Earlier today Apple announced a new version of their iBooks app (version 2) which now allows you to use and display interactive content in the book, paving the way for text books to be fully interactive in the class. Coupled with this announcement was a new FREE Mac app called iBooks Author which now allows you to create these books & publish them for FREE !!

Imagine the possibilities !!??

Also included in the announcement was a new app specifically designed for iTunesU, the “University” section of iTunes which allows educational institutions to publish course in iTunes and make them available for download. The app now gives you a dedicated interface into that part of the store.

To get an idea of the goodness of these game changing apps, do the following:

• Download or update to the new version of iBooks. The update is more geared towards the iPad though.
• iPad Only – Download the FREE interactive text book called – Life on Earth. Here you will get an idea of what the new capabilites of the app are
• Download the FREE iBooks Author app from the Mac App store. Here you can design and publish your own Textbook. If you that way inclined :)

I can’t wait to see if South African schools will pick up on this.

Rural Areas – iPad  - 3G – Free Text Books – Interactive – Apple TV – Airplay —> BOOM ! :) *Just Imagine*
 

The site has done pretty well this year, with some fantastic exposure I received through various channels. So many new avenues have opened up, and I am really grateful for everything. This site, for me, is still purely a hobby, and even though there have been opportunities to take it full time, I prefer to keep it a hobby & a passion and try and keep people informed & entertained where I can.

The 5 most popular posts this year are pretty interesting, and again, shows me what I need to keep blogging about :

• Get a US iTunes Account - Probably my most searched term as well
• Invalid iTunes address – Apple changed the goal posts and I put up a little workaround
• iPhone 4 Prices in South Africa – a 2010 post which still makes the top of the list !
• iPhone 4S in South Africa – Shows how popular and wanted this phone really is
• How to update your iPhone or iPad firmware manually – A quick & easy tutorial for those annoying iTunes download timeouts

So, I decided to put together a quick roundup of the year (same as I did in 2010)

January
At the beginning of the year, I decided to set myself a couple of goals, called #Project2011 and with that I got sponsored a bike from the guys at Cannondale. The bike is amazing, and although I haven’t used it (properly) in a couple of months, I am hoping that in 2012 things are a’changing and I’ll be back in the Saddle. The actual project itself wasn’t a fail, and even though I slacked a bit over the last couple of months, I still managed to lose a couple of KG’s and feeling a lot better. So here’s to next year. 2012 -> Big Plans for my body !

The good guys at Apple also launched the Mac App Store, which has proven to be a great success ! Locally, we got to see the launch of the iPad 1 in South Africa on the 27th of Jan, which although not as successful as the iPad 2, it still made waves around the country.

February saw me do my first ever mini Triathlon, called the Mudman. A HUGE personal achievement for me. I also started doing Kettlebells with the team from Flux Motion, which I can honestly say, has changed my life. This is by far the MOST complete workout you can give your body, and showed the results throughout the year. If you haven’t tried it, you HAVE to. I also got to attend the U2 concert in Jozi, compliments of Highveld Stereo. AMAZING !

One of the lowlights of my year, was being asked to remove a post that I did on Smokoo from my blog. At the time, I didn’t have much of a choice, but to remove it. In hindsight, I could have left it up, but, well, all over now :)

In March myself and a friend started a little side business doing iPhone Repairs. FiXi is still booming, and we getting loads of requests to fix iPhones & iPad’s on a daily basis. 2012 holds some exciting opportunities for FiXi, so hold thumbs. I also got an amazing opportunity to learn how to trade some stocks on the stock exchange, thanks to the guys at Global Trader. Really great platform if you looking at learning all about that

April saw my site getting a little infected by the Pharma Hack, which saw my traffic plummet, but I managed to fix that. We also got to see the awesome iPad2 launch in South Africa. By far one of my favorite “gadgets” for the year.

May saw the introduction of the iPhoneography Showcase series on my site, which lead to amazing things later in the year. iPhoneography is growing at a rapid rate, and I am excited to see how it pans out in 2012. I also teamed up with the guys from Flux & Apple Tree Live for the next step in #Project2011, which saw some amazing results both physically & mentally !

June saw Apple announce a whole whack of exciting new things at WWDC this year, with the launch of iOS5, Lion OS X & iCloud, our lives have changed quite a bit with everything now in sync in the cloud. Going to be very interesting to see where this goes !

On a personal front, a HUGE change took place for me when I was offered the position of Mobile Product Manager at the Durban based company Private Property. For me, this was like a dream come true, and I could follow my passion of what I loved doing. And 6 months down the line, I can honestly say, I don’t regret 1 second of my decision. An amazing company. Seriously !!

