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Daytona 500 features Huge Mobile and Social Media Push

February 21, 2012 by

The Daytona International Speedway (DIS), home of this week’s 54th Daytona 500 has been working to expand the sports appeal to the users of social media and has launched a series of programs that will enable fans both at the track and at home to follow the race.

The effort actual started last Saturday night with the first event of the NASCAR season, the Budweiser Shootout, which kicks off its annual Speedweek push. In case you missed the race it was won in spectacular style by Kyle Busch.

Speedweek has something for just about any racing fan and a quick look at its web site shows a comprehensive wealth of information for the fans including overall schedules, FANZONE schedule, track activity and appearances by drivers to list just a few of the events.

However the outreach to directly interact with fans is on Twitter, where fans can join into conversations with drivers, teams, DIS and the media that track this sport. Look to add these onto your Twitter feed – with @DISupdates, #DAYTONA500, #BudweiserShootout, #GatoradeDuel, @NextEra_Energy Resources 250, #DRIVE4COPD300, #Speedweeks. For fans at the track on race day there is also contact @DIS_help and #DIShelp for customer service questions.

The track has been working to enhance its online and social media presence for some time and this push is a continuation of that effort. NASCAR’s Facebook page has over 2.5 million likes while Daytona’s has over 400,000.

“There’s a reason why Daytona International Speedway boasts the largest social media following of any racetrack in NASCAR,” said Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III said in a release. “During Speedweeks, we’ll continue our efforts to make it easy and enjoyable for fans to get closer to the sport, while also reaching out to our younger, more technologically savvy race fans.”

DIS said on Monday that they plan to make the 54th Daytona 500 and Speedweeks a memorable event in many ways, starting with the largest and most expansive social media effort in NASCAR to further engage fans at the “World Center of Racing” and at home.

“There’s a reason why Daytona International Speedway boasts the largest social media following of any racetrack in NASCAR,” said Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III. “During Speedweeks, we’ll continue our efforts to make it easy and enjoyable for fans to get closer to the sport, while also reaching out to our younger, more technologically savvy race fans.”

Join the conversation with DIS, media, teams and drivers on Twitter with @DISupdates, #DAYTONA500, #BudweiserShootout, #GatoradeDuel, @NextEra_Energy Resources 250, #DRIVE4COPD300, #Speedweeks, and contact @DIS_help and #DIShelp for customer service questions on race days. Don’t forget to also follow @NASCAR, and #NASCAR.

There is a free DIS app for both Android and Apple iOS smartphone users that will enable fans at the race as well as the less fortunate than could not make the journey track a wide range of events including receiving new articles.

For fans at the race the app includes a great deal of basic information of the type that can be invaluable including daily schedules, gate policies, directions, and interactive GPS facility and parking maps with search capabilities. There is even a feature called ‘friend finder’ to help locate friends at the various events. There will be QR codes located prominently all around the track that connect to the DIS app.

In addition there will be special QR that fans can use to enter a sweepstakes with NASCAR.COM to win tickets to the 2013 DAYTONA 500. Texting has not been forgotten as well as fans at the race can text DISINFO to 69050 for updates during events as well as information relating to gate opening times, parking and more. For information on specific questions fans can text DISFAN to 69050 and a live attendant will be on hand to respond.

I really like this proactive outreaching to fans by the DIS. For first time fans at the race the mobile app can be a life saver rather her than walking around lost and constantly asking for help. The range of information and content will likely augment fans enjoyment of the race regardless of if they are in attendance or not. I just hope that the tracks network is up to handling the increased traffic this push is likely to generate. I am sure we will hear the complaints if it does not.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Daytona 500, Facebook, iPhone, NASCAR, Smartphone, Twitter Tagged With: ,

Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: Apple Files New Complaint Against Motorola

February 20, 2012 by

Congress approves spectrum sale
The US Congress has approved of the sale of spectrum that had formerly been allocated to television. The move will enable an increase in the amount of spectrum available for use by telcos in supporting greater bandwidth for mobile phones, especially smartphones.

Are Facebook’s numbers not what they appear?
Shel Israel over at Forbes does a nice takedown on Facebook’s claims that it has 850 million users that visit the site at least once a month. While he admits to a few potential flaws in his math, and points out Facebook may have the same flaws or slightly different ones and he does come to an interesting conclusion. Head over and see if your math is any better.

