapping -- you name it, they've thought of it. It's probably the closest thing to being at the Estádio Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro for the final. . If you're a football (soccer) fan who already has Philips hue lights, it's time to grab the apps and get ready for this weekend's matches. No Philips hue lights? No problem -- head to your local Apple Store and pick up the Philips hue Connected Bulb Starter Pack for $199.95. Photo: AP Photo/Francois Xavier Marit, Pool
World Cup fever invades the App Store
Last Sunday's matchup between the U.S. and Portugal attracted nearly 25 million viewers on ESPN, netting the highest TV rating for any Soccer game ever broadcast in the U.S. World Cup fever is upon us. And with good cause; this year's World Cup opening round has been one of the most exciting in decades (two stoppage time goals on consecutive days?!). TV aside, the influence of the World Cup is also evident on the App Store where Soccer-centric apps have skyrocketed to the top of the charts in recent weeks. A few days ago, Appfigures put together a few charts which highlight the growing popularity of these apps on the App Store. Naturally, apps that offer free streaming of World Cup games such as the "watchESPN" app are doing extraordinarily well. As of Monday evening, three of the top seven free iPhone apps are all World Cup related (FIFA World Cup Brasil, WatchESPN, and Univision Deportes). The chart below is particularly interesting as it shows the popularity of FIFA's official World Cup App across a number of countries in the weeks building up to Brazil's opening match against Croatia. Undoubtedly helping matters is that Apple itself has taken to advertising the World Cup on the App Store. To wit, check out the attention-grabbing promotion for the WatchESPN app which can currently be found on the App Store main screen. What's more, Apple published a prominent section called "Soccer Fever" where fans can check out the best Soccer video games, the best apps to stay abreast of all the World Cup news as it happens, social networking apps useful for "sharing the fever", soccer books, soccer themed movies, Brazilian music recommendations, and for those lucky enough to be on hand for the festivities, apps to help folks discover and get around Brazil.
PSA: Fake EA Sports Instagram account phishing for Xbox, Origin logins
It's World Cup season; reigning champions Spain lost in spectacular fashion and FIFA soccer fans may be interested in rectifying that loss to Chile in FIFA 14's Ultimate Team World Cup mode. Unfortunately, Instagram accounts posing as official EA Sports channels are popping up during this period of piqued interest, posting tempting offers for free in-game currency in order to obtain players' Xbox Live and Origin account details.
Grab your caxirola and celebrate the FIFA World Cup with Logitech's Global Fan Collection
There's only about a month to go until the start of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and Logitech is getting fans all over the globe ready by creating a new series of wireless mice called the Logitech Global Fan Collection. The mouse is the Wireless Mouse M317 (US$29.99), which uses Logitech's proprietary Unifying receiver. What makes each mouse special is the bright casing that surrounds it -- the company has created 13 different graphics to celebrate countries that are playing in the World Cup. The mice available to consumers is based on location; for Americans, you can get a mouse for the USA, Mexico, Argentina, and host country Brazil. Your mouse uses a replaceable AA battery for power, and from my previous experience with Logitech's wireless optical mice, they're able to keep up accurate pointing and clicking for months on that single battery. In case you're wondering what a caxirola is, well, it's the official noisemaker of the FIFA World Cup 2014. Much more pleasant on the ears than those obnoxious vuvuzelas of past World Cup events. And with that, we're going to give two TUAW readers a chance to win one of the Global Fan Collection mice! Here are the rules for the giveaway: Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older. To enter, fill out the form below completely and click or tap the Submit button. The entry must be made before June 2, 2014 11:59PM Eastern Daylight Time. You may enter only once. Two winners will be selected in a random drawing. One will receive a USA Wireless Mouse m317 while the other will get the Mexican version. Both mice are valued at $29.99 each. Click Here for complete Official Rules. Loading...
New FIFA World Cup game in development for Xbox One and PS4
During yesterday's investor call to discuss EA's second quarter of fiscal 2014 financial results, CEO Andrew Wilson noted that the publisher is working on a new FIFA World Cup expansion game. Additionally, CFO Blake Jorgensen brought up FIFA World Cup again when asked about next-gen games in development, indicating that the game will appear on Xbox One and PS4. It is unknown if the game will also be developed for current generation systems. "In the last two weeks, you've also seen several announcements about our product slate for the remainder of this year and into FY15," Wilson said. "We are refining our focus on our biggest brands and great new IP in development, including The Sims 4, EA Sports UFC, FIFA World Cup and Dragon Age: Inquisition." EA Sports traditionally launches a new World Cup-branded game in line with the global sporting event, which occurs every four years. The last game in the series was 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, which launched in April 2010. Given that the next World Cup is scheduled to begin in June 2014 in Brazil, a new entry in the sub-series is hardly surprising. The publisher's next-gen efforts will not include Tiger Woods in its future golf games, and Jorgensen also noted that Titanfall will be exclusive to Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC "for the life of the title" during the call. EA will launch the next-gen version of FIFA 14 along with the new consoles this coming month.
