Fanly is an Android app that aims to be the one and only Android app that sports fans in North America will ever need on their device to find out everything they want about their favorite teams. Fanly covers the NBA, NHL, MLB, NCAAF, MLS and the NCAAB all in one app, broken down by each team in their respective leagues. You can choose from as many or as few teams as you like, and from there you can read reports from over 2,000 sources including the likes of ESPN and other reputable blogs and websites. Not only that, but videos and Tweets are neatly included as well, and we all know that sports stars can tweet some fun stuff. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?
Fanly is a quick and free download from the Play Store, and all it asks is for you to log in with either your Facebook or Twitter account.
From there, Fanly asks you to select your teams, all you do is tap and a little tick will appear next to them. You can add or remove teams at any time, so you don’t need to think too hard about your selection.
Once you’ve chosen your teams you’re able to pick them out from a list on the left-hand side in a neat drawer.
Fanly offers a feed for each different sports team, so for example here’s a look at the feed for my Mavs:
Clicking on a news story takes you to a neat in-app web browser, which offers the best of both worlds. You get the look and feel of that particular news source, but hitting back returns you to Fanly and doesn’t clog up your browser with a multitude of tabs.
With Fanly, you get News, Videos and Tweets all in one app. The Tweets section gives you Tweets from reputable team sources, as well as the players themselves, like the notorious Dirk Nowitzki.
The Mavericks’ feed in Fanly is dressed in the team’s blue color, and the whole app has a slick and professional Material Design that changes depending on which team you’re reading about. For instance, if we shift gears and head North to Toronto FC we get a different experience:
Each team is treated exactly the same in Fanly, and rather than pretend to know which you care about more and lump them all into one feed, you’re given the choice to find the content on the teams you want, when you want it.
Fanly is not a new concept, news apps like these have been around for ages now, but you know what Fanly is? It’s super-slick and down to earth. There’s ZERO jumping through hoops with Fanly, only care about NBA and MLB teams? Select those and nothing else. Want to diversify and read about lots of different sports and teams? Go ahead and do that. Thanks to the fact that Fanly lets you choose which teams you want to read about whenever you want to read about them, you stay in control of what you want to know about, rather than having a robot throw news at you. The overall look and feel of the app is slick and blends Material Design with a typeface that just looks like it was made for major league sports news. It all comes together nicely, and there should be few complaints when using Fanly on Android.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – Quick, smooth and efficient. Fanly puts you in control of your content whenever you want it.
- Features (5/5) – This isn’t a new concept, but the 2,000 plus sources that Fanly has on offer here make it one of the most comprehensive and slick sports apps out there. The inclusion of Twitter is a great addition as many sports fans just love Twitter.
- Theme (4.5/5) – Again, the theme here is really nice and there’s a lot going on here with Material Design and a great typeface.
- Overall (5/5) – It might not be a new idea entirely, but Fanly just works. It’s quick, convenient and all the right sources and boxes are ticked. It’s one of the easiest and most comprehensive ways to get your sports news while on the move.
Pros
- Ticks all the right boxes in North America with NBA, NHL, NCAAF, NCAAB, MLB, MLS and other leagues and all their teams featured.
- Over 2,000 sources of video, tweets and all the news from around the web in the palm of your hand.
- Twitter inclusion helps brings fans closer to the teams and their players, and can be a great way of seeing who said what after a big game.
- Material Design look and feel works great, and there’s little in the way of a quality experience.
Cons
- More international sports, perhaps for Soccer World Cups or the Olympics would be nice.
- Sign-in option for Google+ would be nice to see offered.
Fanly pretty much replaces any other sports news apps you have on your phone, brings laser focus to your team coverage and lets you see what the players themselves have been saying on Twitter. It’s free to use as well as being quick and smooth. To stay up-to-date on your terms, reading about the sports and teams you care about, Fanly works brilliantly.