Mobile app platform developer July Systems lands $15 million in VC money

July Systems, a developer of a cloud-based mobile application platform has raised $15 million in equity investment. The round was led by Updata Partners and included both Intel Capital and WestBridge Capital.

July, which has already had three previous funding rounds including a $7 million Series C, said that the funds will be used to accelerate its product roadmap, boost the sales momentum, and increase the company’s market reach.


Will the lack of a single unified version of Android harm tablet market?
That at least is the point that James Kendrick makes over at ZDNet. He has a strong point and it was the fact that at the last minute Sun prevented Java from becoming fragmented that helped make that platform ubiquitous. Will Google do the same here?

This week in lawsuit news

Apple wins a round vs HTC
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has handed Apple a victory in one of its battles with Android handset manufacturers. The ITC ruled that Apple did not infringe on patented technology that is owned by HTC.

The complaint, filed two years ago alleged that Apple was infringing on five HTC patents that had to do with technologies related to power management and phone dialing. In its complaint HTC had requested that Apple be prohibited from importing some versions of the iPods, iPads and iPhones into the U.S.

Apple files competition claim against Motorola Mobility
Fresh off a victory in German court against Motorola, Apple has filed a filed a complaint with the European Union claiming that Motorola is violating a pledge to license industry-standard patents on fair terms.

According to a report from Bloomberg Motorola has said that it is willing to work with Apple to negotiate a patent license deal. Earlier reports have showed that Motorola was purportedly seeking 2.25% of Apple sales for a license.

This will be an interesting one to watch since that very topic was explicitly mentioned by the EU when it gave the Motorola/Google deal its approval. It said that it would be watching to ensure fair practices not only going forward but also looking at past practices as well.


Today’s foolishness

I will take that iPhone with a side of mace
Well not really mace but pepper spray. Piexon, A Swiss developer has created an iPhone case called the SmartGuard iPhone 4/4S that features a detachable canister of pepper spray, for emergency uses only, of course. I can see this going bad very quickly.

Technology at the Olympics
Here is an interesting look at how technology usage has evolved at the Olympics since the founding of the modern game. First radio broadcast was in 1924 for instance or that the 1956 games in Melbourne resulted in only three hours of footage shown in the US.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Intel Capital, iPad, iPhone, Motorola, Olympics, Smartphone Tagged With: , , ,

Major Apps Designed to Data Harvest Apple iOS Users

February 17, 2012 by

Is there a mole in your iPhone?

Are iPhone apps stealing data off your smartphone?
In a general sense it looks like the answer is yes, even if you as an individual are unaffected. A series of studies has shown that it looks like the market as a whole has not been immune to this problem but it is running rampart and is lead by some of the leading app developers.

While to some it might seem that harvesting data such as contacts is a minor issue consider that may use their smartphones for both work and personal use and there could be a good deal of proprietary information on the phone.

While the current list of offenders comes from the world of corporate app developers the next generation destined to exploit this issue will no doubt be hackers, something that could pose a major issue to all concerned.

A study by VentureBeat comes after a developer called Path was caught in the act harvesting names, numbers and e-mail addresses and storing that information on its servers. Venture Beat found that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that it is very likely that an iPhone user has one or more of the apps involved.

VentureBeat used a program called mitmproxy that is a traffic monitoring utility to observe data traffic and found that a host of applications were uploading personal data from the iPhones, in some cases unencrypted.

A list of some of the players is a who’s who of apps, much over shadowing the much smaller and less popular Path. Included in this list is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare, Foodspotting, Yelp, and Gowalla. They do not all do exactly the same thing but it is an interesting read over at the VentureBeat site.

At the same time it appears that Google has developed work around for safeguards in Apple’s Safari browser that enable Google to place tracking cookies that circumvent Apple’s default privacy settings. The workaround affected not just iPhones but Mac computers, iPads, and iPod Touch.

Google has said that it has disabled the code that enabled the actions and said that it was unintentional. However a complaint has been filed against the company with the FTC.

Apps for the iOS platform from Apple are in violation of Apple’s guidelines, which prohibits the app from sending information about a user without their permission. The company said that it is working to tighten this up in the future, according to Enterprise Mobility Today.