And to top it all off, I also launched the first ever South African iPhoneography exhibition. More on that in Sept’s round up :)

July saw, THE most innovative South African company of 2011, FNB,  launch their iPhone/Android/Blackberry app. This app proved to be a pinnacle of app’s in South Africa, and has really gone from strength to strength.

August saw the launch of our new version of the Private Property iPhone app. A nice facelift from the previous version, and some really cool things to come in 2012. Stay Tuned !!

September saw the first ever South African iPhoneography exhibition, in partnership with Core, take place at the iStore in Sandton. This was probably my biggest personal achievement of 2011, and was an amazing success. I really hope to try and do another one in 2012, and given the amount of interest already shown, this is looking VERY likely.

On the South African tech front, we say Alan Knott Craig from World of Avatar buy out MXit. An interesting move, and I for one, will be watching how this pans out. Every single time I have sat down at a table with anyone who is in the social/mobile/web/tech space in South Africa, this topic has been brought up. Interesting indeed

I also managed to get my hands on what is probably my gadget of the year. The Olloclip. Really. If you have an iPhone, and take photos with it. Just get an Olloclip. An amazing accessory.

October saw the worldwide launch of the iPhone 4S, which recently hit our shores. We also saw FNB launching a campaign bringing high end smartphone & tablet devices, like the iPad 2 at discounted rates, as well as an opportunity to buy them over a 24 month period. This has changed the tablet landscape in South Africa, and we now seeing more & more of these devices around. Awesome

I also got to speak at my first ever public speaking gig. I was as nervous as all hell, but it was an amazing experience. I really really enjoyed it, and hopefully 2012 will see another 1 or 2 public speaking gigs. I also managed to attend to great conferences, Tech-Ed in Durbs & Tech4Africa in Joburg. Both really enlightening conferences, and I walked away with some insight into where we going in South African Tech

One of my most commented posts of the year was my Blackberry vs. iPhone post, where I summed up a couple of the misconceptions people have about these 2 devices, specifically in South Africa. Some great debate around this !

November saw me attending the Gary Player Invitational at Zimabli, compliments of Johnnie Walker. A fantastic weekend all around, and met some great people. I also launched the South African Mobile Apps Directory, which has shown some interesting insight into Mobile Apps in our country, and what is being developed where. I am constantly updating this list, so keep checking back.

All in all 2011 has been an amazing year for me. I am really happy with where I am going with this, and honestly can’t wait to share my 2012 experiences with you. I wish you a blessed festive season, and want to thank every single person that has taken the time to visit my site, and be a part of it. I really appreciate the support !

Catch you on the flipside :)

Getting a US iTunes account is fairly quick & simple, and you need to follow a couple of easy steps to sign up for one. I have posted this before, specifically on how to get apps from the US iTunes store, but you can also use the account for music as well.

You can download the step-by-step guide by simply tweeting about the guide, with a “pay-with-a-tweet” option

Or, you can simply download the file directly from -> http://iguy.me/u4XhE1

Once you have your account, you will need to top it up using vouchers. I have used a couple of providers in South Africa, and I can say, all of these below are great, and they all deliver the codes instantly

• iEverything – Instant EFT, Credit Cards, Moneybookers
• WildTwig – PayPal

If you have any issues signing up for the US iTunes account, you can leave a comment below, and I will try and help where I can.

So, if you did not know, if you have a Vodacom contact that is older than 13 months & you spend over an average of R800 a month, you qualify for what is known as a premature upgrade. And, because my contract is due for an upgrade in Feb, I managed to get one.

First impressions about the phone:

• The battery life seems to be a bit better. This could be, cause I started out as a new phone, and didn’t restore my old backup. This was also because I had a whole whack of apps on my old phone, which I didn’t use, so it was good to start fresh again.
• The phone is definitely faster. I see it in most of the apps, and you can see it in the actual usage of the phone. Much better.
• Siri is cool. I like it. It struggles a bit with the South African accent, but the cool thing with Siri is that it keeps learning your voice. So the more you use it, the better it gets.
• Wireless Mirroring Airplay with the Apple TV is actually pretty cool. I managed to play Real Racing 2 on the TV, and works like a charm. I have been using this on the iPad 2 for a while, and they both work awesome. Another reason to get an Apple TV.
• Generally it seems a bit better than the iPhone 4. If you in the market for an upgrade get it. If you have an iPhone 4, leave it, until you can get one :)

A HUGE thanks to the guys at the Vodashop at Bridge City in Durbs. I have been using these guys for a while now, and seriously, they offer THE best service. Julias and his team are top notch !!!

