Spoiler alert! At Bat 2012 is really At Bat 2011 with a slight face lift. The download is free, but the real features come with a $15 upgrade (and a lot more to watch games). For real baseball fans its a best buy. If you’re not a fan, you won’t care.
I reviewed At Bat 2011 last year in At Bat 11 takes your iPad to the Show. Usually I don’t review upgrades, but the app was as App of the Week. So I decided to see if there was any improvement that made it worth downloading.
The download is free this year, and you do get a couple of features. You can see the schedule and scores. Last year, as I recall, you had to pay $15 for the download (and another $15 for the iPhone version). If you want the full features, however, it costs $15 again (you can also pay $3 a month). This year, however, the fee is to MLB.com which should give you access on any device.
You can also watch all of the games broadcast during the season for $25-$28 a month. This will include every playoff game. Nor is it one of those subscriptions that renews automatically every year. The subscription allows you to watch on any device.
I thought last year’s app was worth five stars and this year’s added a couple of new features that enhance the value. The most important to me is the TV schedule, which tells me which broadcasts are available in my area and on what channel. This may seem trivial, but when your only other option is to scroll through dozens of channels (or look for the sports section and hope the cats haven’t already dragged it to the litter box or covered it with hairballs), the listing is awfully convenient.
The interface is built from last year’s gorgeous display, which shows every pitch. You can overlay windows with just about any element of game coverage you want to see, from box scores to play-by-play. |
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The most significant improvement is the complete standings window, which displays every stat you could get from the pages of The Sporting News. Keep looking, however, and you’ll find game recaps, the day’s scores, video highlights and even audio game play.
The Sporting News will carry more stats and more info, but I could never find time to read it cover to cover. At Bat 2012 contains everything I looked for in TSN and costs a little less. I don’t have to recycle either.
You can see the standings, complete with home/road breakdowns and any other item you want to know. In addition, you can also find the time and channels for local game broadcasts. |
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Now that I think of it, however, I wonder if someone will will conduct a study. What is the environmental impact of 32 issues annually of TSN, a couple of hundred comic books and all of those paper back books the Senior Center will never accept, verses one old iPad with everything stored digitally? It’s worth asking, but it doesn’t make At Bat 2012 any less worth the subscription price.
Jenny Manytoes rates At Bat 2012
Jenny Manytoes would make biscuits all over At Bat 2012. She would still rather I spend the money on cat food, but as long as we keep her fed she’ll let it keep the recommendation. Best Buy.
The Jenny Manytoes Rating System
