Mobile sports radio applications don’t always get the attention they deserve. We screened four heavyweights to see which are worth your time when on the run:
ESPN Sports Radio 1080 The Fan
Features: archives, sports ticker, call-in, text-in, alarm clock
Notable hosts: Colin Cowherd, Scott Van Pelt, Mike & Mike
Outlook: If you’re looking for sports talk that’s anything but, this is probably for you. Some DJs on 1080 The Fan (who will not be named) tend to go off on tangents which should never be thought or mentioned in sports discussions. But the app itself is sharp, albeit slow-loading initially, and the text-in feature is nice for quiet situations. The alarm clock is an oddity, because it won’t play radio unless you leave the app open and your phone refreshed. ***
FOX Sports Mobile
Features: box scores, sports-ticker, video highlights
Notable hosts: Dan Patrick, J.T. The Brick, Ben Maller
Outlook: FOX would have more respect if it stuck to sports, this service being an example. The app lets you customize which teams and sports to follow, along with what default page (from five options) you’d like to appear. Strangely, local news is rarely updated and there are no radio archives, but video clips are a big draw. ****
NBC Sports Radio
Features: archives, call-in, email-in
Notable hosts: Amani Toomer, Brian Kenny, Erik Kuselias
Outlook: The simplicity of NBC’s app makes it a gem. The screen you see above is the only screen you’ll ever know, apart from the bombardment of ads. As far as interaction, the “e-mail-in” feature is great when you’re disinterested in school, work, or a date. ****
Yahoo! Sports Radio
Features: archives, box scores, call-in, alarm clock
Notable hosts: Steve Czaban, Dan Wetzel, Sean Salisbury
Outlook: Sillier than FOX and NBC, but more straight-forward than ESPN, Yahoo! mobile rides in the rear but holds its own in entertainment. You can only check scores for the six major American sports, and the alarm is crappier than ESPN’s (a text alert when the app is dormant), but they do offer a direct link to Yahoo Sports! on the web, plus that sleek metallic backdrop. ***
