Major League Soccer released their new free iOS(iPad/iPhone) application earlier today in build up to the 2011 Major League Soccer season. I was able to sit down briefly with the app and here are some screenshots and initial impressions.

note: While the app is free to download, you will be able to watch live games within the app after making an in-app purchase. I obviously haven’t been able to test this functionality yet as the season has started just yet, but I will update this review after the opening game.

After firing up the app first time, you’re asked to choose your club:

I chose Red Bull New York, being my local club, supporter chants play for a few seconds, nice touch.

After choosing my club I get access to the club schedule, club news home page, roster information, game alerts and ticket purchase page.

Swipe to the right and you’ll have access to a league panel, including news, standings, stats and a tab to view the latest AT&T goal of the week. The highlight videos played back flawlessly in my tests.

Next up is the match day page, where you will be able to access information on each club’s rosters and stream the game live:

The app is also compatible with airplay, allowing you to play live streaming game video to other iOS devices, including the AppleTV, allowing you to watch games on your TV.

Conclusion: Overall I was impressed by the iPad app(will post an iphone review later). The highlight videos played back smoothly, the app was responsive, and the addition of game alerts was a nice touch.

The design of the club and league news pages could have been a bit more impressive, taking a cue from Flipboard would have been great.

Final rating: 4/5. The app loses a point as I can’t test the live game functionality just yet. I will update the review with a review of the live game experience and performance after the season kicks off.

iTunes download link: here