By 
Are you ready for some football? With the regular season starting in less than a week, FootballBeast.com has just completely revamped their website AND their Android App, revealing what I think is the most polished Football Pickem app for Android. Along with the brand-spanking new companion website and forums, this is a must download app for football fans.
Don’t worry: your non-Android wielding friends can play too. They just need to sign up for an account (it’s free) and make their picks online each week. We strongly recommend signing up with Facebook, not only due to the quick and easy process, but they’ll also be adding features to let you compare your record, rank, and stats with those of your friends playing Pickem.
Here’s a quick roundup of need-to-knows:
- 100% Free. Weekly winners get $100, Season winner gets $500, Playoff winner gets $5,500 or tickets to the big game (see details).
- You can signup online or by downloading the app; both methods offer Facebook login/signup
- Speaking of Facebook… like them on Facebook and invite your friends to play.
- The website is MUCH improved and more engaging: check out the game threads – like the Dallas vs. New York Week 1 Matchup or Pittsburgh vs Denver – where you can make your predictions, debate outcomes, and even talk a little trash. They’re currently seeking moderators to keep the forums friendly, active, and sane.
- Anyone can signup and play, but only US residents over 21 can win prizes in the contest (sorry!)
And now for our beloved Android. The Android app was rebuilt from the ground up and completely follows ICS design guidelines. In fact, it was modeled after Football Schedule 2012 which has already accumulated 35,000+ downloads and a 4.5 star rating in a very short time on the market. Take that simple “schedule” concept, integrate a bad ass Pickem engine and leaderboard, and guess what you’ve got? Football Pickem 2012… we think it’s destined for success.
When you initially signup you’ll be taken to the My Picks page, situated as the center of three screens. At any given time the My Picks page will show you the picks you’re currently able to make. You can’t skip ahead… you can only make picks for the current week. Simply tap on the team icon to make your selection and don’t be nervous: you can change your pick any time prior to kick off. After picking/changing, don’t forget to hit save or cancel in the action bar.
As the week progresses, the My Picks page should update the matchups with live scores. If you’re interested in seeing historical scores for weeks past or curious about a future matchup, simply swipe to the left and you’ve got a complete season schedule. Want to know how you’re performing against the competition? Swipe to the right for a complete leaderboard. It really couldn’t be easier.
In a competition like Football Pickem the WORST thing is accidentally forgetting to make picks. We’ve somewhat alleviated that problem by naming weekly winners, so if you forget to play one week you still have a chance to win it all. Nevertheless, we’ll also be implementing non-intrusive status bar notifications to remind you to make picks if you haven’t yet made them. Of course, if you want to turn them off, you’ll be able to adjust these settings by tapping the option in the action bar.
The app and the website are in complete sync, so if you change your picks in one place, they’ll be updated everywhere. Whether you’re at home on the couch or headed out the door for football festivities, the website and app combo gives Android players an edge on those last minute decisions.
Last year a few thousand people played. This year Football Beast is shooting for the stars. But it’s impossible to build the best community of football lovers on the planet without some loyal enthusiats, so head over to the website, download the app, like it on Facebook, and send links to all your friends!
One more thing: give it a 5-star reviews on Android Market if you think the app has earned it. If not, give the FBB team the opportunity to earn 5-stars, by letting them know how they can improve. E-mail support (at) footballbeast (dot) com
Sounds like a good idea. I downloaded it and played around for 5 minutes and had an idea. How about making it so that you could have groups you are competing against? like inter-office groups where me and all my co-workers make our picks on this app and at the end of the week it declares who is the winner of the week. We do this in my office with pencil and paper, wager $5 each per week, winner takes all. sometimes people are out of the office and dont get their picks turned in so they are out for that week. This app could solve that and allow you to see co-workers picks. BUT it shouldnt show you others peoples picks until you have made your picks! Maybe even find a way to incorporate paypal/equivalent so that everyone actually had to put up the $5 wager (or what ever the individual group agrees on as a weekly wager) via the app and then they winner would automatically get the payment. FBB could even earn money from this, they could take $1 or $2 or a % from the weeks pot when a group actually wants to wager money using their system.