This summer, the 2012 London Olympics will provide a chance to watch athletes from 204 countries compete in no less than 36 sports. With all these teams and events, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. At the same time, finding the schedules and results for just the events you’re interested in can be downright daunting.
Fortunately, a group of clever Android apps are available that offer insights into the games’ schedules, teams, and results. I’m going to recommend a few apps my husband and I tested using our Galaxies, which we consider the top Android phones T-Mobile offers.
London 2012 Olympic Schedule
This handy app offers a chance to filter the games’ schedule by sports, dates, or venue. It’s simple and free, but it does lack what I consider a vital feature in an Olympics schedule app: filtering by team. Better yet, I’d love to combine filters such as date and team, or date and sport. But this is still serviceable.
(Free)
2012 London Olympics Planner
For a better calendar/planner, I recommend 2012 London Olympics Planner. Playing around with this app, I enjoyed swiping days left-and-right, and its graphics are fantastic. Plus, you can set alerts to remind you of upcoming events. Still, the app lacks a country-specific filter. That said, it does include some handy descriptions of the sports themselves (Quick: What are the sports in a decathlon?) and the venues.
(Free)
Olympic Medals
There’s not much to say about this app, except it does what it promises to do very well. Well, it looks like it will once the games begin. On this app, you can see the top medal earning countries and compare results. If you work with or know internationals, send screenshots of this app for bragging rights.
(Free)
Best of Britain
Made especially for the Olympics, this London travel app features information about the host city and surrounding areas, with an emphasis on tourist attractions (beyond the games, that is). You’ll find fun lists (like the 10 most haunted spots in Britain) and map-based tools for finding notable sites.
(Free)
DVR Apps (Various)
I won’t go over these in too much detail, as it’s pretty obvious what they do. But check and see if your television provider has an app. You’ll love being able to view the schedule and remotely setting your DVR to record. Some examples include apps for DirectTV, DISH, Time Warner, U-Verse, Verizon FiOS, and XFINITY.
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Ashlee McCullen is a staff writer for ApronAddicts.com, a website about kitchen fashion and home style. She also writes about mobile technology and self-improvement.
