Free MLB At Bat 2012 For Android, iOS

Major League Baseball’s MLB At Bat 2012 app launches on both Android and iOS. The app brings the widely praised franchise back for another season and it has several important changes for baseball lovers.

Among these is the fact that it will be one of the first apps outside of the publishing world that will have access to Apple’s recurring monthly subscription option right in the app. The radio streaming app Pandora got them last November. The new app is also now free to download from the App Store and there are some nice subscription options. The Next Web had a chance to speak to the MLB about the app and the new features and it looks like it will be another great version of the app.

For the first time ever, MLB At Bat 2012 will be one universal app, free to all, with Android and iOS feature parity. That means that the app is identical, across all platforms, with all features available. Previously, due to technical restrictions, Android users couldn’t access some of the video highlight features, among others. Now, every version of the app has all of the features available, which is very cool. The iOS app is also a universal binary, which means that one download will work on all of Apple’s devices. There was a ton of work put in to combine the codebases of the apps and to bring them into a harmonious package that will work across all devices.

Another big change for At Bat 2012 is the cost. The app is freely downloadable from the App Store and the Android Market, which is a change from last year, when it was a $15 download on the iPhone and iPad. The free app is roughly the equivalent of the ‘At Bat Lite’ app that has now been done away with. Instead, the MLB is letting you grab it for free, and then will offer several ways to unlock the app’s additional functionality. Any feature unlocks you purchase, say, on an iPhone, are also available on the iPad via a ‘restore’ purchase button.

1. The default app is similar to the ‘Lite’ version from last year, which offers a bunch of stuff including:
Scores
Standings
News
Team Content

2. The second tier is an annual $14.99 price. This brings you everything that you get with the standard app and also includes:

Pitch FX (the pitch-by-pitch calling)
Game Day Audio
Stats
Highlights
Live Look-ins (video)
Condensed Games and video library archive
Free live game of the day

3. The third tier has exactly the same features, but bills at a monthly $2.99. This subscription level is available to iOS users only, but the MLB indicated that it was working to bring it to Android as well.

4. All features are free to MLB.tv subscribers, who just authorize account after launching the app. This essentially makes the app free on any and all platforms for anyone with an MLB.TV subscription. In addition, live video broadcasts of some of the 150 Spring Training games and all 2,430 regular season games are available to subscribers.


If you’re not familiar with the At Bat App, then you don’t know just how great a job the team has been doing over the past couple of years. Since the app launched in 2008, it’s been the gold standard for sports apps. Really, anything from the NFL, NBA or NHL pales in comparison to the level of detail at work in the flagship MLB app. You can tell that the team respects baseball, but also loves building great apps, something that you just don’t find in a lot of sports apps, where more often than not you’ll find a web view embedded in a crappy looking native frame, with all of the stink of a cash grab. Conversely, the At Bat App is s a joy to use and has become an integral part of my baseball watching experience.

Grab the MLB at Bat 11 iPhone/Android app - AppJudgment:

TheO Makes Your Phone A More Physically-Demanding Gaming Device

Check out what the makers of TheO has in store for you. TheO was among those on exhibit at the Toy Fair 2012 in New York, and it transforms your iOS or Android device into a more physically-demanding gaming device. All you have to do is place your phone inside the ball made of foam and start playing games that make full use of the phone’s accelerometer. With TheO, typical sports games such as bowling will now need you to get off the couch and start aiming for those pins to score.

The use of TheO opens up a whole new world of apps to users, assuming you are willing to place your phone inside it. The phone locks into place and provided that you stay clear of some liquid substances, your phone should be safe enough for mild to average physical activity with TheO.

TheO Lets You Roll Your Own Phone... Safely - 2012 Toy Fair:

Atari Arcade hands-on

Today's modern gamer can quickly be enveloped by some of the 3D intensive titles out there, but for those who are more akin to those titles from yesterday, they'll soak in a good amount of nostalgia thanks to this fitting accessory that brings back a solid dose of nostalgia. Remember some of those old school Atari arcades from back in the day? Well, if you certainly remember them, the Atari Arcade is here to reinvigorate those stagnant memories of yesterday when gaming as we know it, was still in its infancy.