So, did you get an iPhone 4S ? What you think ? I’m pretty stoked, even after not expecting it.

My good friend from iPhoneZA.co.za put together a neat little web app called IconSettings which allows you to create icons and add them to your home screen and access specific portions.

After being inspired and loving what he had done, I started playing around with HTML5 and some javascript stuff (non dev dude here), and came up with a nifty little tool (I think so anyways) called Qprefs.info

Basically you can access all of these hidden links on 1 page. So for example, you can turn wifi on or off using this page, or even get access to the brightness screen. Turn Location services On/Off, check for software updates. Loads more, there are around 35 different functions on the screen.

To access this, you need to visit http://Qprefs.info on your iPhone/iPad/iPad touch. Or simply just snap the QR Code below, and you will be redirected to the page.

Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below :)

The response to the campaign has been phenomenal and I know of at LEAST 4 people on a personal  level who have changed banks, just because of FNB’s innovation. Everyone I have spoken to about the promotion wants one, and I know that at least 75% of my friends who are FNB customers have applied for one. I got mine last week ;)

Earlier today I asked Michael Jordaan on Twitter how many iPads & Smartphones they have “sold” during the promotion, and got a really interesting, mindblowing response.

2/minute RT @MarcForrest @MichaelJordaan can FNB say how many iPads & smartphones they have “sold” over the last few weeks ?

November 9, 2011 17:53 via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@MichaelJordaan

Michael Jordaan

2 units A MINUTE !!! Holy Moly !

So I did some very broad calculations

About 20 days since the promotion started. If we take 7 hours a day of “sales”, which works out to 420 minutes a day, and 840 iPads a day, you looking at around 16,800 iPads/Smartphones in less than a month. I would take a very random guess and say around 75% of these are iPads (cause that is what everyone is talking about) and you looking at around 12,500 iPads. That is a LOT !

*Disclaimer. These figures are VERY thumbsucked, and are really just a guestimate. Personally, I think it’s more. 

So, again. Well done to FNB on the innovation. I really really can’t wait to see what’s next :)

Even though iOS5 has some cool new features and  changed the way we work on the iPhone, it hasn’t been without it’s flaws. Following a couple of posts around the web, you can see that there are still a few nigglies with the software.

So I thought I would put a quick list together on what some of the issues are, and if there is a work around how to get past them.

1) Maps not working in South Africa

There seems to be a rather bizarre issue by when you drop a pin on a specific point, it doesn’t geo-code it properly to the street, but only shows the province & maybe, sometimes the town level. This doesn’t help if you are trying to find out what the address is of a specific place. But, it is not THE end of the world. You can still search for addresses and navigate to and from them.

2) iMessage not syncing problems

I picked this up from a friends blog post, although I haven’t experienced it myself just yet. There seems to be an issue with having iMessage on mulitple devices, and the messages not appearing across the 2. There is a way around this, I think, so I would highly suggest taking a look at Mike Robert’s post about iMessage Syncing Problems

3) Location Reminders draining the battery

If you have tried out the cool new feature called location reminders, you will see that once you have set the reminder, it constantly uses your location services on your phone, and eventually starts draining your battery. The simple workaround for this, is to either to turn location services off for the Reminders app, or simply just delete the said reminder.

4) Location Sharing doesn’t work via iMessage

You can share you location on your iPhone using the Maps application and dropping a pin on your current location, and then, sharing that specific location. From there you have an option to Email, Message or Tweet. The problem here comes in, if you try and use the message function, it puts it into a new message using the Message Appiction (iMessage or SMS), but then sends a blank message using the SMS fucntionality, instead of the iMessage system if you are sending it to an iMessage user

5) Can’t delete or move the Newsstand app into a folder.

This is a rather annoying one, and even though it is standard practice not to be able to delete the standard Apple apps, you can’t even move the Newsstand app into it’s own seperate folder. At the moment the app is pretty useless to us, unless there are some really cool magazines which you want to subscribe to, but for now, I want to be able to move it into that “Folder which does not get openend”. Annoying, and I hope Apple fix that in the next release

There are some more small nigglies that people have found. Have you found any issues ? Leave a comment below, and let the others know :)

So, today is iOS5 day. I have been using iOS5 for a couple of weeks now, and I can promise that this update is probably the best I have seen of all the updates. There are loads of new features included in this release, and definitely make life a lot easier.

So, here are a couple of cool tips & tricks I have found over the last few weeks on how to make the best of iOS5. Some of them are a bit different and not your standard stuff. If you want a complete list of over 200 new features & changes, I highly suggest checking out this post on Techzoom.org – iOS 5: Complete List Of 200+ New Features or 15 iOS 5 tips from Cnet.

