This weekend has seen the London 2012 organisers LOCOG release the first of two mobile apps that will be available to sports fans at the Games this year.

The first one is called ‘Join In’ and is available on Android and IOS (sadly not Blackberry….which is the phone I still have).   The app is designed to allow fans to “plan, enjoy and share your Games experience”.

Seb Coe, Chair of LOCOG, said: ‘This app is a great example of how we are bringing the Games to life for a new generation – inspiring people around the world to get involved. As the Games get closer, we encourage people everywhere to share their Olympic experience with the world, whether they have tickets for a sporting event or not’.

Interestingly it is fully integrated with Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare  – enabling fans to share their experiences, plans (you could allow friends to see where you are planning to go and where to meet up).  The area called ‘My Games’ means anyone can create their own personal schedule, an interesting (and useful) feature.

Its key features include comprehensive events listings for thousands of exciting events across London and UK; and spectator information and interactive maps, news and photos.  There is so much going on both in stadia and outside with thousands of events, parties, etc going on (any spare invites feel free to send them this way!).

Other great features that will be interesting to see in action include the use of Augmented Reality.  Fans will be able to use their camera phone to view overlays showing the key venues.

Key features include:

What’s on: full and up-to-date event listings for thousands of exciting activities, including free events, across London and the UK – find out what’s happening near you, on an hour-by-hour basis.

Torch today: view the Olympic Torch Relay with street-level routes for 1000+ communities over 70 days, and details of Torchbearers. View the current Torch position in real time using the Torch Tracker function. See daily video highlights and photos as the Torch Relay unfolds.

Paralympic Torch Relay: find out about the Flame Festivals taking place across the UK in August.

See and do: full listings for London 2012 Festival cultural events, big screens (Live Sites) and hundreds of free events and celebrations taking place.

Spectator guide: get searchable maps, details of facilities, augmented reality views and information about how to get the best out of your historic day out.

Plan your journey: plan the best route to get to competition venues.

Road events: find out about free medal events such as the Marathon and Road Cycling Race, including route information and where to watch them.

Jump to: interactive, searchable maps of the Olympic and Paralympic Torch Relays, the UK, London and the Olympic Park.

Detail maps: access and seating maps for the Olympic Park and 20+ venues.

Live updates: news, photos and social commentary from the Games.

My Games: create a personal schedule creation to help you plan your Olympic and Paralympic experience.

Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare integration: tweet, upload photos, post to your wall, check-in and let your friends know what you’re doing.

Augmented Reality: use your camera phone to view overlays showing the key venues.

The Official London 2012 Join in app and Official London 2012 Results app are part of a family of digital tools that will be released during the summer, including:

• The IOC’s Olympic Athlete’s Hub (http://hub.olympic.org) launched in April, a directory of verified athlete social media accounts, with rewards for active fans and exclusive content.
• The London 2012 Games-time website, http://www.london2012.com, which will be the ultimate authority on the Games with comprehensive, unbiased provision of results and Games information. The site is fully accessible, including content in British Sign Language and easyread formats.
• Enhanced London 2012 presences on Facebook and Twitter, including many new accounts, sports and image feeds and some surprises.
•  A Twitter-based competitive tweeting challenge.
•  Visualisations and infographics.
•  Official London 2012 mobile, online and social games.

The second companion app, the London 2012 Results App, will be released next month.  It will provide the information not covered by the first one including results,, latest news, schedules and live action across both Olympic and Paralympic sports.