How great would it be to watch the entire Hawaiian Triple Crown of Surfing on your iPhone? Great right? Live video streaming, live scores, photos, surf reports, news, all right there on one dashboard. It would be amazing. And the new Vans Triple Crown of Surfing app (available in the iTunes store today for 99 cents) does all of that with one catch: you must be connected to a WIFI network.
The app features an opening screen with the three Triple Crown of Surfing event posters. Clicking one one takes you to a page with a nav bar along the bottom that features links to: News, Live Webcast, Results, Video, Photos, and a Surf Report. All of the menu items work as promised. The news section has abbreviated versions of event press releases, the Live Webcast hooks a slightly jaggy, lower resolution version of the live video on the web, the results are there, the video section includes heat-by-heat breakdowns of all the action, and the photos made us feel like we were almost there live. Being able to view all this content on an iPhone is amazing as long as you’re on a WIFI network.
Follow the jump for the rest of the review and full size screen grabs. . .
Vans describes this app as the “first ever live mobile webcast application for any action sports event.” And they are partially correct. Viewing any of the video content requires a WIFI connection. That means you can’t watch the stream or the previous heats while you’re “mobile.” It won’t work while you’re riding the bus, or hanging out at that beach, or riding in a car. Obviously, a live video stream of a surf contest is not going to do well over a 3G connection, but couldn’t the announceers audio be streamed? That would be cool? For now news, results, photos, and the surf report are all you get when you’re on the move and away from a WIFI connection.
This means the video portions of the app work in as many places as a laptop. It functions great in our house, out in the yard (when we’re supposed to be working), at the coffee shop, or in a hotel lobby. But if we’re going to be near a WIFI connection we’d much rather watch the cleaner larger video on our laptop or a computer that’s hooked into our flatscreen TV.
More than anything the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing app is a promise of better things to come. Soon this video content will be available anywhere. We’ll be checking in with the events while waiting at a red light, or walking along the beach, and the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing app brings us one step closer.
We found it well worth the 99 cents for the novelty alone and, if you’re in an office with WIFI you can just put the headphones in, hide the iPhone behind some paperwork and no one will know you’re not hard at work on that spread sheet. . .
Results page.
The live video feed isn’t bad at all.
Photo browser.
Surf report
even if only wifi, i found the covenience/mobility/stealth factor of watching on my itouch is well worth it compared to laptop.
I’m in Ireland and it’s great to have it live when I’m studying late. The time difference makes it hard to follow on home computer. Watched the Reef pro from the round of 32 and could see everything, the 30sec replay is a great feature. if someone posts a great wave you can just pop back 30seconds and enjoy.
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