The 2012 Olympics kick off in London tomorrow, and we have a collection of the best apps for staying on top of all of the action. Whether you want to watch the games as they happen, catch up on the latest results, or just feel like a world-class athlete from the comfort of your phone, we've got a little something for everybody.
London 2012 Results
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Your first stop for keeping tabs on the Olympic games should be the official London 2012 Results app. It includes schedules, results, live updates, sport details, medal tables, athlete profiles, and lots more. Users can follow specific countries so they can root for the home team.
Download: London 2012 Results App (Free)
London 2012 Join In
If you're attending the games, Join In was built for you. Yet another official Olympics app, Join In offers a full event guide, maps, live updates, and a scheduler to make sure you're there to catch the action from the ground floor. Coordinating with other spectators is also really easy thanks to a location-sharing function. There's Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare integration so you can brag to friends and family back home about how much fun you're having.
Download: London 2012 Join In App (Free)
London 2012 Official Mobile Game
Tired of watching and want to be a part of the action? The Official London 2012 game puts players into 9 Olympic events, including the 100 m dash, 110 m hurdles, triple jump, pole vault, 1 K kayaking, archery, and more. You can customize your athlete with a bunch of different items. There's a premium version that provides extra points, more stamina, and double stat rewards, but if you're just looking to kill some time until the next event, this should do the trick.
Download: London 2012 Official Game (Free/$0.99)
NBC Olympics Android Central
Americans will be able to catch the London 2012 games from the NBC Olympics app. It comes complete with news, TV listings, medal counts, photos, video and the ability to follow inidividual athletes, teams, and sports. Facebook and Twitter are plugged in for those times when you really want to cheer.
The core NBC Olympics app is free, but if you're a subscriber to CNBC or MSNBC cable service, you can watch the games live through NBC Olympics Extra. It offers full replays, live streaming, access to TV channels, DVR controls, and push notifications for when events are about to start.
Download: NBC Olympics (free)
Download: NBC Olympics Extra (subscribers only)
BBC Olympics
Our U.K. readers will be able to enjoy live and on-demand streaming of the 2012 Olympics over 3G and Wi-Fi through BBC's Android app. They'll have up to 24 live streams running throughout the games, which means you'll never be hurting for something to watch - just make sure you have Flash installed. Every sport, country, and athlete gets their own page, and are put on a full schedule of events to come. If you miss an event, there are video highlights, top stories, commentary from BBC journalists covering the Olympics, and outcomes.
Download: BBC Olympics (Free)
Bell Mobile TV
For Canadians, Bell Mobile TV will have live Olympics coverage from CTV, TSN, and Omni through their Android app. $5/month provides subscribers 10 hours of viewing. You'll also get access to a bunch of other Bell content, like MTV, TVA, and CBC.
Though I never had any issues with Bell Mobile TV when playing around with it on the Galaxy Note, the Google Play store is full of complaints. Unfortunately, Canadians don't have much in the way of alternatives, since Bell owns pretty much all of the major media outlets. Additional downside: you have to be a Bell customer to get in on the service, so unless you're really hardcore about the Olympics or already with Bell, a fresh 3-year contract probably isn't worth it.
Download: Bell Mobile TV ($4.99/month)
How are you going to be enjoying the Olympics? Are there any particular apps we're missing in this list?
