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 :)

Well the video, which is the core of the campaign, went HUGE massive over the weekend, with even Time Magazine picking up on it. The video has already had close on a total of 600,000 combined views, and featured on a whole lot of news sites.
If you haven’t seen the video yet, check it out here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1EX–vdxh4)

The video has also received great press from a couple of international publications:

It all forms part of the latest Nando’s festive campaign, called Meal for 6,  where they asking, who would invite for your Meal for 6 ? From today till the 2nd of December, you can win daily prizes as well as a fully catered meal for you and 5 friends, with a personal chef.

All you need to do is tweet the names of 5 people, living or dead, who you would want to have dinner with and include the hashtag #Mealfor6. These people don’t have to be on twitter, you can include anyone, just remember to include the hashtag.

Also check out the video for the campaign which will be aired on TV over the next couple of weeks on the official website -> www.mealfor6.co.za. Brilliant !!

I got to Zimbali on Saturday around lunchtime and quickly checked into the awesome Fairmont Zimbali Resort. Seriously, if you ever get an opportunity to stay in this hotel, grab it. The place is another world. The staff are super friendly and helpful, and the rooms are HUGE. I stayed in one of the Villa apartments, which is probably bigger than my house. Each room also gets their own Golf Cart to run around in.

So, after a quick check-in, I headed up to the country club to get sorted and start watching some golf. Headed down to the 9th green and managed to watch a couple of guys come through. There were loads of celebrities & pro golf players in the field, so was quite cool to see some faces you only get to see in the papers & on TV.

At round 3ish, the first group with Gary Player finished their round on the 18th. We then headed down to the putting practice green, where Gary Player gave us some putting tips. Keep your head down, and keep your head still. Easy. Not quite. A few of us from the “media” (bout 6) were then allowed to have a quick one on one session with the man himself, with some personal coaching.

To say this was daunting was a bit of an understatement. Here, this legend, has been a Pro Golfer for over 60 years ! Sixty.Years. Wow !
So I stepped up for my 3 practice putts, and needless to say, I sucked. Hahaha. All 3 of my shots were too hard, and the coach wasn’t happy.  But all in good fun. We then proceeded to a putting competition, and the winner, who was closest to the hole would win a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. My shot was to hard again, and I overran the target. Eventually Ben from FollowTheBounce won the bottle (read his recount of the weekend here), and got it signed my Gary Player himself. That’s probably gonna be worth a bit in a few years time. Awesome prize.

We then headed back to our rooms to get sorted for the evening’s event, more commonly known as “The Saturday Night Party”.Very Apt. After a couple of speeches and some great dinner, the entertainment for the evening was Johnny Clegg, who is beyond amazing. That guy is a legend in his own right. And he really got the crowd going. Then after that a few(few) Johnnie Walker Black Labels were consumed with a lot of dancing with Gareth Cliff on the decks. All in all a VERY VERY cool evening, and a lot of sorry looking faces at breakfast the next morning.

We headed down to the 9th green again to see the golfers come through. We were quite lucky to see the whole field come through, and saw a couple of great putts. One day, I will be able to putt like that.

So, all in all, an awesome & inspirational weekend ! Some great golf, lots of really cool people, and really well organised event. A huge HUGE thanks to the team from Johnnie Walker for the invite. Def THE highlight of my year so far.

Some of the lineup for the big event include Gary Player, Ian Woosnam, Tony Johnstone, Sally Little, Roger Wessels and European tour winner George Coetzee, while some of the celebrities who will be lining up are sporting legends Pierre Spies, Lucas Radebe, Kapil Dev, Paul Collingwood, Shaun Pollock, rugby referee Craig Joubert and popular 5FM Breakfast Show host, Thomas Msengana. I’m gonna be heading down on Saturday to see some of these guys (and lady) in action. I am also really excited to have been invited to an exclusive putting session with Gary Player on Saturday afternoon, so will def be taking some pics and reporting back on that over the weekend. You can also follow me on Twitter, and I’ll be posting pics during the course of the day.

I had a bit of extra time on my hands last night, so I did some reading up on the Johnnie Walker brand and how it was started. The story itself is really interesting and, actually, pretty inspiring. The story goes that early in 1805 a grocer, John Walker saw a gap in the market for a whisky brand, which starting to gain popularity as a drink at the time, and decided to start blending his own. From there the blend become popular and people started asking for it by name, which was then named Johnnie Walker. The business & brand was passed on through generations, and only in 1908 did the striding man logo, that we all know so well today, come to life. Actually if you read the whole story (Also read the Wikipedia story) you will see how inspirational the story was, and how the brand has become so popular over the years. The association with the Gary Player invitational is pretty cool in the sense, if you look at what Gary Player has achieved, both as a golfer, and as a person, you will see the similarities between the brand and the legend.

I once read a quote by Gary Player – “The harder you practise, the luckier you get“, which is actually so true with anything in life, and actually pretty comparable to the Johnnie Walker motto ‘Keep Walking’ which essentially helps men and woman focus on their own progress and inspires them to move forward in life.

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 ?

The guys & girls from Metropolitan Republic & MTN gave me a shout yesterday and asked me if I wanted to see what goes on behind the scences of the filming of their new TV ad campaign called “Let Your Ayoba Shine”

After it had been called off the previous week to due to bad weather, I popped over during my lunch time yesterday to the Wavehouse at Gateway to see what was happening. I had to do a quick take cause I thought I had walked into a Bikini model photo shoot, with Bikini models all over the place.

