The collective weight of the Portland Trail Blazers NBA team is 3,216 pounds (over 1 ton). Now thanks to Xamarin, Blazermania fans can carry the entire Trail Blazers team in their pocket.
The Trail Blazers launched Trail Blazers Mobile just in time for the NBA season with the goal of deepening fan engagement before, during and after games. At game time, the app delivers experiences tailored to the fan’s location. Fans watching the game, either at home or arena, can “check-in” to win tickets and autographed gear. Fans on-the-go can get live play-by-play updates. And fans watching the live TV game can chat with other fans, using the app and their device as a “second screen” social experience that augments live TV viewing. Between games, fans can access game schedules, buy tickets, news and blog feeds, and live streaming of Trail Blazers.TV shows.
The team’s interactive media group chose Xamarin’s platform over HTML5-based tools because of Xamarin’s performance and native user experiences advantages, which were a must for this rich media, real-time mobile app.
“As an NBA team with an extremely savvy fan base, the Trail Blazers had to develop an app that had an experience that is as fast, exciting and dynamic as the game itself,” said Dan Harbison, Senior Director of Digital Media for the Trail Blazers. “With Xamarin, our app delivers a rich media experience that brings the game closer to our fans wherever they are.”
An Android version is already in the works. With their deep C# and .NET heritage (thanks in part to owner Paul Allen), the Trail Blazers were able to re-use a significant amount of existing code and achieve nearly 70% source code sharing across iOS and Android platforms.
Compared to the rest of the NBA, the Portland Trail Blazers are blazing the trail for next-generation social and mobile sporting experiences. Less than half of the 30 NBA teams have a mobile app, and only a handful of those offer a second screen, “Social TV” experience that augments live TV. This app is sure to be a slam dunk for fans, and Xamarin is proud to be the platform powering it.