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GPS Developer TomTom Set to Deliver Two Sports Watches

April 22, 2013 by 1 Comment

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TomTom has delivered a pair of GPS-based sports watches, one that is focused primarily on runners while the other is designed for a more multi sports approach that should appeal to a much broader range of athletes.

The company had two design goals win mind when they built the TomTom Runner and the TomTom Multi-Sport GPS sport watches. It believes that most existing watches in this field are too bulky and cumbersome and so sought to shrink the size and make it a slim, easily worn device. At the same time it was seeking to use a large display to show the graphical training tools. It believes that it reached both of these goals as well as simplifying the use of the watch with its one button control.

The watches are both built on TomTom’s Graphical Training Partner, a program that allows users to track vital statics in real time. It has three basic modes: Race, Goal and Zone. Race allows you to vie against a recently set time or your personal best. Goal allows you to set a number of parameters such as time, distance or calorie and then track how you are doing against your goals. Zone has users set targets such as pace or heart rate and then allows you to track your progress during a workout. A heart monitor for this is an option.

Among the watches other features are an indoor tracker to so that a user can track activity on devices such as a treadmill; QuickGPSFix uses GPS and GLONASS satellite technology to quickly find users’ precise location.

Since many runners and other athletes already often use other apps to track and share progress the watches have the multi-platform compatability and can sync with a variety of alterative platforms including the TomTom MySports website, MapMyFitness, RunKeeper, TrainingPeaks and MyFitnessPal

All of these and other features are standard in both watches while the TomTom Multi-Sport also allows multi-sport athletes to track their distance, time, speed and other key metrics when they cycle or swim and includes a built-in altimeter and a bike mount.

Last year TomTom teamed with Nike for a GPS watch and it ran Nike Fuel but it is not clear if this one will also support Nike’s platform.

The TomTom Runner and TomTom Multi-Sport will be available in Summer 2013. The market for sports watches is a fairly crowded one, and one that will get even more packed if all of the rumored hybrid smartwatches that have been reported from the likes of Apple, Samsung, Nokia, Microsoft and others actually do come to market. I expect that including all of the ones that have appeared on Kickstarter their will be a glut on the market of these types of devices and users should spend some time considering how and when they plan to use such devices to see what will best fit their needs.

Filed Under: Apps, Cantor Gamin, Cycling, Garmin, Golf, Nike, Nokia, Smartphone Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: A Wave of Phablets in the Future?

April 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Is Windows 8 driving Mac sales?
You have probably looked at a Surface tablet by now and pondered how the new operating system, Windows 8, actually works, since it is very different than previous incarnations of the OS. Now people are coming out and claiming that the remade operating system is driving customers to rival platforms.

ZDNet is reporting that two of Microsoft’s OEMs have reported that they believe that the new operating system is to blame for the decline in PC sales and that it has actually driven users to buy systems from rival Apple. Microsoft does have a major update to the OS in the works and it will be interesting to see if it is a major update or a turn back the clock move.

Analyst expect lower cost iPhone to sell like hot cakes.
C/Net is reporting that Gene Munster, an analyst with Piper Jaffray is predicting that a low cost iPhone, widely expected to be available later this year, will cause iPhone sales to explode going forward and into next year.

He predicts the low cost phone will be available in September in the $300 range, unsubsidized, and that while it would cannibalize sales of the higher end, more expensive phones the volume would be worth it. He projects that the company could sell as many as 75 million iPhones in 2014 and start to dominate in the mid-range section of the smartphone market.

Samsung to face increased competition in phablet space

Does BlackBerry have a phablet in the works?
BlackBerry is the latest to have a phablet, which is a smartphone with a large display, rumored to be in the works. The company has been on a more positive road this year with growing acceptance of its BlackBerry 10 and increased sales.

Now analysts expect the company to expand the handset lineup later this year with at least two possible additional models, according to Digital Trends. One of the rumored devices would be a hybrid that would have a 5-inch display while another would be a mid-range version of the existing model.

Nokia also about to toss hat into phablet space?
Nokia is another smartphone developer that is now being reported as preparing to enter the large form factor smartphone space according to Tech Radar via the Financial Times. While the report clams that the forthcoming device will be technically superior to the Samsung Galaxy Note it did not include any features to use for comparison.

