Bantr for iPhone review

Bantr for iPhone
Bantr
Free

The last couple of years have seen the rise of 'second screen' apps, designed to complement television viewing. Some offer extra information about the programme while others just offer the chance to chat to people who are watching the same thing. The latter appears to work well for live shows, where there are periods in which nothing significant is happening.

I'm less convinced by general apps, such as Zeebox, which seem to be underpopulated and have little to offer in the way of enhancement. If it's a general audience you are after then Twitter and Facebook do the job well enough for most. That said, BSkyB was convinced enough by Zeebox to invest in it so keep an eye on that app.

Niche apps seem to have more potential. When a major sporting event is on, the likes of Twitter and Facebook will be flooded with comments like "GOAL!" and there will be no shortage of replies from those who wish the whole thing would go away.

With the European Championships approaching, now is a good time for a football-related second screen app. There are a few coming but first up is Bantr, which lets users check-in to a match, follow live updates on what's happening and add their own commentary.

Bantr launched at the beginning of the football season with the aim of creating a social network for football fans, complete with 'gamification' elements such as points for predicting results. The team has decided to narrow the focus to mobile, dropping many of the networking elements and focusing more on the conversation around matches.

The app facilitates that well. You can view today's matches, those from the last week or the next. It goes no further back or forward than that. Pick a match and check-in and you can start discussing the game. Adding a comment is quick and easy but there are also trigger points for key events such as goals, fouls, free kicks and so on, as well as quick polls to vote on. Just like the web version, the emphasis is on snappy interaction.

As with Facebook, Spotify for iPad and other recent apps, Bantr menu sits on the left-hand of the screen as is revealed by sliding the page to the right. From there, users can change leagues, see player and manager approval stats for your team and visit the 'Live Bantr' feed for conversation that aren't about specific matches.

There were bugs here and there - mostly with incorrect or missing data - but in general it works well.

The challenge for Bantr is the same as for other second screen apps: how to get enough people on board to generate a lively debate. The next problem will be filtering the debate once things get too crowded. It's not easy, particularly with so many other apps attempting a similar thing.

Of course, being focused on smartphones (it's iPhone-only at the moment but an Android version is coming) means that the app doesn't necessarily have to be a second screen at all. You could use it at the match, assuming you can get a data signal, but that's another matter.

Football fans should try Bantr but perhaps it's non-football fans who should be recommendating it. If nothing else, it will keep Twitter and Facebook clear of England supporters bemoaning the team's inevitably underwhelming performance in Poland and the Ukraine next month.