BBC Olympics iOS App
1. The BBC Olympics App for iOS and Android
The BBC Olympic App is a must for anyone in the UK wanting to stay truly up to date on all the sporting events. It promises plenty of great content and a huge amount of live streaming of video content. The app includes:
- Latest news, countdown and video content from the 'Best of British'
- Information on each of the 36 Olympic sports so you can brush up on the rules and timetables
- Individual athlete and country pages with latest news and key facts
- Real-time commentary and up to 24 streams of live video and 2,500 hours of coverage!
One of the nicest features is the ability to customise the main menu bar by replacing any of the current tabs with your chosen sport. Whether it's boxing, football or judo, you simply drag the icon into you menu bar for even quicker access to what you are looking for.
It's worth mentioning that the BBC has also done a great job covering the games on all of their online platforms. They have rolled out their extensive coverage not only on their desktop Olympic sport site, but also mobile, smartphone apps and connected TV. More on this can be found on the BBC Blog from the BBC Sport Head of User Experience and Design, Nick Haley.
London 2012 Results app
2. Official London 2012 Results App
The London 2012 Results app for iOS, Android and BlackBerry provides latest news, schedules, athlete information and has a section dedicated to medals. The app also suggests that the Paralympics will also be covered in a future update of the app.
There is a nice section to the app called 'My Games', where users can customise the content and 'favourite' athletes or sports, set reminders and select the country they support.
One of the negative aspects of the app is that they have used quite a lot of in-app advertising pushing Samsung, the Online Shop or one of the other Official Olympic Apps. These banners are a bit of a pest and keep popping up when you are not interacting with the app.
Overall though, it's a useful app to have during the games with plenty of content available to keep you coming back.
London 2012 Join In App
3. Official London 2012 Join In App
This is another one of the official apps for the Olympics and is aimed at highlighting all of the cultural events which are surrounding the Games. Also available for iOS, Android and Blackberry.
The iOS app is a bit slow to load but this is due to it being quite data heavy. There is quite an extensive list of cultural and sporting events, which can be filtered to match your interests. The 'Buzz' section of the app allows users to visit some of the Official Olympic social spaces such as YouTube and Twitter from within the app.
As with the 'Results' app, there is also a 'My Games' section where you can favourite events, places to visit and torchbearers, making the experience more personal to you.
Again, this app also has quite a bit of advertising but it doesn't seem quite as disruptive or intrusive due to more considered display.
Once the Games officially get going, it'll be interesting to see these applications come to life. Will you be using one of the applications here (or any others), or will you simply be using Twitter to stay informed?
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