Stefanie Jones, Public Relations, Inc. | (O) 303.388.8460 (C) 303.324.0857 | sjones@sjonespr.com
"I love the cowbell. I think it's awesome. My family got the cowbell[2010] app on their iPhones. It's a classic part of ski racing. The cowbells are what make all the noise. It's like cheerleading. Anything to make you feel like people are behind you, I think that's special." - Lindsey Vonn
posted Feb 26th, 2010 at 11:40am
- Time Magazine:10 Questions for Lindsey Vonn
ABCNews.com - 7 Ways to Enjoy the Olympics Without a TV
posted Feb 23rd, 2010 at 5:16pm
By KI MAE HEUSSNER Feb. 23, 2010
Cowbell 2010 Lets You Cheer From Your Living Room
If you really want to feel like you’re slopeside at Whistler, take a look at Cowbell 2010.
The new iPhone application turns your phone into a clamoring cowbell, just like the ones cheering on Olympic alpine skiers.
Launched by Boulder, Colo.-based Rage Digital, the 99-cent app has been downloaded more than 20,000 times by people in 34 countries and is the second most popular paid sports application in Apple’s App Store.
“The cowbell is such a vibrant tradition of the Olympics and the iPhone, with the accelerometer, has the ability to detect movement,” said Tom Guggenheim, CEO of Rage Digital and the app’s creator. “[It] was the perfect platform to create a cowbell.”
He said the cowbell tradition originated in Switzerland, where cowherders would ring their bells from pastures to encourage the athletes.
Users can personalize the app with the national flag of their choice, access an event schedule, read athlete tweets and post their own messages and photos to Facebook.
After the Vancouver Games, he said his company plans to re-design the bell for the World Cup in June.
It’s a tradition at the Winter Olympics to use a cowbell to cheer for athletes — it’s louder than clapping with mittens on. A new iPhone application called Cowbell 2010 turns your iphone into a cowbell. At 99 cents, the app is one of the top sports downloads in the iTunes app store.
Transcript
LINDA WERTHEIMER, host:
With the Winter Olympics in full swing, our last word in business today comes via the late night comedy show, “Saturday Night Live.”
(Soundbite of TV show, “Saturday Night Live”)
Mr. CHRISTOPHER WALKEN (Actor): (as Bruce Dickinson) I got to have more cowbell, baby.
(Soundbite of laughter)
WERTHEIMER: The word is cowbell. Its a tradition at the Winter Olympics to use a cowbell to cheer for athletes. Its louder than clapping with mittens on. But if you dont have your own cowbell, dont worry - theres an app for that. A new iPhone application called Cowbell 2010 turns your iPhone into a cowbell. All you do is download and shake.
(Soundbite of cowbell)
WERTHEIMER: Theres your cowbell. At $.99 a pop, the app is now one of the top sports downloads in the iTunes app store.
Wall Street Journal: App Watch - Adding More Cowbell to Winter Olympics
posted Feb 17th, 2010 at 1:02am
By Jennifer Valentino-DeVries
Fans at the Winter Olympics have long used cowbells to cheer for athletes, and now a new iPhone app allows you to recreate the experience even if you don’t have a brass bell handy.
The cowbell can be decorated with one of 35 flags.
Cowbell2010, available for 99 cents, turns your iPhone into a virtual cowbell that makes a convincing clanking sound when you shake the phone. Ted Guggenheim, CEO of app maker Rage Digital, said he tried about 10 different bell tones and spent 10 to 12 hours perfecting the sound for the app.
According to this article in the Vail Daily, the cowbell tradition began when Alpine herders took bells ordinarily worn by their animals and incorporated them into cheers for skiers. It’s tough to clap loudly when you’re wearing mittens, so the cowbells caught on. The virtual version of the cowbell adds a couple of 21st-century features to the tradition: A Twitter feed follows hundreds of athletes who are tweeting from the games, and a Facebook-style wall lets users post photos and text to share with other app users or Facebook friends. Users can decorate their bell with one of 35 flags provided on the app, and a schedule of events and medal count also are available.
In a test of the app, the cowbell itself was a fun conversation starter and sounded remarkably like the bells heard on the slopes. The Twitter feed and wall were nice additions, although the wall required a very good 3G connection or Wi-Fi to work without a hitch.
Until now, Rage Digital, a three-employee firm in Boulder, Colo., has made apps only for clients. “We had always contemplated doing a direct-to-consumer app but hadn’t found the right niche. You have to do something pretty unique if you want to compete,” Mr. Guggenheim said. The team decided just before Christmas that the Olympics offered them a good opportunity to do something different that could reach an international audience. With the company being based in Colorado, Mr. Guggenheim said, “Winter sports are big here. We definitely feel a strong connection to the Games.”