Microsoft hints at 7-inch tablet
The rumor mill continues to heat up with reports that Microsoft is planning on a 7-inch tablet later this week. According to Business Insider outgoing Microsoft CFO Peter Klein said that the company has a small touch device that it will be releasing soon. Of course this could be another smartwatch as well, something that the company is also rumored to be working on.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, BlackBerry, Galaxy Note, iOS, iPhone, Microsoft, Samsung, Surface, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , , , , ,

NBA Playoffs: Available in Live TV, Mobile and Online

April 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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The NBA Playoffs are around the corner and an onslaught of information and games are out there waiting for you, and the NBA along with its digital partners has organized it so that users can watch live games, catch highlights online and get full information while mobile.

The push is being orchestrated by NBA Digital, and if the name does not mean that much to you, you are are still likely to know a number of the components that make up that entity which include NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA LEAGUE PASS Broadband, NBA Mobile, NBADLEAGUE.com, and WNBA.com. It is jointly managed by the NBA and Turner Sports.

First up is NBA TV which will be broadcasting approximately 1,500 hours of game coverage and will offer the possibility of multi-screen coverage and as many as nine first round games as well as pre- and post-game programming. The network’s live game telecasts will tip off with the Miami Heat hosting the Milwaukee Bucks (first round, Game 2) on Tuesday, April 23, at 7:30 p.m. ET.

However it should be noted that not all of the games will be on NBA TV, and if you are looking for additional information about games you have watched and others that were played that you did not see then the NBA’s web site, NBA.Com, is the place to look as it will serve as a centralized point for all playoff information including both live video coverage and video highlights.

Among the many offerings at the site a key feature will is the ability to see live games and overtime on TNT Overtime, which also includes some unique camera angles for a different view of the game. For social media fans there is also a section called Social Spotlight where you can track and contribute tweets, photos and other media.

The mobile users have a great deal of access to all of the NBA.Com features as well as ones tailored for mobile platforms. The app, NBA Game Time, is available for both Android and Apple iOS users and provides a bracket view, series dashboards, live scoring, and game alerts, among other features. A version for iPad users, NBA Game Time Sponsored by State Farm also offers synchronized video, scores and updates delivered in real-time.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Basketball, iOS, iPad, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, NBA, NBA Game Time, NBC Sports, Smartphone, TNT, Turner Sports Tagged With: , , , , ,

Malware Growth a Threat to Mobile Users-Even Sports Fans

April 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment

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Almost every sports fan that I know has a host of different sports-centric apps on their tablets and smartphones covering everything from leagues wide news to ones that simply focus on an individual team or even player, but there are dangers lying in wait for them.

Everybody is aware that computers can get viruses and malware, annoying applets that do everything from track web sites that are visited to trying to steal passwords, address book and financial information. Now that threat is increasingly coming to mobile devices as well.

A report from antivirus detection company McAfee shows that malware for mobile devices is experiencing a tremendous upsurge and that it is primarily focused on one specific operating system, the Android platform.

The report shows that the rise in malware attacks is experiencing tremendous growth, coming from a relatively low of 792 samples in 2011 to 36,699 in 2012. Of those attacks 97% were against Google’s Android operating system.

While as far as I know no known sports apps have been the focus of a Trojan or any other attack but it is worth noting that it will only be a matter of time. Often scammers will use a tragedy to get past normally skeptical people and have them download an infected app.

The report shows that there are growing numbers of methods to gain complete control of a smartphone, and with the growing use of smartphones as banking and financial tools this could represent a great deal of danger to the average user.

Android, due to the openness of the platform, makes an obvious target for the mobile malware developer. Relatively closed platforms such as Apple’s iOS are much more secure, at least at this point in time.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Google, Intel, iOS Tagged With: , , , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: Microsoft Goes Small and MLB hits it Big

April 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment

People seem drawn to March Madness pools like moths to a flame, and this year ESPN’s mammoth pool, 8.15 million strong had a surprise winner, Lanny Kekua. If that name does not ring a bell it is the fake dead girlfriend of Notre Dame football star Manti Te’o.

The name was used as an alias by a fan named Craig Gilmore, who won the tournament and successfully selected Louisville to defeat Michigan in the final. He is now entered into a drawing for a $10,000 Best Buy gift card.

Reebok Spartan Race hits the baseball circuit
Last year the Sparta Race held an event at a baseball park, and it proved to be very popular. So this year it is upping the ante and will be holding a series of events at ballyards, and it has announced the first four venues.

Athletes living near The New York Mets’ Citi Field, The Philadelphia Phillies’ Citizen Bank Park, The Milwaukee Brewers’ Miller Park or The Boston Red Sox Fenway Park can start practicing for the event near you.

