You don't have to be tied to your TV to catch the action of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The Web browser on your smartphone can let you access news, results, and--in some cases--video highlights from the Games while you're on the go. Here are some tips on where to find mobile Olympic coverage.
NBC, the network broadcasting the games, has several options, including the mobile version of its Olympic site at mobile.nbcolympics.com. This site offers news highlights in a format that is easy to read on a smartphone screen.
NBC also will send Olympic updates to your phone via text message. To activate this feature, you send a text message containing the word "Olympics" to 51515. Once you send the message, you receive an immediate reply, which gives you instructions on how to receive either breaking news about the Olympics or alerts whenever a U.S. athlete or team wins a medal.
Some smartphone owners will be able to watch video of the Beijing Olympics on their handset. NBC is offering two mobile video options: One will deliver pre-packaged video clips to certain phones. For more information, visit NBC's website.
The other video option is NBCOlympics2Go, which will deliver live TV coverage of the Olympics to your handset, 24 hours a day. Right now, this is only available on the two AT&T handsets that support the carrier's Mobile TV service, the LG Vu and the Samsung Access. You must subscribe to the Mobile TV service (packages start at $15 per month) and you must live in one of the 58 cities in the U.S. that supports the service. For more information, see AT&T's website.
NBC isn't the only network offering mobile coverage of the Olympics. CNN has a mobile site available at cnnmobile/beijing08. You can browse news highlights and sign up to receive a text message alert when your country wins a medal in any event. CNN's mobile site also offers pre-packaged video clips that you can download and watch on your phone; these are clips of the network's own reports from Beijing.
Your ability to view video clips and even mobile websites will largely depend on your smartphone's capabilities, especially its browser and whether or not it supports high-speed 3G networks. You should also keep in mind that sending and receiving text messages and downloading video clips may cost you extra, depending upon what type of service plan you have on your phone. But even the most basic mobile phone will allow you stay caught up on all of the action from the Olympics.