Looking to provide its subscribers with additional viewing experiences ahead of BT’s impending market challenge, Sky Sports have refreshed their official iPad app with the claim that they will enable ‘multi-angle technology’ for sporting events that the channel covers.

The launch of ‘Sky Sports 360′ is being timed to co-incide with one of the biggest club football matches of the season, the UEFA Champions League Final (on 25 May) which will see two German sides Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich play for the trophy, though Sky Sports (one of the game’s two UK live broadcasters alongside free-to-air ITV) will hope that their coverage has a global edge with the chance for iPad viewers to see events in up to 20 official camera angles.

The service, which will launch in the ‘Champions League Events Centre’ of their official Sky Sports app, enables full interactivity on selected replays made available, with each camera angle supported by ‘slow-motion replays’ and a ‘goal-line technology’ feature.

Sky Sports digital media director David Gibbs summarised of the app’s potential: “This is great news for the Sky Sports for iPad app, which keeps getting better and better. This is about putting the technology into the hands of the viewer and allowing them to recapture the big moments in the final. It’s the first time we’ve offered this through our app and it’s another example of our investment in the Sky Sports viewer’s experience.”

The official press release on the matter noted: “Want to relive the match-winning goal from behind the net? Review the controversial decision that changed the course of the game? See if the ball really did cross the line? Decide for yourself with Sky Sports 360 – a new multi-camera highlights feature available in the award-winning Sky Sports for iPad app. Launching just in time for the upcoming Champions League final clash between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich at Wembley Stadium this Saturday 25 May, Sky Sports 360 means that for the first time ever, Sky Sports viewers can turn their armchair into the director’s chair. Found within the Champions League Events Centre of the Sky Sports for iPad app, Sky Sports 360 lets you select and replay all the most exciting saves, tackles, and near-misses during the game from over 20 different camera angles.”

Having been offering official ‘second-screen experiences’ (including analysis tools and split-screens used by the channel’s pundits) around covered sporting events since the app’s launch last year, Sky Sports will hope that what will might be their last move made from a position of clear market dominance is one that pays off, as new rivals begin to enter the picture in sports broadcasting…

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While the most important date in the history of the ‘new Xbox’ concept is today with the official console announcement, creators Microsoft are not letting the impending reveal detract them from other matters that could normally be cast off to the side for a while, such as the possibility of the console being used as a ‘home entertainment system’ as well its first and foremost priority as a games console.

For this purpose, Microsoft are believed to be in talks with a number of cable TV operators, in order to replace their respective ‘set-top boxes’ with the new Xbox.

The way in which this would work would be online delivery of content (fitting if the rumours surrounding the new Xbox’s operational methods are to be believed), as opposed to the cables from which pay-tv gets its name, meaning  operators such as Time Warner about the possibility of delivering content through the web instead of traditional cable pipes, and would lead to a corporate ‘cord-cutting’ should any company take up Microsoft’s offer.

One currently being rumoured for such treatment is Time Warner, with the new Xbox’s ‘multimedia capabilities’ planned as a draw for executives to see the potential of using Xbox as the source of any new set-top box.

While it remains unlikely that any major provider would veer away from the status quo for such a huge risk, Microsoft are strong in their belief that their new product is more than just a ‘games console’, and have even avoided referring to it as such, as the Envisioneering Group’s Richard Doherty reported to Bloomberg, noting: “They might not even use the phrase game console this time around because they’re trying to pitch it as this incredible entertainment hub in the home.”

NPD analyst Liam Callahan, meanwhile, offered an opposing view, claiming that nothing will surpass what the Xbox is best known for amongst consumers, stating: “Those entertainment options are important – in a sense they are almost a given, but gamers won’t buy a next-generation console from Sony or Microsoft for that.”

Inside the company, meanwhile, the impending reveal has triggered a period of reflection on what the previous ‘generation’ of consoles delivered to the industry, with Microsoft’s former chief executive Peter Molyneux unsurprisingly claiming that the Xbox 360 was the most memorable ’7th-gen’ product compared to the Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii. He summarised: “2013 is proving to be the year of the console hardware refresh. Although it’s exciting, it’s not nearly as exciting as when the Xbox 360 exploded onto the gaming scene just over seven years ago. Back then, the 360 represented a huge leap forward in gaming, with a tangible increase in performance and fantastic multiplayer support. Gamers and game-makers were justifiably super-excited. Now it is that time again, but the world has changed. Tablet, mobile PC and smartphone makers are refreshing their hardware on what feels like almost a weekly basis. And on the horizon looms Valve with its PC-based Steam Box. Thereby hangs the problem for Microsoft: how to justify its new console, how to get us all excited.”

