I'm sure there are plenty of cycling enthusiasts out there who think that $15 is a small price to pay to view the Tour de France from their mobile device. I don't happen to be among them, so I'll take NBC's claim that its new app can stream "every stage LIVE on your Android handheld or tablet device" for granted. The app is available now in the Play Store for all Android devices running Gingerbread or higher, though it's almost certainly limited to users in the United States.

In addition to live video and always-on replays, the app will let your track teams and cyclists in real time via the map view, read general news with video updates, check out rider profiles, and see results and standings. Though the non-streaming interface is pretty dull from a visual perspective, it's got a ton of information to deliver, and I get the impression that this is exactly what cycling fans want.

The price is steep, but not onerous for an event with the cachet of the Tour. What's mildly annoying is the fact that NBC is selling separate access points for the web version of its Tour de France coverage ($29.95 for the whole thing, or $4.99 a day) and mobile platforms. There's no discount for buying both, and if you happen to have an iPhone or iPad that you also want to use, that'll be another $15. A centralized login system would have been easier for multi-platform users, to say nothing of a possible reduced cost.