Screw The Radio: MLB's iPhone App Streams Games
The best sports application for iPhone and iPod touch just got a whole lot better
By EAMONN BRENNAN
Updated 2:23 PM CST, Mon, Mar 30, 2009
Last year, MLB's mobile application hit the iTunes store, and what an application it was. Sure, it had its limitations, but it offered the ability to keep up with games quickly and easily via live scoring and scoreboards and, more importantly, to stream video highlights as they happened. It was a on-the-go baseball fan's dream.
One thing it didn't do was stream live games. Those days are over. The 200 version MLB's "At Bat" application will -- get this -- offer streaming audio of every single MLB game from Opening Day through the final game of the World Series. No blackout restrictions. No reason to miss any baseball. That sound you just heard was our head exploding.
There are a couple of minor quibbles. For one, if you downloaded the application last year, when you update your phone you'll notice your At Bat application says "At Bat Lite." That's because MLB is making you purchase At Bat 2009 from scratch; your old app doesn't carry over. (Your current application does offer a handy "upgrade" feature, for whatever that's worth.) Also, the application costs $9.99. That's a little steep for the iTunes store, if not unreasonable.
In the end, though, it's about having radio broadcasts wherever and whenever you want it. $10 seems a nominal fee to pay to listen to baseball on your headphones at work, or to get a quick score run-through -- with video highlights -- on the commute home. Technology! If it were a person, we would hug it.
Eamonn Brennan is a Chicago-based writer, editor and blogger who just clicked "download." You can also read him at Yahoo! Sports, Mouthpiece Sports Blog, and Inside The Hall, or at his personal site, eamonnbrennan.com. Follow him on Twitter.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: Mar 30, 2009 1:10 PM CST
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