The developers at Rage Digital put the app together in about a month. “This is a test to see how we could compete in a very crowded app store,” Mr. Guggenheim said, adding that he and his staff have so far been pleased with the results. Cowbell2010 is currently the No. 1 paid sports app in the iTunes app store, and Mr. Guggenheim said it had been downloaded 12,600 times as of Monday.
What do fans of alpine sports, “Saturday Night Live” and Blue Oyster Cult have in common? You’ve got it: They need more cowbell. Lucky for them, Boulder-based Rage Digital is here to provide with a just-in-time Olympic iPhone and iPod Touch App it’s created called Cowbell2010. At 99 cents, it costs about the same as the Cult classic “Don’t Fear the Reaper.”
Download a virtual cowbell wrapped in the flag of any nation you might be cheering for during the Vancouver Olympic Games. The App also includes a complete Olympic events schedule, Olympic medals count by country, Twitter feed from more than 150 Olympians and a Live Wall where folks can upload pictures of themselves and their friends or comments about the Vancouver Games.
The Age: Best iPhone apps for Vancouver 2010 (Australia)
posted Feb 15th, 2010 at 3:21pm
Cowbell 2010 is designed for die-hard supporters - named after the bells that spectators like to ring (it’s hard to clap in mittens). You can even shake your phone to ring the bell. The app lets you nominate your favourite country and bookmark events.
Cowbell 2010’s other handy feature is that it lets you keep track of Olympics-focused Twitter feeds. Ringing the bell is a bit of fun but, considering the app lets you drape your cowbell in your country’s flag,
Courier Journal: App of the Week
posted Feb 15th, 2010 at 3:04pm
Now that I have an “app phone” (as David Pogue says) I think its time to begin reviewing some of these apps. Are they revolutionary? Are they a waste of time? Or do they somehow skirt the line between the two? I bring you… Cowbell 2010.
I discovered this little gem while surfing the “featured” apps in the Apple iPhone App Store (it’s also available on iPod Touch). It was only 99 cents, and it looks appropriately dumb enough to use on the radio version of this column (I feature a new app every Friday on the Lambert and Lindsey show on 102.3 The Max). It seemed perfect for the radio bit, because it has an audio component.
Here’s what it is… It’s a cowbell, and when you shake your phone (or tap the screen) it makes the sound of a cowbell. Neat, eh? Not really. Revolutionary? Nope. Kinda annoying? Yep. I used the app to irritate the bejeezus out of my cohosts on Friday morning’s show.
What you don’t realize at first, however, is that this isn’t really JUST a ringing cowbell app. It’s a winter olympics app. Cowbells, as you may hear every time you watch the games, are a sort of “applause” for winter sports. People stand on either side of the ski trails and ring them constantly. Now, with this app on your phone, you can cheer on your favorite athletes. You can even decorate the bell on the screen with the flag of your choice.
Not only that, the app has a running schedule of the Olympic events PLUS a running medal count. And a twitter feed if you want to follow it.
So not only can you irritate your friends, but you can also cheer on the USA and follow the Olympic schedule. Kinda worth 99 cents now, isn’t it?
Well maybe not. But it’s better than just the sound of a cowbell. Available in the app store - search “Cowbell 2010.”
If you’ve got Olympic fever, the only prescription is more cowbell. Sadly, everyone’s favourite bovine soundtrack to downhill skiing weighs a ton and is tricky to sneak through airport security - unlike this lightweight, low priced app.
Simply skin the virtual cowbell with the national flag of your choice and shake your iPhone in the air to recreate the authentic atmosphere of Team GB finishing second to last in the giant slalom, just ahead of Western Samoa.
As well as the cowbell, you get a full schedule of Winter Olympic events, a handy Twitter feed of dozens of Olympic athletes, media outlets and bloggers, and a live medal table (where they haven’t even bothered to include Team GB - although Kazakhstan gets a place).
There’s even a ‘live wall’ where you can post comments and photos, and simultaneously post them to Facebook or Twitter. Overall, Cowbell 2010 might not be the ultimate Winter Olympics app for hardcore snowsports fans, but it’ll make an excellent sonic impression if you happen to be in the pub - or are lucky enough to be in Vancouver - when the Games are on.
This robust Vancouver Games inspired app boasts a full event schedule, a real-time medal tally, and social media features like a Twitter feed following hundreds of athletes, and a F-book connected “Live Wall”, all while sonically aping the distinctive clamor of the Alpine Cowbells traditionally used to support winter athletes by utilizing the iPhone’s shake feature, so you can shake, shake, shake…shake your Moo-ty.
