As the planet’s best cricket teams gear up for the 2015 World Cup, Google and Bing are also duking it out to be your source of updates on your mobile device during the tournament.
While both search engines offer information on teams, match schedules, standings and live scores when you look them up in your mobile browser, Microsoft’s Cortana can be set up on Windows Phone devices to alert you about upcoming matches you’ll want to watch, based on the teams you add to your ‘interests’.
You can also ask Cortana for predictions on the outcome of a match. It correctly named the winning team for 15 out of the 16 FIFA World Cup knockout stage games, so that should give you an idea of how accurate it can be.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
Meanwhile, Google has teamed up with ESPN to offer users updates and highlights via Now cards on Android devices.
You’ll need to download the ESPN Cricinfo app to activate this feature.
Fans can also upload a picture of themselves with up to four friends on Google+ using the hashtag #PaintIndia (you can replace ‘India’ with the name of the country you’re cheering on; a full list of countries is available here) and refresh the page to see their faces painted with the country flag.
Finally, Google will also set up Hangouts with players and commentators over the coming weeks, and will post schedules on its Google+ page.
➤ ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Enjoy your Cricket with Google [Google India Blog] ; The Cricket World Cup at your fingertips [Microsoft News Center UK]
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.