Want
the best apps to help you enjoy the Olympics on your smart phone or tablet? Go
straight to the source: NBC will be broadcasting the games in the U.S., and the apps
the network is offering will tap you into the games better than any other.
Here’s a look at what NBC and other app developers have to offer.
BBC Olympics (for iOS, Android, and BlackBerry). The BBC says it will
provide more than 2,500 hours of live coverage and daily text commentaries on
its app. Guides to each sport provide history and general rules, why a
particular sport is good for you (did you know archers can burn more than 300
calories an hour?), how Brits can get involved in the sport (nothing equivalent
for those of us stateside, unfortunately), and the format of the competition at
the games. You can customize the app by dragging your favorite sports to an
always-visible bar at the bottom of the screen for quick access.
NBC Olympics Live Extra (for iOS and Android). Before the games even
begin, prepare by selecting your favorite sports and events. Once you do,
you’ll be notified by the app 15 minutes before showtime. Log in with your
cable provider, and you’ll be able to watch events live on your tablet. In the
weeks before the opening ceremonies, a Spotlight section featured previews of
various sports, highlights of Olympic trials, and athlete interviews.
NBC Olympics (for iOS and Android). Two reasons to download
this app to augment the live coverage: You love following and commenting on
sporting events as they happen on Twitter, and you want to get the inside scoop
about individual athletes. For the former, there’s a "Twitter tracker"
built in, and you can choose to follow tweets about sports, athletes, or the
"Tweet Sheet," which consists of tweets by the athletes. Link into
your Twitter account to offer your own commentary. As for the athletes’
stories, you can search for your favorites or learn about some of the top-rated
participants. You’ll get a bio, videos, photos, and the latest news about each.
Reuters Olympics London 2012 (for iOS). As you might expect from
Reuters, this app’s emphasis is on the news coming out of the Olympics. It
opens up with a photographic timeline showing the day’s events by sport. The
app takes an interesting approach to presenting photos and information
together. Tap on the “infographic” icon at the bottom of the screen, and
informative tidbits pop up over the photo. Use finger gestures to move among
the sets of facts on each photo. Most include data about the venue, number of
competitors, and number of medal events for a given sport. A shot of the U.S.
swimmer Cullen Jones, for example, also included facts about how the butterfly
stroke was developed and the first man to swim 100 meters in less than a
minute. That would be Johnny Weissmuller, better known as Tarzan.
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