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Apps provide new fan experience for London Olympic Games

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Friday, July 27, 2012
By Hayden Harrison
Cronkite News

LONDON – To help spectators at the Olympic Games get to events on time and follow competition with live updates, organizers are offering a number of mobile applications.

Early indications are these apps won’t win any medals.

They are only available in English, and some Americans aren’t eager to roam for them.

Because she does not have a data plan on her trip, Stephanie Choi, 31, from Los Angeles, did not get the apps because of the size of the download. Also, Wi-Fi is hard to find.

“There was a warning on the app site about taking up a lot of data, and I didn’t want to clog up my phone memory,” Choi said.

Jens Bracht, 22, from Seattle, also decided not to download the app without a data plan.

“I feel like any apps that are going to get me around here, I’m going to want it on my phone while I’m walking,” Bracht said. “But, if I have to be in a place with Wi-Fi, then it doesn’t really seem worth it.”

A representative in the public relations office of the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games said there wasn’t time Friday to discuss concerns raised about the apps.

Reena Patel, 30, from Columbus, Ohio, downloaded the London 2012 Join In to help plan which events she and her father will attend.

“Since it is so close to opening, I use it to see what time events are and where they are, especially since I haven’t planned out what I want to see or what I want to do,” Patel said. “I am hoping it’ll help me figure it out.”

London 2012 Join In not only provides travel information to events and live updates for those who don’t have tickets but can be used to find other activities going on around London.

One app not made by the committee but useful to tourists and locals is the London Tube Map, offered by Playback Media.