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Hurry, your next Uber in NYC could be all about Manchester United
Look, there aren't many things which can truly impress New Yorkers. Yet, somehow, the Mini Countryman pictured above managed to make quite a few heads turn during a drive across Manhattan. Whatever it may have been, it's safe to bet those bright red colors draping the car had something to do with it -- and the not-so-subtle branding didn't hurt its chances to impress, either. Regardless, this Manchester United-themed vehicle is part of a full fleet of 20 vehicles, one for each Premier League team, that NBC Sports and Uber will have cruising around Manhattan through this Sunday. The free rides (up to a 30-minute drive) are obviously being used as a way to promote the start of the EPL season on NBC Sports Network here in the US, which kicks off on Saturday, August 16th. Uber, for its part, isn't new to having bizarre rides hit the streets, like the time-traveling DeLorean and, of course, those beloved Ice Cream trucks. Now we can add this one to the list.
Manchester United won't let you take laptops or tablets into its stadium
Don't plan on taking your iPad or Nexus 7 to Manchester United's next home match any time soon. The football team (soccer, for you Yanks) has banned laptops, tablets and other big devices from Old Trafford's grounds. Man U says that the crackdown reflects the "latest security intelligence" used by UK airports -- it's protecting fans from hidden explosives in devices that could do substantial damage. All but the largest smartphones should be fine, however, so you can still capture that van Persie goal without fear of being kicked out.
Three for 3D: ESPN 3D adds Home Run Derby, Sky 3D launches 4/3, AcTVila makes the jump this summer
Three continents, three more milestone announcements for 3D. First up is Sky TV, which, with or without 15,000 or so flat screens from LG, is officially launching its Sky 3D channel around the Man. U/Chelsea game on April 3. Already have a 3DTV and Sky's "top channels and HD pack?" Call the company with details for activation, while everyone else checks to see if their local pub is among the thousand plus already signed up to receive the six live 3D matches slated for this season (plus the Coca Cola league playoff finals) and demo reel for all non-footy hours of the day. Bringing the focus back home, ESPN 3D has scheduled the first event it will produce and air itself, the MLB Home Run Derby on July 12, a day after launching with the SA/Mexico World Cup game. Other events officially on deck (the plan for the first year is still about 85) include several college basketball tournaments and the ACC Championship football game in December. Last but not least is Japan, already home to at least one 3D network, which will soon have access to even more over the cross-manufacturer AcTVila video on-demand service. Clearly, the only logical thing to do is to keep that "3D will never take off" comment macro keyed up, it will be getting a lot of use over the next few months.
iPod helps Manchester United win the Carling Cup
While the American football season has been over since the Pro Bowl, the rest of the world is still enjoying football -- or soccer as we Yanks refer to it. A number of readers gave us a heads-up this morning on a story that is a huge PR win for Apple. Yesterday, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were scoreless after 120 minutes of regulation play in the English League Cup Final, forcing the game to be decided on penalties.United's goalkeeping coach Eric Steele promptly pulled out his iPod to show goalkeeper Ben Foster videos of Hotspur players taking penalty shots. The result? United won the game 4 - 1 in the penalty shootout that followed.In an interview with BBC Sport, Foster noted "We went into the shoot-out as well prepared as possible. We have had things to look at over the last couple of days and before the shoot-out, you can see me looking at an iPod with Eric Steele. It had actual video on it and showed where players put things. Eric brought it when he came to the club. I have never seen anything like it. It is a fantastic tool for us."Congratulations go out to Manchester United, and we at TUAW hope this means more iPods and iPhones will be seen on the sidelines at next year's World Cup in South Africa.