1. Keyboard shortcuts

Hidden deep in the new OS is a nifty feature called Keyboard Shortcuts, which will help you save time when typing the same message over & over. So like an email signature, or  twitter hashtag. As an example, I have setup “omw”, which expands to “On My Way!”. This pops up in the same way as an auto complete.

To turn this feature on: Settings -> General -> Keyboard -> Keyboard -> Add New Shortcut. Very cool :)

2. iMessage

iMessage is an awesome new addition which allows instant messaging between iDevices. This also means iPod Touches, iPads & iPhones. For the iPad & iPod Touch you can set an email address (your Apple Account) as your contact address, while the iPhone works with Telephone number & email.

To make sure iMessage is turned on, go to Settings -> Messages -> iMessage -> On. To add an email address or phone number scroll down on that page, you can also add additional email addresses under the “Receive At” menu

3. WiFi Sync

Another cool feature is WiFi sync, which allows you to sync your phone over your WiFi network, ensuring you don’t need to plug it in every time. I can promise you this is a HUGE time saver, and syncing your phone becomes so simple. Apparently the phone also automatically syncs when it is plugged into a power source, although I haven’t used this yet. Another feature is you can now use your iDevice in the background while it is busy syncing. No more waiting hours to finish a sync.

To set up WiFi Sync, you need to ensure you have ticked the “Sync This iPhone over WiFi” check box in iTunes. You can do this after updating to iOS5 and your phone is still plugged in with a cable.

To do a manual WiFi Sync from the phone you need to do the following: Settings -> General -> iTunes WiFi Sync -> Sync Now. It will also show you the computer name you are trying to sync to.

4. Custom Vibrations

Ok, might seem like a bit of a silly one, but cause I have a bit of a hearing problem in 1 ear, this has def helped me quite a bit. You can also assign a specific vibration pattern to a specific contact. So if my wife phones me, it vibrates differently to other contacts. Soon you can pick up the differences :)

To set Custom Vibrations on you need to do the following

Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> And turn Custom Vibrations -> On (Another really cool tip here is to turn LED Flash for Alerts on, so your Camera LED flashes every time you get a call, message, or alert. Aka BB)

Once you have turned your Custom Vibrations on, you need to go to:  Settings -> Sounds -> Scroll right to the bottom to Vibration Patterns. Click the Vibration button and You will see a list of predefined vibration alerts. You can create your own vibration pattern by tapping “Create new Vibration” And tap your new vibration sequence out. Loads of fun :)

To assign a Custom Vibration to a contact, go into contacts and edit, and then set the Vibration alert (about halfway down the page)

5. Notifications

Probably one of the best features in iOS5 is the new notification centre, which allows you to see any notifications you have received.

When you receive a notification for any app, missed call or voice mail, you can simply swipe from left to right on the home screen and it will take you directly into that app.

If you need to see all your previous notifications, on any screen in the phone, you simple drag the top bar (where the time is) down. This will bring up all your notifications from all your apps. And you can clear these by clicking on the x above each app. Tapping on a notification will open that app

You can also select which apps display on this screen by setting individual alerts under Settings -> Notifications -> And tapping on each app. You can then select a banner alert (top of screen) or Alerts  (old style alerts) You can also set how many alerts per app you want to see, or turn the alerts off completely.

And that is my top 5 tips & tricks. Of course there are LOADS more. Any cool ones you have picked up on ? Leave a comment below.

I dunno, maybe it is just me. But given the last 2 days’ issues with the Blackberry BIS service, things really aren’t looking bright for BB users around the country. I asked a couple of questions earlier on Twitter about BB vs iPhone and got some pretty heated responses, so I thought the right thing to do was do a blog post with some of my (personal) thoughts :)

I have been called an “Apple Fanbooi” plenty times given my somewhat affinity to Apple products. 100%. I’ll take the knock.But surely there is some logic. I am really not going to get into the technicalities about Apps, constant OS updates, superior hardware (show me an 8MP camera on a BB).

I thought I would take a quick look at some of the”misunderstandings” that exist between iPhone & Blackberry, and hopefully try and clear up some of the air.

1. BBM

The biggest drawcard for Blackberry IS BBM. There is no doubt about it. I have previously worked out though that you need to send close on 500,000 BBM’s to ensure you cover your R69 a month BIS fee. (That obv excludes browsing etc)

iOS5 is being released this Wednesday. Included in iOS5 is an awesome new feature called iMessage. Essentially a BBM “replacement”. I use the word replacement very loosely, cause you need to have either the other users email address or cellphone number stored in your contacts to send a message. With BBM, you just need to have a pin, and then anyone can add you (Security) . Also, remember you will also now be able to communicate through iMessage to iPad users as iMessage comes standard in iOS across all devices.

