Blazers Launch New Mobile App

The Portland Trail Blazers announced Wednesday the launch of a new mobile app specifically designed for fans. I have confirmed that it is now available in the iTunes stores if you search "Trail Blazers Mobile." The app requires a Facebook, Rip City United or Blazers.com account to access any of its information so that's where I gave up. Perhaps you will be more diligent.

(While we're on the subject of mobile, Timmay! pointed out earlier today that the redesigned Blazersedge mobile site has been updated and loads much more quickly.)

Here's the press release from the Blazers regarding the new app.

Wherever they are and whenever they want, Portland Trail Blazers fans can now stay connected with their favorite team thanks to a brand new mobile application for iPhone users. Dubbed "Trail Blazers Mobile," the new app offers an engaging menu of interactive options available for live games and non-game use, according to Dick Vardanega, Senior Vice President of Digital Entertainment.

"Trail Blazers fans have a voracious appetite for content connected to our team - the more engaging that content, the better," said Vardanega. "Whether someone is a casual fan or more hardcore, this app is the total package. Fans can also use the app to purchase game tickets and connect with other diehard fans around Rip City."

Among traditional team-related features, the goal of the app is to deepen fan engagement before, during and after Trail Blazers games. The app delivers experiences tailored to the fan's location during games. Fans can check-in and let their friends know where they are watching the games to encourage community-building online, watching on TV and in-arena. The Trail Blazers will reward fans for checking-in with tickets and merchandise. Along with checking-in, fans watching the live TV broadcast can chat with other fans and digital hosts, using the app and their devices as "second screen" social experiences that augment live TV viewing. Fans can also access live scoreboards, live stats, videos, schedules, team news, blogs and live streaming of trailblazers.tv shows at any time.

"The ability to have fans watch live video programming tailored to them, and engage with those hosts in real-time is pretty amazing. The Trail Blazers are the first team to offer this sort of access, on a mobile device," said Dan Harbison, Senior Director of Digital Marketing and Media. "We know that mobile engagement with our fans is a big part of our future, so this is just the tip of the iceberg on what we plan on doing."

For creation of its mobile app, the Trail Blazers worked with DesjaLogic, LLC of Portland, a Trail Blazers partner since 2006, who used technologies from Xamarin, a San Francisco company. "I am always excited when the Trail Blazers come to talk about digital projects. The mobile app is no different in that it pushes what professional teams do with technology to engage fans," said Dave Sjolin, founding partner of DesjaLogic.

Though currently available for iPhone users only, the free Trail Blazers Mobile app will have an Android platform version ready in the second half of the 2012-13 season. Additionally, the Trail Blazers are developing plans to improve and broaden the capacity limits on Wi-Fi with the Rose Garden. Those plans include unveiling a new Distributed Antenna System (DAS) in the coming months. "Once this process is finalized, we'll move quickly to expand the Rose Garden's Wi-Fi capacity, and the Trail Blazers fans' app experience in the arena will be real time," added Vardanega.

To download the new mobile app, Trail Blazers fans can go to the iTunes store online; trailblazers.com/mobile; or text TBAPP to 66937 on their iPhone.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter