IBM has developed a smartphone application running on Seer Android, which would keep tennis fans abreast of the action at Wimbledon. The application runs on Google’s Android operating system. It superimposes real-time statistics and updates from social networking site Twitter. It also updates comments from players onto a video feed from the camera of the handset.

Alan Flack, IBM’s client executive for the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), said that it is about visualising data in a different way. He said that through new technologies, one could bring information to life by making it useful and engaging. Rob McCowen, Marketing Director of AELTC, said that the application could change the way people follow sporting events.

He said that smart applications such as these are designed keeping tennis fans in mind and would add a whole new dimension to the sporting event. The service is on a trial on T-Mobile’s G1 mobile phone at the tournament.

Pointing a G1 handset at a court would give information on court number, Twitter comments from players, and details of present and previous games. IBM has been IT partner of Wimbledon since 1990. It has also developed a Twitter aggregator that combines Wimbledon content into one channel.