However it is not just iOS apps that are an issue here. The Federal Trade Commission has just issued a warning that smartphone apps can invade a child’s privacy and advocates are calling for greater safeguards. I wonder if this market segment, largely left to its own devices will start to see the advent of more, and increasingly tougher regulations due to the actions of a few developers.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, FTC, Google, iPad, iPhone, Smartphone, Social Media, Tablets, The New York Times, Top News, Twitter Tagged With: , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: Digitized Swimsuit Issue-Where do I sign up?

February 17, 2012 by


Ford to show at Mobile World Congress
At the Mobile World Congress there will no doubt be an array of interesting products and technologies introduced, and there will be at list one show first- Ford plans to launch a car at the show. The B-MAX to be exact.

Ford has one of the keynote speeches at the show and it has been revealed that it will take the wraps off of the car that has what it calls Easy Access Door System, but it claims that as yet unrevealed technology in the car is what it will be touting at the show.

ESPN to increase soccer coverage?
After ESPN lost in its bid to broadcast the upcoming 2018 and 2022 World Cups it seemed that all of the progress the network had made in its coverage of soccer would all go down the drain. However the Big Lead reports that in an interview with the World Wide Leader major changes are in the works to improve its coverage.

It reported that after this summer’s European Championships there will be a major effort to massively overhaul ESPN’s presence online. It currently has two separate sites that cover the sport so simply consolidating them would be a positive step forwards.

BlackBerry takes a hit as Government agency moves to rivals
Research in Motion, reeling from a bad year just got more unpleasant news as the U.S. Government’s General Service Administration, its primary procurement agency, has started issuing smartphones that run both the Android and Apple iOS operating systems.

Until recently RIM’s BlackBerry had been the only option available from the GSA. However it is not all dire news as the BlackBerry is still the most widely used device among the RSA’s 17,000 employees and currently the rivals’ only account for approximately 5% in a trial program that is just now starting. However once the camel’s nose is in the tent watch out for the rest of the beast.

Apple seeking blood from a stone?
Apple has asked a bankruptcy court for permission to sue Kodak for infringement. That is just the tip of the iceberg according to Cnet, which reports that Apple is also seeking to file a patent infringement claim with the International Trade Commission and plans to file a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Manhattan.

Apple is already a two time loser in regards to taking Kodak in front of the ITC, which has ruled that Kodak did not infringe on Apple’s patents. Kodak has returned fire and last month filed a suit against Apple saying it violated some of Kodak’s patents.

Apple wins round in Germany vs Motorola
Apple has won a major round in its ongoing patent disputes with Motorola Mobility when the Munich I Regional Court ruled in favor in regards to patent # EP1964022. Not familiar with that one, are you? Well it has to do with unlocking a device using a gesture on an unlock image.

Apple will now have the opportunity to defend the side and lock patent as Motorola has already appealed the decision. The court looked at three different implementations of the technology and Apple won on two, losing on the third, which is used by Xoom tablets.

Apple is also asserting the same patent against Samsung sop expect to hear more about this issue going forward.

Looking for a more digital Sports Illustrated? It is here.
One of the coming of age items for high school students was squirreling away the annual Sports Illustrated Swim Suit issue before the parental units could confiscate it. Well now you can view it, and all of the magazines content, in a growing array of digital formats.

The latest is available for iPads, with horizontal and vertical views available as well as for the iPhone for the Apple fans and then it’s also available for Android smartphone and tablet users. All for the low, low price of $6.99.

However there is also a range of video options as well including much that is exclusive to the tablet market. Then a user could simply also head over to SI.com for additional video, as well as YouTube and Facebook.

Google fixes Wallet Security Hole
Your digital pocket can no longer be picked, according to Google, which has issued a fix for the security flaw that was reported in its Google Wallet. While there are still threats to the security, the simply method that required almost no hacking skill has been resolved.

Along with putting in a fix for the security gap Google has made some additional enhancements to the Wallet, head over to Pocketnow for a run down.

Camping stove boils water and charges smartphones
Looking forward to the backpacking season but worried that your smartphone’s battery will not handle three days in the great outdoors? Well BioLite has just the tool for you, a stove that burns wood for cooking and can also generate electricity.

