NHL GameCenter Comes To The App Store In A Free And Premium Version
October 7, 2010
The National Hockey League has just released NHL GameCenter to provide hockey fans with team and player stats, league news, multiple reminders, standings, schedules, play-by-play, photos, and more. This isn't quite the NHL GameCenter Live app we were made aware of earlier in the week, however. In fact, this release is only compatible with iPhone and iPod touch at the moment, and in a surprising move by the NHL, lacks premium features for U.S. fans, and isn't even available for residents of Canada.
The scores section lists current game scores and upcoming game start times. Tap on an in-progress or finalized game to see the full details. The upper portion includes the period scores, a button to view game photos, and a button to read a recap analysis. The lower portion contains top play-by-play breakdowns for each period. Turning your iDevice to landscape will reveal the Ice Tracker. Here you can watch where plays occur in real-time, filter by team, or view all key play locations. Tapping on an indicator icon on the Ice Tracker will bring up a filtered play-by-play.
Check out the teams area to view the roster, check on team statistics, and double check which games are coming up on the schedule. Tapping on a player under the roster tab will bring up the player's career stats and basic biography details. If you know a players' name but maybe not which team he plays for, you can move to the More section and select players. The list allows browsing alphabetically by last name or use a text search.
Available settings located under the More section include picking your favorite team(s), and game alerts you'd like to be notified via push notifications. You can be reminded about upcoming games, when the actual face-off happens, when a team scores a goal, when a period ends, or even when the game is over.
For $19.99 or £11.99, non-U.S. iOS hockey fans can opt to get NHL GameCenter Premium. This premium version adds the ability to listen to live radio coverage, view video highlights, and even view certain games in a condensed form. Be sure to check your specific region App Store for specific pricing and availability.
All versions require an iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 4.0 or later. NHL GameCenter 2010 is available to U.S. fans for free. NHL GameCenter is the free version and NHL GameCenter Premium being the full version for non-U.S. users.
If you're a hockey fan and opted to invest in the premium version, tell us what you think about it.
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