I ‘m not positive how new this update for MLB At Bat is, as my updates got a little muddled up after the recent OS 3.1 update. I think it ‘s quite new though, and it ‘s certainly packing a great new feature “ the ability to purchase any live game for just 99 cents (except those where blackouts or other restrictions apply).
This is a huge bonus for users of MLB At Bat. Before, you could only view 1-2 selected live games each day, unless you are a MLB.com subscriber. Now even if you ‘re not a subscriber, you can choose to grab just about any game to view live for only $0.99.
It ‘s a little bit of a shame that this is coming at the very tail-end of the season “ but hopefully it ‘s a feature that will remain in the 2010 version of the app. I think this is a great use of the new iPhone OS 3.0 in-app purchase capability.
I couldn ‘t resist testing this out a little this afternoon, so I took a look at some Red Sox “ Rays action while giving it a trial run.
The app offers you instructions on how to use the new feature, and it ‘s very simple to pick a game, purchase it, and start watching. You start by just tapping on the game listing (not on the arrow next at the right of it, just the row itself). Then tap on the ‘TV ‘ button down at the bottom of the screen
The app will check that the game ‘s not subject to a local blackout in your area and all that jazz, and then if all is clear in that regard, you ‘ll get several levels of confirmation to ensure you want that particular game and want to complete the in-app purchase
On my first time of trying it, the app flipped out a bit on the checking location step, and seemed to hang up completely. It closed out gracefully back to the home screen though (didn ‘t require a force quit) and worked like a charm at the second attempt.
It did require me to setup a (free) MLB.com account during my initial game purchase “ but that simply required an email address and password, so it took hardly any time at all to get signed up.
I ‘m very happy to see this feature added to MLB At Bat “ and I may well try to catch some late-season pressure games live with it. Really hope we ‘ll see it in the app from the start for the 2010 season.
You can find the latest version of MLB At Bat in the App Store now, priced at $9.99.
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TAGS: in-app purchase, iphone apps, MLB At Bat