For $69.99 and the aid of your supplied iPad (first or second-generation), the Atari Arcade provides that arcade like feel thanks to its ample sized joystick and accompanying four buttons. Not surprisingly, we're tickled by the fact that we're introduced to that arcade like experience, but it tends to become a bit unstable as we're mashing away at its buttons and joystick. Yes, the Atari Arcade locks the iPad 2 into position and hinges it on an angle, but at times, it feels as though it can come off with enough applied pressure. Moreover, as much as we'd like to play with this thing in our lap, it's best to place it on a level surface to withstand the momentum of our rigorous movements. Nevertheless, this is an essential item you'll want to pick up if you want to relive the experience – without having to fork over your life savings to pick up some of these collector's arcade systems yourself.

Everything about this all-plastic accessory pays homage to those giant-sized arcade systems from the past, but its true worth is found with the free download of the Atari Greatest Hits app for the iPad. Initially, you get Missile Commander for free by simply downloading the free app, but if you want to play some other titles, even ones for the Atari 2600, you'll need to spend some dough on them. Luckily, you can pick up 25 separate packs for a mere 99 cents, but if you're really hardcore, we'd suggest plopping down $9.99 to pick up all 100 titles that are available.

Atari Arcade hands-on:

60beat GamePad iPad Gaming Controller

There have been a few game controllers released for iOS devices like the iPad and iPhone, but none that I've seen that work as elegantly as the 60beat GamePad promises it will. The GamePad offers all of the buttons you'd expect on a HD generation video game controller (with analog sticks and triggers and so on), but instead of using the iOS device's 30-pin connector, it hooks up through the headphone port, and apparently passes audio information across there somehow.

Unfortunately, because that's such an interesting connection, the controller only works with two games at the moment, Bugdom and Aftermath. But the company is promising more compatibility next year, and hopefully as more developers jump on board, we'll see more widespread support.

It's certainly an interesting prospect. The controller itself is $50, but as it works with more games, that price will definitely become more and more worth it. I personally have been using the OnLive wireless controller to play those games on my iPad (which still isn't available to the public, unfortunately), and I've been wishing for a controller like this, so hopefully 60beat will get the support it needs from devs.

Introducing the 60beat GamePad:

JingXing S7100: An Android Tablet For Gaming

It looks like the Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY isn’t going to be the dedicated Android gaming device on the block, a company named JingXing has decided to step into that niche with a device of its own: the JingXing S7100. However, the S7100 isn’t a phone and takes the form factor of tablet instead, and features gamepad controls on the sides of the display.

While the specs of the device weren’t revealed, it will be running on Android (as evident by the dedicated Android buttons on the bottom of the device and the Android logo on the back), and will feature a rear camera and a front facing camera. The tablet’s gamepad gives users a 4-way D-pad, 4 regular buttons (circle, triangle, square, x), as well as start and select. No sign of shoulder buttons, so I guess you’ll need to use onscreen controls for those.

Don’t expect to have a dedicated app store like the Xperia PLAY/PlayStation Vita – but you can be pretty sure that ROM emulators are going to be this tablet’s best friends.

PowerSkin Gaming Skin Adds Extra Juice To Your Gaming

PowerSkin well known for their battery packs for smartphones has this week unveiled an new addition to their range of products in the form of the PowerSkin Gaming Skin for iOS devices. The new Gaming Case can provide up to twice the power for your iPhone or iPod touch then you would normally have, and its a one piece design is finished with a soft silicone rubber to provide extra grip whilst gaming.

Internally the PowerSkin Gaming Case is fitted with a 2050mAh battery to provide extra juice, and adding 118g to the weight of your phone. Its also equipped with the usual LED stays lights and patented XPAL Power battery technology. Meaning it’s charged by patented battery technology that reflects the highest standards of safety, quality, and performance.

More information's:
http://www.power-skin.com/battery-cases/gp2100/iphone-ipod-touch-powerskin.html

Powerskin Boost - Gaming Case: