If you want to listen to live radio broadcasts of Major League baseball games everywhere, and follow the season comprehensively using a single app, At Bat 2010 is worth buying. This is in spite of the price jump from $9.99 to $14.99, and the app's shortcomings in the video department.
In general, the Gameday feature, providing live text descriptions play-by-play for any selected game in progress, remains reliable and well designed. At the time of writing the radio streams have a serious lag problem, but the sound quality is excellent and the lag should be fixed before long. Video highlights in-game and post-game are comprehensive, and the Condensed Game feature, a recap of a game's major plays, remains valuable even though commentary is stripped.
The free alternative At Bat 2010 Lite provides all the news, schedules and scores, but lacks the Gameday feature and video highlights. It's useful for basic information.
It is possible to watch games live in At Bat 2010, but be very cautious. Firstly, live video of one game is provided free of charge each day, but the user cannot select which game they want to watch. Secondly, an MLB.TV subscription can be used with At Bat--$19.95 per month or $99.95 for the season, basic package--but there are tough blackout restrictions in place.
MLB.TV Blackout Restrictions Affecting At Bat 2010
At Bat 2010 would be the killer mobile app for baseball, if it enabled one-off, in-app purchase of any live game. This would respond to fans' need for a non-restrictive mobile viewing option. It would even be innovative if MLB.TV actually did offer "Baseball Everywhere," as its advertising claims, but this is misleading. Everywhere, perhaps, but not anywhere.
International users are blackout-free, but in the home of baseball things get complicated. The pile-up of blackout restriction conditions hits At Bat 2010 hard, limiting its usefulness in the United States as a live mobile viewing option. In effect, the restrictions amount to this:
- All games in your club's home television territory are blacked out, even if your club is playing an away game.
For example, if you're a Yankees fan, you can't watch a game in New York City on your iPhone using At Bat 2010 plus an MLB.TV subscription. The game would be broadcast on cable television and is therefore not available to local MLB.TV subscribers. If you're a Yankees fan and the Yankees are playing the Red Sox in Boston, the game will be off-limits for the same reason. In sum, you can't watch your local club's games live using At Bat plus MLB.TV.
If you're a Yankees fan living in Los Angeles, and the Yankees are playing the Red Sox, you can watch the game using At Bat plus an MLB.TV subscription. So, At Bat 2010 is only useful for watching live games if they're being played between clubs based somewhere other than the location you're in.
Confusing, to say the least, and certainly not Baseball Everywhere.
At Bat Gameday Audio
Fans may begin to long for the golden age of radio, in which case Gameday Audio is blackout-free and surprisingly enjoyable. For many it will be At Bat 2010's key feature, so the shocking lag between the audio stream and the actual play is an incredible oversight.
As at the time of writing, don't buy At Bat 2010 expecting to listen to a radio broadcast while following live text updates in the Gameday feature. The radio stream is at least one batter behind, sometimes two. This is a long lag, and was not a problem in At Bat 2009. Fixing this as soon as possible should be top priority.
One useful new feature is that the radio broadcast can be run in the background, through Safari, as a Quicktime stream. This allows the user to access other apps in the iPhone while listening to the broadcast, a kind of multitasking hack. Safari itself can't be used while the stream is running.
Is At Bat 2010 Worth The Money?
In the end, yes, because like At Bat 2009 it does make baseball more fun. It's a well programmed app that provides a dependable and professional service, but the buyer must consider what they want to use the app for. Some uses provide more value than others, and it's not a live mobile viewing solution in all cases.
Overall:
- At Bat 2010 is not exactly a recession-buster at $15, but spread out over a season that price isn't too bad;
- If you only want to read the latest news and check scores, there's a free version that offers plenty of data, or try the mobile-optimised MLB.com on Safari;
- The design is elegant, easy to read and easy to navigate;
- The radio broadcasts are excellent;
- Do your research before purchasing MLB.TV to watch live games in-app, as the service is expensive and local club games are not available.
