Reviewing the Minnesota Timberwolves Mobile App.

I saw a tweet yesterday that said the Minnesota Timberwolves re-launched a mobile application. So, I decided to check it out. An Apple user, I searched "Minnesota Timberwolves" in the App Store., and lo-and-behold there it was. By the time it finished downloading my break at the day-job was over and I headed back into work. It wasn't until today, and by today I mean right now, that I got a chance to look over the Wolves' mobile app. I'm not saying it took a long time to download and install, that's just how it worked out.

Let's review this thing, shall we?

I wanted to be sure the Wolves mobile application hasn't been available for months.

• *Types www.MinnesotaTimberwolves.com in browser*
• *Clicks 'search' feature*
• *Searches "Mobile Application*

After completing these three steps I was brought to www.nba.com/Timberwolves/mobile, where the headline reads; The Official Minnesota Timberwolves Mobile App is Back. There's a cool feature below the headline that displays an old Blackberry Phone with the Timberwolves' original mobile application, originally released in 2006.

Swipe over the Blackberry and the old, outdated phone turns into what looks like an iPhone 6 with a view of the Wolves' revamped app. Below the phone(s) we're told;

After launching the first ever NBA team Mobile App back in 2006, we are now ready to announce that our team Mobile App is BACK. Filled with videos, news, and roster information, you can now take the Wolves with you wherever you go!

At this point I thought to myself, is this also available for Android devices? I asked a friend if it was, and sure enough, the Wolves' latest mobile app is available in the Google Play Store. Shortly thereafter, said friend sent me this screen shot indicating that, at 12:42 PM local time, a total of 10 people have downloaded the application since its re-release on December 10th, 2014.

The app was revealed 366 days after the Wolves released the The Timberwolves Entertainment Network (T.E.N), which I also happened to review -- you can read that here. Unlike T.E.N, the new mobile application doesn't require users to open a mobile browser like Google Chrome or Safari in order to access the latest Timberwolves news.

Advice: Venture into "settings" and customize the updates. Make it so score and news notifications are sent to your phone so you don't miss what's going on in Timberwolves World.

Here's a screenshot of the main page. I've ordered certain icons 1-6 and will explain what they are below.

Spiffy, right?

#1: Clicking on the newspaper-looking icon will promptly list the latest Timberwolves videos. Right now, this includes the Wolves-Lakers Scouting Report, A Post Game Interview featuring Shabazz Muhammad and The Steal of the Night. Here's a screencap to match the description.

#2: Clicking the Twitter icon will substitute the latest videos with Timberwolves latest tweets. These are tweets made strictly by the @MNTimberwolves account. Here's a screencap to match the description.

#3: Clicking on the calendar icon brings users to a list of boxscores. The results of the latest matchup is on top, but by scrolling down one can look ahead at when, where and which opponents the Wolves play next. Here's a screencap to match the description.

#4: The area where all of the information in #1-#3 is listed, corresponding with which icon users select on the application's main page.

#5: Clicking the menu icon presents users with alternative ways to navigate around the application. Below is a picture of the options listed.

#6: Clicking the Radio icon on the mobile application will, presumably, stream Alan Horton's radio call when the Wolves are playing. Because they're not in a game right now, clicking the radio icon provokes a popup notification explaining that a stream is not available. The radio broadcast can also be found at 830AM, assuming you live in the Great Twin Cities area.

Now, clicking News or Schedule will bring those using the app to the same content described in #1 and #3, respectively. However, you won't find the photo galleries that are available without going through said 'News' option prompted by clicking the menu icon.

(Moving left to right.) Predictably, the tab that says "All" displays all available news content on the mobile application. The news icon presents the same information listed in #1. The video icon prompts users with all available video content. And, finally, the image icon all the way to the right brings users to where they can see all the cool photos taken by people like David Sherman.

Staying with the options listed under menu.

Clicking the "Team" button brings users here.

By clicking statistics, users will be taken to a page that lists each player and their per game averages this season. Click on a specific player and one can then choose whether to see that player's season or career averages. There is no way to view team/individual, season/career totals. It's strictly sorted by averages.

The rest is pretty simple.

Clicking "Standings" allows users to view how the Wolves' record compare to opponents around the league. One can sort standings by either conference or division. I don't suggest you do this until the team starts playing better.

"Gametracker" provides a way for users to keep player and team statistics while games are ongoing, and also upon their completion. Want to see how Kevin Durant did last night? This is where you would go in order to do that.

Overall thoughts

The Wolves Mobile App is sharp, simple and very user friendly. It's a good way to keep up with what's happening during, after and between games. One could listen to the live radio call and follow the live box score updates, watch post game interviews and check out all sorts of pictures. Shouts to Bob Stanke and the rest of the Digital Media Team for putting this together.

Critiques:

• It would be cool to have more than just the @MNTimberwolves account listed under the Twitter icon on the application's home screen. No, I'm not asking that my Twitter handle, or the @CanisHoopus account for that matter, be listed for people to see. But why not have, say; Dave Benz, Jim Peterson, Horton, John Focke, Jerry Zgoda (and other beat writers) listed for people to see?
• Revamp the stats page: Allow users to sort stats by totals, averages, and by season. Maybe there aren't that many stat-junkies who visit the page, but listing only team and player averages isn't the greatest indication of how either/or is performing.
• I'll leave the rest up to you (the readers).