2. iPhone uses way more data than BB

Probably. But given that the most data used on an iPhone is used to download apps, then that makes sense. The majority of browsing and now iMessage is generally compressed data, which means you don’t end up using all your data. Last month Vodacom increased the data bundle included on the iPhone packages to 500MB from 250MB. For free. I can promise you now. 500Mb is a lot. I hardly reach that in a month, but I do have wireless at home and work, which is what the iPhone takes preference of. Still. 500MB is a crap load. And if you follow me on twitter, I mentioned yesterday that a little birdie told me that unlimited smartphone data bundles are just around the corner. Watch this space :)

3. iPhone contracts are more expensive

I think this is where people are mostly uninformed. My iPhone contract with Vodacom, the iPhone 120s, gives me 120 free minutes, 500MB of data, and 100 free sms’s. This costs me R450 a month. Most months I hardly ever go over that. Maybe the minutes, but more often not. That’s with the phone. Actually, I think I may pay another R20 on top of that and I got my 16GB iPhone4 for free.

The equivalent Blackberry package which I could find on the Vodacom site is a Blackberry BIS 100 package, which goes for R349 a month (yes, R100 a less) which includes 100 free minutes, “unlimited” BIS internet. No free SMS’s. Which actually scrap. Who the heck SMS’s anymore? We have iMessage & BBM. That’s just the package. If you looking at the new Blackberry Bold 9900, you looking at R429 a month on the BIS 100 package.

29 rands. That’s the difference in price.

In all said and done, BB has a HUGE pre-paid market. Which, honestly, I can’t see iPhone competing with. But let’s say, RIM (The company that owns & runs Blackberry) does fold, which is looking more and more likely every day, there is no alternative to the pre-paid market.

4. Apps

I know I said I wouldn’t touch on this, but my friend Ewan, just replied to a tweet on Twitter about this.

Apps. We all know Apple’s ecosystem revolves around apps. They have revolutionised the smartphone market (around the world) by allowing people to add value to their phones by downloading and installing apps. One thing Apple has got right, is that apps are moderated before they are added to the app store. Yes, some of them are crap, and some of them do crash, but 99% of the time, out of all the over 500 apps I have downloaded (eish !!) the majority have been workable. If they don’t or they are crap, they get deleted and never seen again. Also, you develop 1 app for 1 OS. No screen sizes, hardware.

Blackberry also has an app world, but there is no moderation on the apps. Anyone can upload apps, and more often than not, the apps are terrible. Again, this I can’t vouch for as I have limited BB use, but from what I have experienced & people have told me, that the apps crash more often than not. Or you get complete rubbish apps. From a development perspective, you need to develop your app across 3 operating systems and multiple screen sizes. Same goes for Android.

But that said, and is something I am experiencing at the moment. Do Blackberry users actually download & use apps from BB app world, APART from Facebook or twitter ? Any other apps you use ?

Taking my fanbooi cape off here, There is no doubt that Apple’s app store far superseeds that of Blackberry & Android. Just look at the number of apps as an example.

————————————————————

I got asked about Android. Yip. Cool OS. Shit phones. Except for the Galaxy S2, which I would take in a heartbeat. There is still no free instant messaging platform there (Google talk doesn’t count). Also there are no Android specific packages (that I know of) which means you pay for your data.

So again, I know I probably sound like the Apple fanbooi. But like I say, that’s fine. I totally take it. But really, if you are looking at upgrading your phone/contract do the maths before claiming the free internet & BBM for R69 a month. You may be pleasantly surprised.

I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on this in the comments below, or if maybe I am missing the whole point. I dunno, maybe it is just me ?

After expecting to see this app to make an appearance sometime on the app store, I was quite excited to see it earlier today. The Official 5FM iPhone app (FREE) is now available on the iTunes app store. Nice !

The app offers a whole bunch of features, least of all, streaming, which is very cool. I have posted before about how to stream 5FM on the iPhone, but this now make it so much easier.

Some of the features include:

• Play the 5FM radio station live and in the background on multitasking capable devices
• View live track-list information which displays previously played songs, the current song as well as the next song to be played (when available)
• News feed with up-to-date information on the latest 5FM news
• Twitter feed displaying the latest tweets from 5FM
• Audio visualizer
• Live webcam views of the two 5FM recording studios
• Backgrounding support