I was really surprised how much actually goes into filming a full on TV ad that only lasts 30 seconds on TV. They spent pretty much the whole day filming various scenes and while I was there, they filmed one particular one about 50 times. I guess you have to find the best take. But also all the lights, stands, props, stage hands etc etc. Loads of people go into making the ad. Really impressive.

The idea behind the ad, which starts airing on TV around the 17th, is all about surfing the net, and loads of Facebook, Twitter props and even a guy in a plastic Tube, with a YouTube  logo on the side. Geddit. You-Tube. Ha !

MTN have recently (1st Oct) launched their uncapped data bundles which allow you full uncapped HSPA+ (up to 22Mb/s) service for only R289 a month. I am seriously thinking of replacing my ADSL at home with this offer. It is an awesome deal !
And, until the end of Jan they are not implementing the Fair usage policy, so it truly is unlimited. After 1 Feb there is a Fair Usage Policy, which means after you have used 3gigs, you don’t get capped, but your speed gets reduced. Win !

Overall the ad shoot went pretty well, and I’m keen to see what it looks like when it hits the screen. I may even have sneak peak a few days before, which I will post up here :)

Big thanks again to the guys at MTN & Metropolitan Republic for the invite. Loved watching the ins & outs of making an ad :) Here are some of the pics I took which give an idea of what goes on behind the scenes.

Next week Wednesday (12th October) the MMA (Mobile Marketing association) will be hosting it’s first event in Durban as the Docklands Hotel. And….

I will be doing a talk, for Private Property, on “Mobile Lessons Learned and Growth Comparisons”. This is the first time I am doing something like this, and I am, well let’s say, rather…NERVOUS. But, I’m sure it will all be ok :) I can do it….

So, if you have any inkling in anything Mobile, or even want to know about where Mobile is going in South Africa, (and of course based in Durbs) I highly recommend registering for the event - http://marketingmix.co.za/pebble.asp?relid=24298

Looking forward to seeing you there…

These words below, from a talk at Standford university in 2005, bear memory of how we should live our lives:

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
- Steve Jobs 

Thank you, and may you Rest in Peace.

]]> http://www.marcforrest.com/2011/10/06/rip-steve-jobs/feed/ 2 http://www.marcforrest.com/2011/10/04/this-time-smokoo-really-is-a-scam/ http://www.marcforrest.com/2011/10/04/this-time-smokoo-really-is-a-scam/#comments Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:45:32 +0000 Marc http://www.marcforrest.com/?p=3283  

The last time I posted that Smokoo was a scam, I got asked to take the post down. Thanks to a couple of things going on in my life at the time, I didn’t have much of a choice, but to take it down.
But now, I am really confident in saying, they have pulled off such a stupid scam, they really are the laugh of the town.

A while back Smokoo decided to auction off an iPhone5- http://www.za.smokoo.com/auctions/smokoo_iphone5

Yip, you read that. iPhone5. Which didn’t even exist then, and still doesn’t exist now. This evening, Apple announced the launch of the iPhone4s, while Smokoo hapily boasted about an iPhone5 they auctioned off. The winner ended up paying R2.97, foe what is effectively now a cardboard box. Ouch !

If you take a look at the auction page, they go on to give specs which they “think” would be in the iPhone5.

Breaking news – Apple iPhone launch – now it’s official: Invitations have been sent out for the event on October 4, saying, ‘Let’s talk iPhone’. Apple staff have been banned from holidays in the first two weeks of October in America, and tech insiders expect the iPhone 5 from the launch to appear in stores shortly after – on October 14

It doesn’t get more exciting than this!

The iPhone 5 is set to become the best-selling iPhone of them all. Be the first to own one by securing this auction. Place the final bid and the iPhone 5 is yours.

Model: iPhone 5 32GB

Some of the most-wanted features on the iPhone 5 include: Enhanced voice control, Micro-HDMI out, Removable battery, Expandable memory, Biometric security, NFC-enabled, Better home-screen and notifications system, Enhanced cloud-computing support, FaceTime over cellular network, Flash support, Larger screen, Better camera, Dual-core processor, Upgraded 3D graphics and Fewer dropped calls.

Smokoo has garnered a reputation for being the first site to sell the iPad, iPad 2 and the iPhone 4. Our customers save an average of 96% on these items and other high-end items like cars and bikes.

Notes:
iPhone 5 will be shipped after official release by Apple
Product pictures are for illustrative purposes only
Shipping cost includes insurance

 

What the…Seriously. Removable Battery, Micro-HDMI out, Biometric Security. SERIOUSLY. My eyes are bleeding !!! Somebody help me. The only thing they did seem to get right was the release date. Well done Smokoo !

Honestly, I can’t believe that these guys are still going. It utterly pisses me off when companies try and push stuff like this, KNOWING that people will fall for it. It is utter BULLSHIT.
I honestly hope Smokoo gets taken to task for this Smokoo Scam. It is totally unacceptable !!

[Updated] Just seen on their FB page, they also offering you a “chance” to go to New York to “…get your iPhone5 with the Smokoo Team”. Really ? Really !!