New Tennis iPhone Apps
My Tennis Buddy & My Bullet Serve Put Match Data In Your Hands
There are applications for music lovers (Pandora, Slacker Radio). There are applications for messaging freaks (TweetDeck). There are even applications for the directionally challenged (Loopt). But when it comes to iPhone apps, tennis junkies have gotten a raw deal.
Until now, that is. Opus Mobile Technologies has unveiled My Tennis Buddy — an innovative, in-the-palm-of-your-hand tennis tool that allows you to monitor/analyze match results and better understand your game. Students, coaches and parents can now compute match stats and analyze strengths and weaknesses. Whether it’s a friendly practice session or a must-win league match, My Tennis Buddy’s key indicators help you measure your ability to comeback from the brink of defeat (comeback power), your ability to finish a match (finishing power) or win a tiebreak (tiebreak success rate). MTB highlights this statistical data so that you can readily identify areas of your game that need improvement most. For info, visit opusmt.com/mtb.
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2.December.2009 | 11:39 pm
Vladimir Komarov
I’ve post comments on LinkedIn site about this application, so I would like to repeat them here:
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I am becoming really frustrated about lies and bad marketing from OPUS Mobile Tech. I understand that $1.99 is not a big deal for most of iPhone users, but they are dishonest about capabilities of their own applications:
From above:
Claim:
“….the application actually allows players to measure and track their serve speeds – functionality that was previously only available via a radar gun”
True:
You have to tap on the screen at the moment of the serve and tap again at the moment of ball landing. And you have to spot the point of the impact to enter it into the application. What kind of accuracy it gives????!!!!
Even for junior players, the error might be up to 50%
Do you need this piece of … software????!!!!
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Just to clarify: I’ve bought both “My Tennis Buddy” and “My Bullet Serve” application from OPUS and they (IMHO) are not worth the money spent. Average iPhone application I am using is offering a much more options and features for less money.
I’ve checked the OPUS web site and was not able to find any comments or other proof of “thoroughly validation with multiple USPTA coaches (with serves over 100 MPH) during Beta field testing”. I maybe missing something, but I really would love to understand how this application could really measure your serve with acceptable accuracy. For example: if the ball is served at 100 MPH, it will hit the ground within ~0.5 seconds from moment of the serve. During that time you have to move your eyes from the server to the court to detect the point where the ball has landed. I really doubt that average person could do that.
If you miss the moment of the serve or of the landing by 0.1 (!!) second – it will give you 16% error!!! Not to mention that screen tapping speed could be different for different people.
So, the application will do the measurement, but I doubt that it will be very accurate.
VK
3.December.2009 | 10:10 am
Sally Relton Shakespeare
Thank you Vladimir, your reality-check is much appreciated.
With these characteristics it would have made more sense for the app to be marketed as a toy rather than a serious tennis improvement tool.
Sally
29.January.2010 | 11:08 am
Trevor
Check out this tennis app that helps you find tennis courts:
http://www.globaltennisnetwork.com/tennis-courts/courts/tennis-court-locator-iphone-app
9.February.2010 | 9:12 pm
Loan N.
This tennis radar gun application is not just a fun application, but is a true instructional tool. MBS assist players in developing their serve by providing a convenient measure of their serve velocity.
My Bullet Serve (MBS) was featured on Yahoo! It has been picked by Appolicious’s weekly selection as one of the brand new iPhone apps worth downloading.
Some of the concerns above regarding the measurement accuracy are valid. Subsequent versions of the application have been released and have addressed the accuracy issues, by enhancing existing recording methods and adding new ones.
MBS uses advanced algorithms that calculate your initial serve speed (ISS), which corresponds to the speed shown on TV. The computation is based on the position from where the ball was served, its landing location, accounting for the air resistance on the tennis ball while traveling on the opposite side of the court, as well as a player’s height. Supplying these values is easy, as MBS has a simple and intuitive interface, which includes a graphical representation of the court with a moving scale of feet and inches that further enhances the precision of data entry. The accuracy of the speed measurements has been validated through real life serves over 100 MPH from professional tennis coaches, and serve speeds have been correlated with video capture measurement methodology.
Two recording methods are provided: ‘Tap’ and ‘Camcorder’.
The ‘Camcorder’ method is extremely accurate, and allows the user to enter video information like frame rate, frame count to compute very accurately a given serve speed (accuracy >98 %) as well as bounce location. The application allows a frame rate selection from 30 FPS to 1200 FPS. This gives respectively a 33 milli-seconds and 833 micro-seconds resolution time.
The second method is a ‘Tap’ method that offers to the user the benefit of computing serve speed measurement pretty much in real time. While the accuracy for this method is not as high as the ‘Camcorder’ method, it is convenient if you want to get live feedback. To increase measurement accuracy for serve over 100 MPH, when user reaction time becomes more significant, a mode is offered by recording when the ball crosses the opposite baseline instead of when it bounces.
A tutorial and a demonstration of how accurate the measurements can be, is available here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKob6KiVtBU