They will attempt to begin that process in two parts, with today’s event primarily focused on the product’s hardware, with the E3 gameshow next month providing details on some of the launch games that could be seen whenever the console arrives. With this seeming to represent a focus on gaming for the time being, how much of a difference will the new Xbox truly be from its predecessor, and will those larger differences be likeable ones?

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Since ‘the tallest mountain’ and ‘the deepest sea’ are naturally referred to as some of the most isolated places on the planet, it can be near enough guaranteed that they are the locations with some of the worst mobile signal coverage, although the exemption to that rule is the literal former example (Mount Everest) and its status as a popular enough ‘destination’ to be able to support even the most data-heavy calls.

The concept was this week officially proven by Taiwanese company HTC, whose HTC One phone was used in the world’s first-ever ‘video call from the summit of Mount Everest’. At 8,848m above sea level, the call between charity climber Daniel Hughes and the BBC News team will not be surpassed as the highest (on solid ground at least), while temperatures of -35°C also ensured it would be one of the coldest locations for a web-chat.

Hughes, participating in a project for the UK’s Comic Relief fundraising drive, aimed to raise £1m through his ascent, and has been recording key moments of his journey through the HTC One and its ’Immarsa mobile satellite technology’ (where signal interference would naturally not be a problem for any satellite receivers to handle).

Much like astronauts in the 1970′s who had endless ideas to be able to accomplish ’first x on the moon’, Hughes also marked a number of ‘achievements’ that were unlikely to have been done before hand, performing ‘the world’s highest Harlem Shake’, and being the first to place a red nose (the symbol of Comic Relief) at the summit, which serves as a border between Nepal and Tibet (China).

Hughes explained his pride at his accomplishments, stating in the satellite interview: “This project has been two and a half years in the making and it’s hard to put into words how amazing and surreal it is to be speaking to London from the highest point in the world. The support for the expedition has been phenomenal and thanks to the interactive nature of the climb, I really felt like I had everyone behind me.”

A HTC spokesperson added from a safer location: “We pride ourselves on being at the forefront of design and innovation and the HTC One was put to the ultimate test in extreme conditions, where it was able to help Daniel connect to everyone back home – even from the top of the world. We’re truly proud to have been part of Daniel’s amazing journey.”

The ‘landmark phone call’ can be seen below, while supporters of his effort are encouraged to donate via the ‘Everest Millions‘ website. With the highest possible video chat (without being in a plane or in orbit) now complete, it is up to rivals such as Samsung, Apple, or Google to see HTC’s boast and raise it (or lower it, since ‘deepest call’ would have to be the most attainable record now)…

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From the amount of money they have each made and both being the 66-year-old faces of popular TV shows which are identical in nature (and under the same brand), it would be assumed that American entrepreneur and Celebrity Apprentice ‘boss’ Donald Trump would be on good terms with his English counterpart Lord Alan Sugar (who carries out the same role for The Apprentice on the BBC), but it appears as though that is not the case, after the pair publicly made their differences known in an argument on Twitter.

The argument was started by Trump, who stars in and produces the NBC series, and mocked Sugar’s net worth.

He wrote: “Sugar is nowhere near being a billionaire – and I know, he works for me!”

Sugar responded in type, writing: “You ignorant ego crazed liar. You don’t have the money you say you have. You’ve been bust 4 times. Work for you – bare face lie.”

A follower took Sugar’s side in the argument by telling Trump to “shut up” and that Sugar should be respected for his status as a Lord in the UK, to which the American came back with: “I’ve always heard that ‘titles’ can be easily bought – is this so?”

In a battle similar in nature to the stereotypical public arguments that rappers have, Trump gave an apt opinion that “only the haters disagree” in his self-belief that he is the better businessman when compared to Sugar.