VANCOUVER VOICE: Ring a cowbell from your own sofa
posted Feb 10th, 2010 at 3:47pm
Posted: Wednesday 10th February 2010 | 18:08
IN the modern age of mobile gadgets, a number of companys have launched a series of iPhone applications to keep everyone connected with goings-on at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
GET RINGING: Cowbell 2010 is set to revolutionise mobile coverage of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver (www.cowbell2010 / Rage Digital)
Whether you are travelling to one of the nine Olympic venues in Canada or are on the other side of the world wanting to find out the latest results, apparently there is an app for you.
Free apps such as the free Canadian Olympic channel (CTV Olympics 1.5.1) and the free official Vancouver 2010 guide (Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games: The Offical Guide 1.0) have benefits that speak for themselves.
And while the only sport to have its own app is ice hockey (Vancouver 2010 Hockey 2.1), the stand out app must be Rage Digital’s Cowbell 2010 (Cowbell 2010ف.1).
For generations, ringing cowbells has been a favourite way for fans to cheer on cross-country and alpine skiers and now you can do it from the comfort of your own sofa, without even having a bell.
It’s a noisemaker that does exactly what it says on the tin and will be the perfect weapon to annoy anyone in your immediate vicinity.
So we say, get ringing! Just be careful not to drop your iPhone in the snow.
Cowbell2010, available on iTunes for 99 cents, turns an iPhone or an iPod Touch into a virtual cowbell, ringing loudly when the phone is shaken or the screen tapped. The cowbell on the screen is wrapped in the flag of the country of your choice, which also determines the menu language.
The cowbell is a tradition in Alpine skiing, where fans bring them to the slopes to signal support for skiers, mittened hands being rather limited in their noise-making ability.
The app also includes an event schedule, medal counts and live Twitter feeds from more than 200 Olympic athletes, according to the app’s developer.
Surely, Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell would approve.
Lugging a real cowbell to the slopes to make noise for your favorite Winter Olympian is so, well, 2006. Who needs a separate hunk of metal when you can just use that iPhone that’s already in your pocket? Cowbell2010 allows fans to “drape” a noisemaker in the flag of the country of their choice. (Well, a picture of the flag shows up on your screen.)Shake the iPhone and the bell clangs with an eerily accurate sound. Tap the image and it rings, too.
Cowbell2010, which comes from a company called Rage Digital out of Boulder, Colo., costs 99 cents at the iPhone App Store. There are also many free, generic cowbell apps out there — just poke around on the Web and you’ll find plenty to choose from.
Cowbell2010 Featured on Denver's NBC Station 9News
posted Feb 3rd, 2010 at 12:30pm
As seen on 2/3/10
Cowbell2010 on 9News Denver!
posted Feb 3rd, 2010 at 12:19pm
Digital Cowbell
A Boulder company Rage Digital came up with this cowbell app for your iPhone. For 99 cents, it transforms your phone into a clanging cowbell, draped in the country flag of your choice.
Just shake the phone and the bell does the rest. It comes with a complete event schedule, medal count tally and more. Just look for Cowbell2010 at www.apple.com/itunes.
We’ll have the news clip posted very soon! Big thanks to Greg Moss, Kyle Dyer and the whole 9News team!
Cowbell2010 on EverythingiCafe
posted Feb 3rd, 2010 at 11:46am
Rage Digital dropped us a line to let us know about their new app Cowbell2010 (App Store link). Not only do you get the full event schedule, real-time medal count and a live Twitter feed from hundreds of Olympians, but you also get a national flag covered cowbell.
Cowbell2010 is a virtual Alpine cowbell that can be skinned in any country flag. Whether you are cheering for Canada, USA, or any other country, users may skin their cowbell to show their pride!
Once a flag is chosen (or not chosen), tapping on the cowbell or shaking the iPhone rings the cowbell. The app also includes a real-time medal count organized by country and a live Twitter feed of more than 200 Olympians.
Users also have access to a live wall where photos can be uploaded and comments typed from within the app. Furthermore, this can be directly posted to personal Twitter or Facebook accounts.
Whether you are in Vancouver for the games or watching from home, Cowbell2010 allows users to show their Olympic enthusiasm from anywhere!
Cowbell2010 Press: Denver Business Journal - Rage Digital’s iPhone app supplies more cowbell
posted Jan 22nd, 2010 at 6:34pm
Reporter: Greg Avery
Thursday, January 21, 2010, 1:50pm MST | Modified: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 1:55pm
Headed to the Vancouver Olympics next month, but lack a cowbell to clang slopeside like those rabid downhill fans? Don’t worry, now there’s an app for that.