Did Windows 8 Launch hurt PC sales?
Market research firm IDC has reported that sales of personal computers continued a downward fall, and is ascribing part of the blame to the latest operating system release from Microsoft, Windows 8. The most recent IDC Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker report shows that in the first quarter of 2013 there was a total average drop in PC shipments of 13.9% compared to the previous quarter.

Bob O’Donnell, IDC Program Vice President, Clients and Displays said that the company’s research showed that not only did Windows 8 not provide the hoped for boost in sales that many had been planning on, it actually served as a major detriment to sales.

At Bat Starts off with hot streak
Major League Baseball’s popular At Bat program for mobile device users has been a hot download at the start of this year’s season. The program surpassed the 4 million download mark last week, five days into the season.

Last year, when the app was also on a record setting pace, it took it 45 days to reach the 4 million milestone. For the year the app was downloaded 6.7 million times in 2012. MLB’s other two major apps At the Ballpark and Beat the Streak had roughly a million additional downloads.

The Rumor Mill

Tom’s Hardware is showing what is reportedly the next generation tablet from Acer, the Iconia tab A1-810 that had been accidentally briefly advertised by a French retailer. The 7.9-inch tablet is said to be powered by a 1.2GHz Cortex A9 processor featuring 1GB of RAM.

Newly leaked images of the forthcoming iPad from Apple appear to show a device that is thinner than previous releases and has reinforced the rumor that Apple is completely redesigning the popular tablet, currently reported to have the name iPad 5.

To the surprise of no one it has been reported that Microsoft has a 7-inch tablet in the works. With the rapidly growing popularity of this form factor a better issue might be what took them so long? The Wall Street Journal, via The Hispanic Business.com said that the tablets are expected to go into production later this year.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Baseball, ESPN, iPad, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, Microsoft, NCAA Hoops, Smartphone, Spartan Race, Surface, Tablets, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: The Cost of Hot Dogs and New Nexus Coming?

April 5, 2013 by 4 Comments

If you cannot get enough of Facebook on your mobile devices this will be very good news. The company has delivered an app called ‘Facebook Home’ that is an Android program which replaces your normal Android home screen.

Scheduled to be launched within the next two weeks the app will also come preinstalled on new HTC First Phones that will be available from AT&T. Facebook is working to launch a version for tablets in the near future. Head over to TechCrunch to see what the new features will be.

Next Gen Nexus rumored for July
The latest in the tablet rumors is that Google’s popular Nexus tablet will be seeing a platform refresh this coming July, according to a report in Reuters, and from the sounds of the report the company plans to be very aggressive in its pricing.

The new Nexus would feature greater screen resolution, a thinner bezel and a new processor, dropping Nvidia in favor of Qualcomm. It is reported the company will be seeking to sell 8 million tablets in the second half of the year.

Speaking of Google rumors another has it building an Android powered notebook that it is planning to launch as early as in the third quarter of this year.

Amazon Kindle Phone on the way?
Computerworld is reporting that Amazon is looking at developing and delivering a smartphone that it would deliver later this year. It is not clear of Amazon would make it a type of Kindle phone or if it would be a more traditional Android device.

Amazon recently hired Charles Kindel who had formerly headed up Microsoft’s Windows Phone application and platform developer relations. Apparently Kindel has been blogging that he was hired by Amazon to ‘do something secret” I am sure blogging will help keep it a secret.

Ematic delivers low cost Android tablet
If you are looking for a low cost tablet, possibly as a single use device or one that you are not afraid to have damaged you might want to look at the latest offering from Ematic and its $79.99 7-inch Genesis Prime tablet.

While certainly not designed to set the world on fire with its features it does have a 1.1GHz Intel Core Duo processor, 4GB on-board storage, 5GB cloud storage, 512MB of RAM, front-facing VGA camera and 4.5 hours of battery life.

No peanuts or crackerjacks here
Sports fans are always competitive and now they can see how they rank in two very important categories- how much they are spending on beer and on hot dogs at the ball yard, thanks to a survey by CNN Money.

I have to say I surprised at the differences. You can buy six hot dogs at Cincinnati’s Great American Park for the price of one at the New York Met’s Citi Field, for instance. Beer is most expensive in Washington D.C. and cheapest in Cleveland.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, AT&T, Baseball, Google, Intel, iPad, Kindle, Major League Baseball, Microsoft, Smartphone, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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