The Vans Live app is a tour de force of surfing multimedia. Designed to cover the events involved in the “Vans Triple Crown of Surfing,” Vans Live goes above and beyond the call of duty for a free app by providing results, videos, pictures and an interesting cover flow view of each event’s poster.
The surfing app is broken down by the specific events, so upon entering Vans Live, users are greeted with a cover flow view of various posters. Each poster corresponds to one of the events the Vans Live app has information on. It’s one of the more unique ways I’ve seen sporting event information displayed in an app, though the decision comes with its own plusses and minuses.
On the plus side, the posters are artistically interesting and give the app an added dose of style. On the downside, while most of the posters are easy enough to read, it can be difficult to figure out exactly what event you’re looking at until you actually tap the poster.
Once you’ve tapped the poster, you’re taken to the event’s page, complete with various multimedia tabs and, irritatingly, a video that loads automatically. The video that plays within the app has to do with the event at hand, but it’s a bit jarring that a video starts the minute you’ve entered the screen.
The information on the tabs is robust, to say the least. Users can view forecast information, see results, and view a news feed with the latest surfing stories pertinent to the event. Additionally, there are tons of videos and pictures relating to the specific event.
The videos might be the most impressive aspect of the app, as they encompass not only daily highlight reels, but behind-the-scenes looks into some of the surfers. The forecast and news feeds are a bit less compelling, only because they don’t seem as tailored to the specific surfing event. The forecast is just a three-day forecast, updated to the current day, regardless of when the event is taking place, and while the news feed is filled with surfing stories, they don’t necessarily correlate to the event you’re looking at.
Still, for those who are interested in the Vans Live surfing tour events, this app seems to have everything they’re looking for. The multimedia is fantastic, and the layout of the app is easy to navigate.