A virtual cowbell developed by Rage Digital started selling on the Apple app store Jan. 19. It’s the first paid app the Boulder iPhone and iPod Touch app company has launched and branded for itself.
Timed to coincide with the winter games — which must mark the high season for cowbell sales, one would think — the company’s 99-cent Cowbell2010 turns people’s iPhones and Touches into digital cowbells that clang realistically when shaken.
“We really think the cowbell is a really fun thing to have,” Ted Guggenheim, Rage Digital CEO and founder.
The four-person company creates iPhone apps for other businesses. The products usually appear in the Apple app store under the client’s brand with Rage Digital’s involvement obscured by non-disclosure clauses in their contracts, Guggenheim said.
The idea for the Cowbell2010 app arose during brainstorming for a client. Rage Digital decided create Cowbell2010 for itself.
It’s more than a novelty.
Rage Digital hopes Cowbell2010 generates 1 million downloads. (That’s $990,000 worth, for those keeping track $693,000 after Apple’s typical cut).
Cowbell2010 is not the only bovine bell for the iPhone. Cowbell2010 tries to distinguish itself by adding things useful to estimated nearly 1 million people expected to attend the Vancouver games, too.
The app keeps a running medal count by country during the games, collects tweets from a growing roster of more than 200 athletes who post updates to Twitter and lets the user post their updates to Facebook from the Cowbell2010 app.
But Rage Digital is careful not cast Cowbell2010 as some sort of semiofficial virtual cowbell of the Olympics.
That would cause licensing issues, plus the company sees uses for Cowbell2010 beyond the winter games. Guggenheim envisions updating it for this summer’s Tour de France and other events.
Guggenheim worked hard to get the bell’s sound just right.
He bought one from the a music store to record. Unsatisfied, he scoured eBay to land a brass, Swiss-made one to record for Cowbell2010.
In an iPod Touch, the app doesn’t produce the decibels of an actual cowbell. But Rage Digital worked hard to make the app as loud as a the device’s small speaker could manage, and as authentic.
“Let’s just say, if you crank it up all the way in a room with somebody, it can be annoying,” Guggenheim said.
He points out Cowbell2010 a serious advantage over its folksy, analogue inspiration.
“Last time I checked, you can’t make a call from a cowbell,” Guggenheim said.
Cowbell2010 iPhone App Supercharges the Olympic Fan’s Experience
Winter Olympics watchers around the world get the full event schedule, real-time medal count, live Twitter feed from hundreds of Olympians and a national flag covered, virtual cowbell, all in one App
Boulder, CO – February 1, 2010 – The gloves don’t have to come off in Vancouver, or wherever you happen to be watching the Games, to make noise for this winter’s Olympians. The new Cowbell2010 App for the iPhone and iPodTouch enables Winter Olympic Games fans, followers, family and teammates around the world to cheer on athletes by ringing a virtual cowbell. The traditional, distinctive clamor lets the athletes know they’re being supported.
With the Cowbell2010 App, your iPhone or iPodTouch becomes your very own clanging cowbell, draped in the country flag of your choice, that you can shake until the cows come home – or until your country’s team reaches the medal podium. Whether you’re at the Games in Vancouver, on your couch cheering at home with family or at a pub with friends watching the events, the Cowbell2010 App offers all of the features you need to be a part of the Olympics experience including:
- A virtual, working, national flag-emblazoned cowbell
- Real-time medal tally by country
- Twitter feed that follows hundreds of Olympian tweets
- Complete event schedule that adjusts to your time zone
- Favorites folder to manage your Games-watching schedule
- Live Wall to share photos and texts of your Winter Games experience with friends on Facebook and Twitter, as well as other Cowbell 2010 users around the world.
Much easier to carry than bulky, brass cowbell, the Cowbell 2010 App is a must-have for celebrating this year’s Games. Cowbell 2010 may be downloaded for just $.99 in the iTunes App Store.
When it comes to branded iPhone/iPodTouch Apps, concept is king. Rage Digital understands the power of a good concept. We are experts at taking brand content, messaging and assets and bringing them to life through the App platform. We work together with our clients to create concepts that maximize the brand’s ROI by providing ongoing value to the end user. For more information on Rage Digital Inc., creators of Cowbell2010, please visit http://ragedigitalinc.com/.
If you’ve got Olympic fever, the only prescription is more cowbell. Sadly, everyone’s favourite bovine soundtrack to downhill skiing weighs a ton and is tricky to sneak through airport security - unlike this lightweight, low priced app.
