The Apple Core

Jason D. O'Grady & David Morgenstern
Home / News & Blogs / The Apple Core

NBC Olympics app is worthy of a gold medal

By | February 16, 2010, 1:16pm PST

Summary: Could the Olympics iPhone app be better than being there? Probably not, but it’s close.

NBC Olympics app is worthy of a gold medal
If you don’t follow the Olympics or aren’t interested in iPhone apps, you have my permission to skip this post. However, if you’re like me and are into both, you probably already have this app on your iPhone’s home screen. If you don’t, run don’t walk to install NBC Olympics (App Store, Free) on your device. The Olympics are only on for 14 days, after all.

NBC Olympics keeps me up to date on all the happenings of the games while I’m away from a television, which is most of the time. The app displays live real-time updates on every event from the games in Vancouver. You can also watch video clips and highlights and read news stories for every sport, and check out real-time results, schedules and medal counts. You can even follow your favorite countries, sports and athletes on Facebook and Twitter — all within the Olympics app. Good stuff.

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

More from “The Apple Core”

Topics

Olympic Games, NBC Universal Inc., Games, Smart Phones, Personal Technology, Consumer Electronics, Jason D. O'Grady

Jason O'Grady is a journalist and author specializing in mobile technology. He has published six books on Apple and mobile gadgets and his PowerPage blog has been publishing for over 15 years.

Disclosure

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage:

  • Amazon Associates
  • Google Adsense
  • Tekserve

    • Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.

Biography

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.

He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging. He has been a frequent speaker at the Macworld Expo conference and a member of the conference faculty. He also co-founded the first dedicated PowerBook User Group (PPUG) in the United States.

After winning a major legal battle with Apple in 2006, he set the precedent that independent journalists are entitled to the same protections under the First Amendment as members of the mainstream media.

O'Grady is the author of The Nexus One Pocket Guide, The Droid Pocket Guide, The Google Phone Pocket Guide, and The Garmin nuvi Pocket Guide (Peachpit Press), the author of Corporations That Changed the World: Apple Inc. (Greenwood Press), and a contributor to The Mac Bible (Peachpit Press). In addition, he has contributed to numerous Mac publications over the years, including MacWEEK, Macworld, and MacPower (Japan).

When he's not writing about Apple for ZDNet at The Apple Core, he enjoys spending time with his family in New Jersey.

6
Comments
Add Your Opinion

Join the conversation!

Just In

RE: NBC Olympics app is worthy of a gold medal
|-Jabba-| 19th Feb 2010
Outside of the States the app doesn't amount to much. No
feeds because the license excludes it..... just the ads remain...
do not see any use case for an app like that
View in thread
0 Votes
+ -
It's a great app...could be costly..
doug.hanchard@... 16th Feb 2010
If you use this app while you're in visiting Vancouver from the U.S. beware and check with your service provider about International roaming charges on your data plan.

You could be facing a bill potentially in the hundred's of dollars, maybe even a cool grand....in charges. If you download a Gig of data, look out...
0 Votes
+ -
The App might be good but their coverage stinks
m-Karl 17th Feb 2010
The App might be OK but the TV coverage by NBC looks
more like an childish attempt at a SOAP opera than
actual sports.

The same pounding drums and trumpets from the last,
what, 8 years of Olympic coverage.

I suppose though it does save money having the same
people making olympic sports decisions as late night
TV decisions.

They are children needing adult supervision.
0 Votes
+ -
Olympics Music is Great!
vasbinde 17th Feb 2010
Actually the piece that the Olympics theme music is from is a much larger piece
by the legendary composer John Williams to celebrate the Los Angeles Olympic
games in 1984 (he reimagined it for several subsequent Olympics until 2002).
Mr. Williams is the same person who created soundtracks for Star Wars, ET,
Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Harry Potter, the Indiana Jones
movies, and many, many more. He has insipired a generation or two of
composers, musicians, and kids of all stripes.

The fact that NBC continues to use his music after 26 years is a stunning
testimony to the timeless beauty and appeal of his music. Many people cannot
say that anything they have created is still enjoyed by millions of people almost
30 years after it was created.

Can you?
0 Votes
+ -
why, does it cut out all the commercials?
ca1ic0cat 17th Feb 2010
If it does I might just get an iPhone. On the tube the olympics are about 1/3 sport, 1/3 drivel, and 1/3 adverts. I'd love to avoid the latter two!
0 Votes
+ -
RE: NBC Olympics app is worthy of a gold medal
eadsd 17th Feb 2010
This is barely an app. It's a 10MB+ Coke commercial that is a really slow way to get to the NBC mobile web site.

Don't waste your time.

If they were showing info within the app with Coke ads plastered all over I'd be excited. What they gave us is lame.
0 Votes
+ -
RE: NBC Olympics app is worthy of a gold medal
|-Jabba-| 19th Feb 2010
Outside of the States the app doesn't amount to much. No
feeds because the license excludes it..... just the ads remain...
do not see any use case for an app like that

Join the conversation!

Formatting +
BB Codes - Note: HTML is not supported in forums
  • [b] Bold [/b]
  • [i] Italic [/i]
  • [u] Underline [/u]
  • [s] Strikethrough [/s]
  • [q] "Quote" [/q]
  • [ol][*] 1. Ordered List [/ol]
  • [ul][*] · Unordered List [/ul]
  • [pre] Preformat [/pre]
  • [quote] "Blockquote" [/quote]
ie8 fix

The best of ZDNet, delivered

ZDNet Newsletters

Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox

Facebook Activity

Blog Roll

Blog Archive

White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources
ie8 fix
ie8 fix