Sony Ericsson has released a free Java-based mobile application for sports fans called Mobile Event Guide, to allow users to access “all that is best about a sport’s programme and local travel and tourism information without the inconvenience of searching and downloading individual web pages for information.” According to the official release, Mobile Event Guide is the first service of its kind that is updated via WiFi or Bluetooth to include real-time information, though it does not require a data connection through the day.
Advances in technology will enable the Mobile Event Guide to be adapted to meet the needs of event-going spectators by providing them with a palm-sized passport that includes event-guides, preferential entry and live feeds of the latest information. Fans entering the stadium in Doha will be greeted with a message from Sony Ericsson inviting them to download the application via Bluetooth. The Mobile Event Guide will then be updated intelligently each day; when the same spectator arrives the next day the application will be replaced with an updated version with new content, preventing expensive data or roaming charges. The technology is available to most Bluetooth enabled phones, meaning spectators will have the ability to download a version of the application that suits their mobile phone at specially designated Sony Ericsson kiosks in the stadium.
The application relies on Sony Ericsson’s Java-Flash Lite bridgin’ Capuchin technology, hence we should expect a neat user interface. Unfortunately, the Swedish-Japanese company haven’t provided any screenshots with the release, so we can only dream how it looks in the real world, at this stage.