The Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada are just a few short days from officially beginning. People from around the world are making plans to watch their favorite sports, in person or in the comfort of their homes. There is no doubt that the iPhone will be a big part of many people’s plans when the games kick off on Friday. From keeping up with the medal count, to finding directions to a restaurant or one of the facilities, fans will use their iPhones for almost everything.
We put together a list of applications for the iPhone and iPod touch to help you get the most of the Olympics, whether you’re at home or front and center in Vancouver.
For the Armchair Olympians:
Vancouver 2010 Full Calendar: When they say full calendar, they mean it. This app allows you to view the events by day, sporting event or even the IOC country code. It would be pretty hard to miss your favorite sport with this app on your iPhone. ($0.99)
Vancouver Games: With push notifications on the iPhone, you can set this app to alert you when something happens in your favorite sport, your favorite country or both. If you set it up for hockey, you will automatically get a push notification when a hockey game ends. You can also receive an alert every time your country wins a medal. ($0.99)
Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics: This covers the Olympics and more. Here you have a guide to all of the new venues in Vancouver and in Whistler, where many of the ski events will be held. You also get an overview of local attractions, where to eat and even where you can watch the games on a big screen TV. ($2.99)
Winter Games Grub: Surprisingly this app gives you no information on what to eat around Vancouver. Instead it rounds up the latest news focusing on a particular athlete, blogs, countries or coverage area. (Free)
Winter Games History: I’m a big history enthusiast, so this app is perfect for me. With this app you have all of the important information on all of the Winter Games since 1924 including info on the host nations and the medals table. ($1.99)
Vancouver 2010 Hockey: There is no doubt this will be my most used app. Hockey is my sport and will be my favorite part of the games. This app gives you the schedule of all preliminary, qualification and playoff games and statistics on the 12 teams participating.
For the fans at the Olympics:
TimmyMe: If you’re in Canada, you have to drink Tim Hortons coffee. It may even be law. To get directions to the closest Tim Hortons to where you’re standing use TimmyMe’s location awareness and get warm. You could also look across the street from where you are and there will probably be two of them in front of you. (Free)
NBC Olympics on AT&T: The NBC app looks really nice. You can use it to get live, real-time updates on every event, updated medal counts and you can follow your favorite countries on Facebook and Twitter. (Free)
Cowbell2010: I suppose you know this already, but it’s going to be cold at the Olympics. Gloves and big mittens don’t make for the loudest applause, so how about using a cowbell. Not just any cowbell, a virtual, working, national flag-emblazoned cowbell. ($0.99)
AccuTerra Whistler Blackcomb GPS Ski & Snowboard Vancouver Olympics Trail Maps: This is very cool. It’s a ski and event guide map to Whistler, including ski trails (with trail difficulty indicated), ski lifts, snowshoe trails, plus event and significant ski area locations. To top it off, the app uses detailed terrain and elevation data. (Free)
SportLogik: If you want to be able to talk the talk, this app is for you. This gives you the rules, a glossary of terms and the equipment used in 70 sports of the Olympics. It also has records for every Summer and Winter Olympic game ever held. (Free)
Lonely Planet Vancouver City Guide: If you’re new to Vancouver, you may want to take a look at this app. You can find information on the Olympics or the best place to have dinner. Featuring location-based navigation, this app will not only find the place you want to be, it’ll show you how to get there too. ($15.99)
ChicWalks Vancouver Shopping: Let’s face it, you won’t spend all of your time at the games. If you want some shopping time, ChicWalks can show you the way. The shopping walks are organized by street and area, so you can get the most from each trip. The app covers fashion, accessories, jewellery, shoes, cosmetics, home décor, skiwear, spas, and eating/drinking places, for gals, guys, kids and pets. (Free)
Zagat To Go: Movies and dining at its best. You can get access to reviews of clubs and the best (or worst) places to eat while in Vancouver. ($9.99)
Vancouver Sights: This shows you every major point of interest overlaid on a map of Vancouver. You can find museums, statues, theatres, gardens, parks, monuments, or just about anything else you want to see. ($0.99)