Cricket app upgraded for Windows 8

ESPNcricinfo has launched a new free multi-device, multi-screen app which provides cricket fans a new design and user experience optimised for Windows 8 and the variety of devices which will feature it.

Available worldwide now through the Windows Store, the ESPNcricinfo app is optimised for multiple devices, including touch screen devices such as tablets and laptops, as well as providing a newly-enhanced experience for fans accessing ESPNcricinfovia desktop PCs.The app utilises tiles, which provide users with dynamically updated content, such as ESPNcricinfo’s live cricket scores. It also uses the Windowswide, horizontal interface, creating an elegantuser experience while allowing them to access ESPNcricinfo’s vast library of statistics and long-form feature journalism,as well as itsunparalleled live match-day experience and daily news and analysis.

Providing cricket fans with anintuitive user interface thatdisplays content simply and cleanly, the app has been built around the principle that cricket fans need to access scores and news quickly and allows fans to switch quickly between their favourite teams or types of content.

Arne Rees, vice president, digital media, ESPN International, said: ‚”ESPN and ESPNcricinfo have a long heritage of being at the convergence of new technologies and the very best in sports coverage and this is another great example. For fans that will be using new Windows 8 devices, this offers a great new experience while delivering them the unmatched coverage of the sport that has mad ESPNcricinfo the leading digital cricket brand in the world.‚”

Features of the new app include:

· An ESPNcricinfo tile on the Windows Start screen to provide dynamic, live content, such as the latest scores or breaking news.

· The app scales across devices, so that it looks as good on a tablet as it does on a 21-inch wide-screen monitor, scaling to each resolution automatically.

· Locally-relevant: the app can detect the location from where users log on, providing content relevant to that region in key cricket markets

· Using the newWindows userinterface, photos sent directly from cricket grounds all over the world are displayed full-screen and showcased in elegant galleries.

· Comprehensive hub for specific Test, one-day, T20 and domestic series from around the world, funnelling all content onseries past, present and future, with news, features, photos, fixtures, results,all available for the fan to pin straight to their WindowsStart screen.

The app joins ESPN’s range of multi-screen sporting content, including the ESPNFC, ESPNF1 and ESPNcricinfo mobile apps as well as ESPN Goals, the UK mobileapp which brings fans exclusive video of goals from every Barclays Premier League match within just minutes of it taking place.

The new app comes as ESPNcricinfo increasingly engages with cricket fans on multiple devices and platforms. During the recentlyconcluded World Twenty20 championship, globally, via all devices and plaforms, ESPNcricinfo posted its best-ever audiences for the Twenty20 format of the game – with fans logging more than800 million page views and spending 2.3 billion total minutes.