He also noted that the Englishman should “drop to [his] knees and say thank you” for the success of the BBC’s version of The Apprentice, summarising: “Sugar – unlike you, I own The Apprentice. You were never successful enough… to do The Apprentice but I approved you anyway. Without my show you’d be nothing!”

While his argument falls flat a little with Sugar’s show having so far sustained itself well for 9 seasons without changing it to a ‘celebrity’ version, neutral observers would find it near enough impossible to call a winner between the pair in an argument on who is better. For small segments of what each version of Apprentice can deliver, please refer to the videos in a previous post…

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For another year, the annual pan-continental TV spectacle of the Eurovision Song Contest packs up and prepares to set up next year’s event, although this time around there won’t be a lot of travelling involved for producers (only around 40km, if current rumours are to believed), after Denmark claimed the leading prize for the music competition hosted in Malmo (Sweden).

Their prize will be the chance to host the event in 2014, with the current likely destination city being either Herning (at the Jyske Bank Boxen) or Copenhagen (in Parken Stadium), the latter of which is literally only a bridge away from Malmo, potentially the shortest distance ‘between shows’ that did not occur from the same city hosting twice in a row.

In a 26-nation final in 2013 (whittled down from 39 competitors at the semi-final stage), Emmelie de Forest’s song “Only Teardrops”, the runaway favourite before the contest, took the spoils (for the third time in the history of her nation’s participation) with an impressive haul of 281, followed by Azerbaijan’s Farid Mammadov with “Hold Me”, earning 234 points.

In the UK, there was no such high ranking for 61-year-old Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler, whose performance of ”Believe in Me” only mustered 23 points and 19th position, although it was seen as a strong improvement on the previous year’s 25th place, and was also the second-best performer of the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) ‘Big 5′ automatic final qualifiers (Italy won the mini-battle in 7th, while the rest (Germany (21st), France (23rd), and Spain (25th) finished near the bottom of the overall standing).

Meanwhile, host nation Sweden (who like the lead financial contributors also took an automatic place in the final) finished 14th (62 points) with Robin Stjernberg’s “You”, while the wooden spoon of the contest came to traditional Eurovision specialists Ireland, after Ryan Dolan’s “Only Love Survives” finished last with 5 points despite having the advantage of performing last in the running order.

Despite her mid-table finish, Bonnie Tyler was pleased with her achievements at the Malmo Arena, stating afterwards: “I got the feeling tonight that I got at the Grammy awards. I’m sure a lot of people will be disappointed on my behalf but I have really enjoyed my Eurovision experience. I did the best that I could do with a great song. I don’t feel down and I’m ready to party. The songs at the top of the table totally deserve to be up there. Of course I would have liked to bring it back to the UK but it’s been a night to remember. What an incredible atmosphere. I really enjoyed that performance, I got out there and gave it some welly. When all those lights came on it felt like magic, all twinkling lights everywhere. I really hope Europe enjoyed it.”

Attendance-wise, the crowd in the arena was estimated at 11,000, while the all-important TV viewing figures totalled an estimated 120m worldwide, 7.7m of which watched from the UK, seemingly signalling ‘money well spent’ for all competitors for a few hours’ worth of prime-time programming.

The results of the contest in full, along with videos of the most notable performances of the night, can be seen below, but of course even with the justified ‘vote for your neighbours’ allegations from the lower-performing nations, it should be remembered that the contest isn’t just about winning… it’s about coming second, then you don’t have to take on the expense of hosting it next year. So congratulations to Azerbaijan…

Eurovision Song Contest 2013 results:

1. Denmark, 281 points
2. Azerbaijan, 234
3. Ukraine, 214
4. Norway, 191
5. Russia, 174
6. Greece, 152
7. Italy, 126
8. Malta, 120
9. Netherlands, 114
10. Hungary, 84
11. Moldova, 71
12. Belgium, 71
13. Romania, 65
14. Sweden, 62
15. Georgia, 50
16. Belarus, 48
17. Iceland, 47
18. Armenia, 41
19. United Kingdom, 23
20. Estonia, 19
21. Germany, 18
22. Lithuania, 17
23. France, 14
24. Finland, 13
25. Spain, 8
26. Ireland, 5

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