The CampStove does both by using the thermal energy created when a fire is kindled in it to run a thermoelectric module that is built into the side of the stove. The module runs a fan that blows air onto the fire to improve combustion but also has excess energy available.

That energy can be used to charge small electronics devices such as a mobile phone, a GPS or lights. Of course if you backpack with back to nature types the stove might not help you stave off attack from your friends for using your phone.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, ESPN, Facebook, iPad, iPhone, Motorola, Samsung, Smartphone, Soccer, Sports Illustrated, Sports Photography, Tablets, The Big Lead, YouTube Tagged With: , , , ,

Fans Must Pay $3.99 to Watch NCAA Hoops via Mobile Devices

February 16, 2012 by

There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and now there’s no such thing as free access to the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament for mobile devices. According to an extremely unclear press release and FAQ released today, it appears you will have to pay $3.99 for access to the games via the March Madness application, whether you are using it on a PC or on a mobile platform, including Apple iPhones and iPads as well as Android-based devices.

Since it’s early and we haven’t had coffee yet this post might have later corrections but for right now here’s how it apparently breaks down: If you want to watch the games for free you have to go to the broadcasters websites. According to the press release you won’t be charged for the Turner-broadcast games if you can validate that you have a cable TV plan that includes the Turner Networks TBS, TNT and truTV. We are guessing that most people with a standards sports cable package will be covered, but you might need to check your plan. And right now there is no info on how that validation will happen. CBS says it will show all its broadcast games on CBSSports.com for free.

But if you want to use a mobile device to watch games online via the March Madness application, which includes a lot of bracket info and other goodies, the free lunch is over. It’ll cost you a one-time fee of $3.99, after which you will get a logon to use over any other device or platform you want. Apparently there is some messiness involved with using Android devices, and I am sure this won’t be the last post we do on the subject since the press release and FAQ look like they were also written without coffee or at least a decent proofreader.

If you want to try to avoid the $3.99 fee there is apparently some promotion coming next week involving Coke Zero where they will grant some folks free access, probably for surrendering your email address and your first-born child. Our quick prediction is that this news will cause howls of pain from the general hoops-loving public, who will start to wonder about government inquiries into the NCAA and its business practices. Maybe it’s time for coffee. And a search through the couch cushions for $3.99.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, CBS Sports, iPad, iPhone, NCAA Hoops, NCAA.com, TNT, truTV, Turner Sports Tagged With: , , , , ,

Apple has Sold 55 Million iPads

February 15, 2012 by

Company believes that they will soon outpace PC sales
The pace at which new technology gets adopted seems to be faster than ever, or it might be more accurate to say that once it is popularized it gets adopted faster than ever, as Apple showed when it revealed the sales numbers of its popular iPad tablets.

The iPad is not the first, or even the second tablet to hit the market, attempts have been ongoing for more than a few decades including Alan Kay’s Dynabook computer concept, Motion Computing’s Tablet PCs, and the Microsoft PC Tablet to name just a few.

There are a number of failed attempts over the past years, in part because the technology was just not there in terms of enabling developers to create fully functional devices that were lightweight, tough and yet could rival a computer.

However that issue is a thing of the past and tablet sales have been growing at a tremendous rate- according to a recent report from market analyst firm BI Intelligence, tablet sales are expected to hit 500 million units a year by 2015. The firm estimates that tablets will be a $100 billion market and surpass PC sales by a good percentage- it believes PC sales will be approximately 360 million units. No wonder Intel is working so hard to enter this space.

So how is Apple doing in this space you wonder? Well according to Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO the number is around 55 million units. He revealed the number during a presentation at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference.

He attributed the healthy ecosystem for the iPad platform as being very important for the growth and said that there were 170,000 apps that have been optimized for the platform as well as peoples previous experience with the iPhone.

He said that since its introduction he and others at Apple have believed that in the long run tablets would outsell PCs. As a user he said that he now spends between 80-90% of his time on an iPad. He said that it is cannibalizing Mac sales but if someone is going to do that he prefers it be Apple.

To put the sales figures in prospective with other Apple products Slashgear points out that it took Apple three years to sell that many iPhones and 22 years to sell that many Macintosh computers.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, iPad, iPhone, Microsoft, Smartphone, Tablets Tagged With: , , , ,
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