[NFL!] Apple Intercepts Microsoft's NFL Play

看板NFL (國家美式橄欖球聯盟)作者shawshien (Let's go, Cubbies!)時間11年前 (2014/10/17 06:19)推噓5(5推 0噓 3→)

留言8則, 5人參與討論串1/1

http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=11000CHIHH18&page=1 Microsoft Corp thought it had scored a touchdown when it struck a multiyear deal with the NFL that would allow teams to use the company's Surface tablets during games.Too bad television announcers keep referring to the devices as iPads. The tablet computers, covered in bright blue protective cases, have become a familiar sight on the sidelines this season as coaches and players turn to them to study opponents' moves, review previous possessions and strategize. They're replacing the pages of black-and-white photographs that had long been printed out using fax machines and printers and delivered in binders to teams dozens of times during a game. The confusion over the Surface tablets began during Week One of the season, when Fox commentator John Lynch told viewers that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was "not watching movies on his iPad" during a game. Lynch made things more awkward when he then said players had "iPad-like tools." A similar slip-up occurred on "Monday Night Football" last week when ESPN's Trent Dilfer wondered how long it took Cardinals assistant head coach Tom Moore "to learn how to use the iPad." And at Sunday's game between the San Diego Chargers and the Seattle Seahawks, a local television announcer balked when told the teams were using Surface devices. "What? I thought it was an iPad," he said. Microsoft, which reportedly paid $400 million to be the "official sideline technology sponsor of the NFL," is understandably miffed at the free publicity being bestowed upon Apple Inc., one of its biggest rivals. "Despite the majority of our friends in the booth correctly identifying the Surface on NFL sidelines, we're working with the league to coach up a select few," a Microsoft spokesman said. (中略) Analysts say Microsoft has been aggressively trying to change its image as a stodgy, business-driven company. Led by new Chief Executive Satya Nadella, the tech giant has been focused on opening more Microsoft-branded retail stores, revamping products to make them more consumer-friendly and pushing for big partnerships such as the one with the NFL. "Our goal with this NFL partnership was to leverage our technology to make the game more efficient, productive and competitive. Streamlining the photo viewing process is our first step toward that goal," Microsoft said in a blog post last month. As part of the deal, Microsoft provided the NFL with hundreds of Surface Pro 2 tablets, which the league distributes to teams before each game. To ensure a level playing field, each team is given 13 tablets to use on the sideline and 12 to use in the coaches' booth; the teams can only view still photos, not videos, on the tablets, which aren't connected to the Internet. The tablets are collected at the end of the game and stored by the NFL for safekeeping and to prevent tampering. By and large, football players and coaches have welcomed the Surface, although many admitted there's been a learning curve. Over the summer, teams were trained by Microsoft representatives on how to use the tablets and were allowed to use the devices during practice to become familiar with them. "It's been interesting," Cardinals quarterback Drew Stanton said. "Tom Moore, the second-oldest coach on our staff, is just getting used to operating it. So it gives him fits. Sometimes I have to show him how to do stuff.... He's sitting there trying to zoom in and tapping his finger repeatedly on the screen." By signing the deal with the NFL last year, Microsoft expected prominent brand exposure. The thinking was, if Microsoft is good enough for the NFL, it must be good enough for viewers too. "Like everything else, it's a good marketing tool for the NFL and for Microsoft, because [fans] get to see the guys over there looking at everything," Stanton said. The partnership is rolling out in stages. Last year, teams began by hanging Microsoft ads around their stadiums as well as on the hoods of instant replay booths and communication carts near the field. Things ramped up this season with in-game team usage of Surface tablets on the sidelines, the first time that tablets have been allowed by the league during games. Microsoft also has an individual team relationship with the Seahawks, who play near the company's Redmond, Wash., headquarters. During training camp, the Seahawks wore logos for Bing -- Microsoft's search engine -- on their practice jerseys. And before the team's season opener, Microsoft employees gave Surface demos to game attendees at the stadium. Brian Schneider, special teams coach for the Seahawks, said he has been impressed with the Surface experience. Previously he had to rely on black-and-white faxed pictures that made it hard to pick out uniform numbers, he said. Now the pictures are in color, there is zoom capability and he can write on the screen. "This is the best technology we've had," he said. Schneider said he's not surprised that broadcasters and others are struggling to understand that the devices are Surfaces, not iPads. But "that will change," he said. "It's just a matter of time." Jay Cutler calls Microsoft Surface tablets 'knockoff iPads' http://goo.gl/lZeTHK Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has been using Microsoft's Surface Pro 2 tablet on the sideline for over six weeks now, but apparently, he's still not sure who makes them. During his weekly radio show, Cutler referred to the tablets as 'knockoff iPads.' @jon_greenberg: Cutler just called the Microsoft Surface on sidelines "knockoff iPads." Microsoft probably isn't a big fan of that comment. The company is paying the NFL a reported $400 million to be the league's official sideline technology sponsor. Should Microsoft have spent some of that money teaching Jay Cutler the correct lingo for Microsoft's products? Probably. But don't worry, it's not all bad news for Microsoft. Cutler might not know what the tablets are officially called, but he did give the 'knockoff iPads' a glowing review. @jon_greenberg: Cutler did say the Surface tablets work great. He just didn't know who made them or what they're called. #JayCutlerShow Microsoft has been working hard to get the iPad problem fixed. A company spokesman told the Los Angeles Times in September that it was working with NFL announcers to make sure they were referring to the tablets by their Microsoft name (Surface Pro 2) and not by Apple's name (iPad). You can bet that Cutler probably has a phone call coming this week from someone at the NFL reminding him that 'knockoff iPad' isn't a term he should use when referring to a product made by a sponsor that's paying the league $400 million. 微軟付給 NFL 4億美金規定教練球員必須在場邊使用Surface Pro 2討論戰術這也是NFL首次允許平板出現在場邊這些Surface Pro 2 不能連網路比賽完要統一收回管理微軟派人到各隊去訓練大家如何使用Surface 但是轉播員還是常常講錯於是微軟又派人去訓練球評和轉播員熊隊的Jay Cutler在他的廣播秀裡叫那些場邊用的tablets knockoff ipads 不過他說那些tablets很好用他只是不知道那是哪家製造的叫什麼名子 http://sports.cbsimg.net/images/blogs/Microsoft-Surface-knockoff-ipad.png

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