Here is a video of the exclusive app that ESPN created for Nokia Windows Phones. The app is beautiful, no doubt. It follows all of the Metro design principles with the pivots, the in-app pinning, etc. What I found out though, as an existing Windows Phone user, is that the app left a lot to be desired. Perhaps it was my high expectation level about an exclusive Nokia app, or that ESPN would take their current ScoreCenter app and raise it a notch. Whatever the case may be, it was a little bit disappointing.

The biggest issue that I saw, and I feel it is an opportunity missed at least in this version of the app, is the lack of Live Tiles. If Nokia wants to wow the new Windows Phone users, it would be fantastic if the users could not only pin an individual sport to the Start Screen, but also get toasts or Live Tile updates for that sport. As an ESPN registered member you can choose to receive text alerts, for example, at various intervals within a game. Those alerts could easily have been implemented as toasts or Live Tiles within the app.

Video walkthrough of the ESPN app exclusive on Nokia Windows Phones:

Nokia Windows Phone ESPN App Walkthrough

In this video, the Nokia representative is talking about the app, but is also talking about the platform in general which allows you to do many things within the context of what you are doing rather than force you to open multiple apps. What you will notice is that after going two levels deep, the links end up opening the ESPN mobile web, which is not bad. However, compared to the native app, it does look quite different.

The Nokia ESPN app is a well-designed one which looks beautiful. It has pretty good functionality for “version 1”, but I hope Live Tiles and greater in-app content gets to the app soon, perhaps even before the official ship date of the Nokia Lumia 900.

For a hands on look at the Nokia Lumia 900, see my earlier post.

Sling Media has announced its association with eBay India, Rediff.com and Infibeam.com to   bring Slingbox to the Indian online marketplace. eBay India, Rediff.com and Infibeam.com will provide a platform where buyers can purchase the video place-shifting Sling media products.

Slingbox is the flagship product of Sling Media. It is a television streaming device that allows consumers to watch and control their living room television shows at any time, from any location, using internet-connected PCs, Macs, PDAs, tablets, and smartphones. Slingbox gives consumers the ability to control practically any audio/video device –  including a digital cable box, satellite receiver, digital video recorder (DVR), DVD player, gaming system, or even a still video camera.

Sling media has announced two products that will be available at these portals: Slingbox PRO-HD for INR 14,999 and Slingbox SB 120 for INR 7,999. An accessory, SlingLink Turbo, that connects a Slingbox to the router if they are in different rooms of your house, is available for INR 4,999.

The last time I went to Croma, a popular electronics store chain in India, I spotted a Slingbox. The sales staff pointed out the failure’ of the device. I’m assuming that  it has to be due to the low internet speeds available in India for most users. Also, technology enthusiasts who subscribe to broadband with high speeds are bummed with the Fair Usage Policy of service providers. The data cap for the FUP to kick in and lower speeds is too less for a video-streaming device.

Apple released the newest version of their video editing suite, Final Cut Pro, this morning. The newest edition, which is number 10, includes a host of new features and updates that will make any Final Cut fan happy.

Some of the most talked about features in the newest version of Final Cut Pro include native 64-bit support, meaning that the award-winning video editing platform can take full advantage of all the ram available in 64-bit versions of OS X. This means support for more than 4 GB of RAM.

The fans of Final Cut are also excited about the new editing system that Apple calls ‘Magnetic Timeline.’ This trackless system of editing, which resembles the system used by Adobe in their Premier software, makes the process of creating high quality edited video much simpler for the user.

While the new additions are part of the draw of upgrading to Final Cut Pro X, another major reason is to get the updated software. As with every software update release, Apple has included many bug fixes and patches with Final Cut Pro X. However, there is a rather glaring omission from Apple’s newest Final Cut release.

The major complaint from Mac users regarding the release of Final Cut Pro X is around the fact that Apple will not be releasing an Express version of the software. In the past, the steep price tag of the Final Cut suite has kept many users away from the full version, instead opting for the more reasonably priced Express version.

Apple justifies its decision by offering the Pro version of Final Cut for only $299. They say that this price is much more accessible to the average users of Final Cut. The suite can be completed by purchasing the Motion and Compression apps for $49 each. All three applications are available in the Mac App Store.

[via AppleInsider]

A new like-jacking scam is spreading through Facebook. The scam states: “You won’t beleive what she does!! Omg you have to watch it”. The message contains a YouTube link and when a user clicks on the video link, the scam will be automatically posted on your Facebook wall stating that you “like” the video.

Here’s a screenshot of the scam:

You can notice that there’s a typo in the scammer’s message. The word ‘beleive’ has been spelled incorrectly.

Beware, please do not click on the link and remember to ‘Mark as Spam’

Here’s a post written by Cliff on how you can avoid like-jacking scams on Facebook.

Image credits: Facecrooks