Tech Review: Best apps to follow Women's World Cup action

The FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 app features stats, videos, real-time... — The FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 app features stats, videos, real-time scoring alerts and more. Credit: FIFA

By Peter KingSpecial to NewsdayJune 12, 2019

Are you ready for some football? The Women’s World Cup is underway in France, and the defending-champion United States squad is favored to again hoist the championship trophy when the event ends July 14. You can follow all the action with these apps.

France 2019

(iOS, Android; free)

The full name of this app is FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 Official App, and it is loaded with information, stats, videos and news including real-time scoring alerts. The app also has some fun games you can play such as a match predictor, where you try to outguess others about who will win. It includes some nice soccer tutorials so casual fans can better understand the game.

Fox Sports

(iOS, Android; free)

Fox Sports is the exclusive U.S. TV carrier for all games, and its app is a must-have if you are on the go. You can livestream every game via the app, although you will have to sign in using the login credentials you use for your cable or satellite TV provider. The app also provides an enormous amount of World Cup-related content from the scores of Fox analysts on the scene.

Forza Football

(iOS, Android; free)

As the name of the app implies, this is where world soccer fans go to get their football kicks. Forza provides in-depth analysis and live stats, including lineups and video highlights. If you’re more than a casual soccer fan, stick with Forza year-round for coverage of the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and more than 400 other football leagues around the world. Sorry, no NFL.

Football Rules

(Android; free)

This Android-only app does a nice job giving a succinct description of the rules of the game, including a section explaining the offside rule. One complaint: The ads are often intrusive. iPhone and iPad users looking to brush up on the rules can check out Football — Soccer Rules (iOS, free), although it has more of a focus on helping soccer referees do their jobs.

Cash and charge

Have an electric vehicle that needs a charge? Steer your car to Long Island’s tonier ZIP codes. Realtor.com mapped EV charging stations to ZIP codes in the United States and found the median home price in the ZIP codes with the most charging stations was $782,000. Realtor.com said “there’s definitely a link” between higher home prices and the number of electric vehicle charging stations.

— PETER KING

Smartphone shipments fall

Manufacturers are shipping fewer smartphones as users hold on to their devices longer. Canalys says North American smartphone shipments fell to 36.4 million units in the first quarter, down 18 percent from the same period last year — the largest year-over-year drop ever. Canalys said Apple shipments fell 19 percent in part because “its latest iPhones are just not different enough.”

— PETER KING

FedEx cuts ties with Amazon

FedEx said it wouldn’t renew its U.S. air-delivery contract with Amazon, paring a key customer relationship as the largest online retailer builds its own aircraft fleet and delivery capabilities. FedEx, noting that Amazon represented 1.3 percent of sales last year, said it would focus on customers such as Walmart, Target and Walgreens.