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New FanVision Bolt includes phone charger for your at-track experience

FV Bolt

FanVision Bolt, which will soon be available at NASCAR racetracks for fans to rent or buy.

Fans that enjoy FanVision handsets at NASCAR tracks are in for a significant upgrade.

In what it calls a soft launch, FanVision will be testing its newest product, the FanVision Bolt, this weekend at Daytona International Speedway.

It will primarily be available in suites and hospitality areas, but is expected to be available for rent at tracks around the country in the coming weeks.

“We’re starting off slow in that area,” FanVision CEO Andrew Daines told NBC Sports. “We’re going to roll out in the next couple of months our rental model at trackside, and then ultimately have people be able to buy it. But we’re starting with rental.”

The Bolt offers many of the same key components fans get when they rent a regular FanVision unit. Instead of having a dedicated unit to rent, you attach the Bolt to your mobile phone device.

The Bolt also serves as a charger for your phone – meaning you’ll never run short of power to keep your phone operating.

“We researched a lot of ideas and design stuff and came back with two things,” Daines said. “First is the full fan experience on their phone that works on a particular model and will never fail, as well as a huge battery to recharge their phone. It’s a very reliable fan experience on their phone.

“An interesting fact is that when you’re at big sports events, your phone battery drains even faster than usual because there’s so much searching that your phone is doing. People are always anxious about what kind of battery life they have left, especially at the track. We’re happy to be able help them solve that problem.”

In addition to the phone charger capability, the Bolt also includes live event broadcasts, streams up-to-the-second data, multiple camera views and angles, instant replays and highlights, real-time detailed stats and live digital audio.

The Bolt supports both IOS and Android devices.

“A rule of thumb is we wanted for people to start the race with 50 percent battery left, and you’d finish the race at 100 percent battery, even if you were using the FanVision Bolt the whole race,” Daines said. “That was our goal.

“We just want fans to have a great experience and we think that will help us reach more fans and have a lot of appeal for newcomers.”

Follow @JerryBonkowski