Banjo has launched iPad and Android tablet versions of its location-based service in an attempt to help people better get involved in events happening around the world right from the comfort of their own seats at home. The company has already begun utilizing the service during the National Football League (NFL) playoffs for those users who like or follow the sport, but it’s not limited to sports — it can work with live events in general.
Last November, Banjo released an update to its mobile app that not only continued to show you when a connection was nearby, but also allowed you to “go anywhere” and see what’s happening in other parts of the world. Back then, the service had been used during the US Presidential Election by both CNN and FOX News to curate information about what was happening in the battleground state of Ohio. Photos shared by people there with smartphones were being uploaded to Banjo and anyone with the app could witness it.
Today, Banjo is bringing it beyond the iPhone and Android smartphones and expanding its reach to tablet devices. While watching television, these devices have clearly become an extension of people’s viewing habits — the so-called “second screen”. With the Banjo tablet-version, with live events, not only can you watch it happening right on TV, but you can receive first-hand witness accounts without being limited to just the TV network’s perspective.
The tablet version has a new experience to it — the company says that normally with some apps, they literally make the screens bigger, but in Banjo’s case, it wasn’t done like that. Another difference with the tablet version is the existence of a split view where users can “see and interact with one side or the other” simultaneously compared to the phone version where users need to toggle between the feed and the map. Banjo says that the much larger screen allows for much more information to be displayed, all in one place.
As stated earlier, Banjo has been involved with the NFL, albeit it doesn’t appear directly, and during the playoffs last weekend, the games were pushed to those users who were football fans. The company said that the idea was to help these users gain a better experience of everything that was happening at the game. With Banjo, users only needed one tap to take them straight to the game where they could see everything being shared at the stadium. Users could friend and follow anyone sharing media there and comment to them.
Jennifer Peck, Banjo’s Director of Engagement, tells us that during one of the games, she saw in the app someone post “ROW 4. @Patriots game. Happiest girl in the world.” She replied back “You need to add some pictures to your tweets :-)”, and the fan did so — all witnessed through the app. During the Super Bowl on February 2, Banjo will make the stadium a trending place so that others can see what’s happening from the game at all times.
While these examples have been about the NFL, this could certainly be replicated across any live event, such as the upcoming Grammy awards, the US Presidential Inauguration, or even a concert.
Photo credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
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