Tag: Basketball »

Now that the NBA season is in full swing, the NBA has released NBA Game Time 2011-2012, an app that gives users access to tons of NBA features anytime and anywhere an internet connection is available. Many of the basic features are free, like game alerts from your favorite teams, stats, scores, play by play reports, news, and video highlights. There are also two subscription level available for users who want to access more of the app's premium content. The NBA Game Time Plus subscription give users access to video highlights from in-progress games, full game video recaps, an advertisement free experience, and live radio feeds (both home and away broadcasts) of games. An NBA Game Time Plus subscription costs $7.99.

For $39.99, users can subscribe to the NBA League Pass which includes all of the features above as well as live streaming of all NBA regular season games, a full archive of all the season's games, and live in-game stat overlays. Some users may already have an NBA League Pass subscription through their cable or satellite provider and are able to use their account information to log in via the app and gain access to all League Pass content.

Currently, NBA Game Time 2011-2012 is compatible with all iOS devices running version 4.0 or higher, but it isn't optimized for the iPad.

There are few things in the sporting world quite as satisfying as scoring a three pointer in basketball. That's coming from a Brit in a country where basketball has never quite taken off; however, years of NBA Jam has kept me enthralled by the sport. Slam Dunk Basketball taps into that satisfaction with its simple yet addictive style of gameplay - simply flick or tap to unleash the ball and try to throw it through the hoop.

Players are given 90 seconds to score as many points as possible with time added for scoring clean shots and scoring multiple shots in a row. Powerups are also unleashed with the more points scored adding an exciting new side to things. Slam Dunk Basketball is a freemium game so it's free to play but credits can be bought to unlock new levels and new ball types. A huge array of achievements also encourage players to keep playing.

Slam Dunk Basketball is a simple basketball game but at this price, that's exactly what anyone could want. It makes for the ideal game to play on a daily commute in short bursts and it's impressive how addictive it is to keep improving upon the high score.

Slam Dunk Basketball is out now as an Universal app and it's a free download with in-app purchases available.

Spring shall soon be upon us, and our nightmares about freezing temperatures, Snowtorious B.I.G., and absurdly thick winterwear will soon become faded memories. But the true greatness of spring's arrival is March Madness. Not to be confused with what Charlie Sheen is currently suffering from, this refers to the annual NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament - yes, college football fans, a tournament where the best teams play each other to determine the champion. Such a thing actually exists. Especially for the first 4 days, it is possible to have up to 4 games going on at one time, which has been quite difficult to keep track of in past years, and if your team or a more interesting game is airing than the one that was on TV, keeping track of it was difficult. Thankfully, there has been the March Madness On Demand app to help you watch the game of your choice on your iPhone or iPod touch. This year, the app is returning to help you watch the tournament games of your choice.

While all the games will be available via basic cable this year, the March Madness Demand on App will still be useful for those that aren't at a TV at the time, or want to watch multiple games at a time. The service, available not only as an iPhone and iPod touch app, but also available online and now with an iPad-native app, will stream all the games of the tournament, including the new play-in games with the expansion of the tournament field from 65 to 68, and even the Final Four and championship game will be available via the app, which is usable over both wifi and 3G. You'll be able to do more than just watch games - you can also keep track of scores for every game, access social networking features, and even locate where games are airing on your TV provider with localized TV listings, so you can easily turn to the channel that has the game you want to watch on TV.

The best part is that while the apps for iPhone and iPod touch have cost $4.99 to download in previous years, this year the service will be free across the board, with the apps free to download starting March 10th, although the tournament field won't be revealed until Selection Sunday, March 13th, as conference tournaments end. Live games will start on March 15th and 16th with the "First Four" games that will feature matchups of four automatically qualifying teams facing off for #16 seeds into the tournament, and the last four teams picked to get in as at-large teams facing off for yet-to-be-determined seeds that will be determined on Selection Sunday.

[img id="media.1.jpg "]This week, historically, is the most important week of the year for the college basketball fan. It all starts with Selection Sunday when the field of 64 (or 65 as it is now) is announced. Then, college basketball fans worldwide struggle for the next 3.5 days to fill out their brackets. And finally, Thursday comes around and the first game tips off. From there it's 4 straight days of basketball nirvana.

Here's a quick round-up of some apps that can help you enjoy this week. Some to fill out your brackets with, and one to even help you catch the games when away from a TV.

CBS Sports NCAA® March Madness on Demand® is back for the second year. This app is on the high end price wise for an app, but it has one really special feature. Along with sports scores, news, and full bracket coverage, this app lets you stream video of every single NCAA Tournament game. That's right every single one of the games, even over 3G and Edge. There's also audio-only coverage if you prefer that. Last year the app worked really well for me. Great if you can't get away from work to watch a game, you can just sneak into the bathroom and watch it there. I'm not too proud admit that I've had to do that once or twice...
There's also a free version minus the streaming.

Hit the jump for more great apps to help you enjoy March Madness.