Samsung, which has signed up Zara Phillips and David Beckham as its Olympics Ambassadors, is set to produce the official phone of the Olympics. If the Samsung Galaxy SIII is confirmed as the official device, it’s likely to be a flagship product rather than a marketing gimmick. Made in association with Visa, it will be the first mobile phone to be used on a large scale as a “mobile wallet”, acting like a credit card for goods and services bought around the Olympic Park.
“Throughout the Olympic year we’ve been supporting Samsung, both in the run up and with the new phone,” says Phillips.
Miss Phillips, the Queen’s granddaughter and a senior British equestrian competitor (who is likely to miss out on the 2012 team only because she does not currently have a suitable horse), says that her sport is one of many that has been changed by technology. “With apps you can find out everything now, but we’ve used a lot of video analysis and photographs, too. You can look back and see what you’ve done and how – so training-wise, everything is able to happen a lot more quickly.”
Phillips is something of a Facebook sceptic, saying she’s “more of a text and phone call person”. But in sporting terms there’s a growing range of technologies now in use.
Online course walks, allowing competitors to examine jumps via the web, have made a practical difference for riders and spectators alike.
“It’s quite good for you,” says Phillips, “because it’s good to get a view. Every little helps – but then you can just start worrying earlier!”
The biggest technological impact for riders, however, has been body protectors that inflate, and jumps that collapse thanks to “frangible pins”. As Phillips puts it, technology “has changed so many sports, but it’s saving lives for horse riders”. Watch Zara Phillips in training at samsung.com/uk/london2012