MarcForrest.com

Month: July 2010

  • South Africa’s first iPad app – News24

    The team from News24, have just published their latest offering to the already impressive lineup of iPhone apps. The News24 iPad app (iTunes link) is South Africa’s very first iPad developed app. Oops, looks like I was wrong here. The first iPad app in South Africa was the Mix Mobile app from the guys and girls at Mix Telematics

    The app encompasses much of the News24 site, with a couple of extra’s thrown in. There is a section for Top stories, as well as the ability to view news in the various categories. The iPad app is also designed to work with the portrait and landscape options offered by the iPad. Also included is a section for the News24, “News in Pictures” section which takes advantage of the large screen

    Jannie Momberg, the editor of News24, had this to say about the new app:

    As South Africa’s largest digital news brand it is important for us to make our content available on all platforms. Apart from our website and interactive DSTV channel, News24 already has a number of applications for the various mobile platforms. These include apps for the iPhone, Blackberry, Android and Java phones.

    The iPad is an important part of the Apple “eco-system” it’s launch has possibly created another publishing platform – the mobile tablet device.

    On the usability side we’ve concentrated on developing an app that tries to take advantage of the iPad attributes. Other functionality elements like share options and comments will be included in the near future.


    First impressions of the app are pretty slick, and I’m looking forward to seeing a couple more ports of the other Media24 apps to the iPad in the near future


  • Vodacom Microsim

    With the advent of the iPad 3G and Apple iPhone 4, I have had a number of people contact me to ask me about the micro sim which is needed to work with these devices.
    The micro sim is about 52% smaller than your normal simcard, and is starting to be used as the industry standard worldwide for new devices.

    Image courtesy of Vtime.co.za

    Because neither of the above 2 devices are currently available in South Africa, there hasn’t been much of a demand for them yet, apart from the early adopters.Vodacom have however shipped in a couple thousand micro sims which are available from most Vodacom outlets. The cost of the micro sim is round about R100 bucks, and there may be a sim swap charge of R62 if you go with that option. You can also use the sim as a Twin Call sim, which means you can have 2 sims on 1 contract.

    Remember the Micro Sim will only work in deices that support it.Trying to use it in devices that don’t will damage the sim and the device. Also cutting a normal sim to the size of a micro sim, can be both costly and completely ruin your simcard

  • Spud the movie trailer

    I recentley finished reading the Spud series of books, which I have to say are 3 of the best books I have read in a long long time. If you haven’t heard about Spud, it is a diary style series of books, written by a teenage boy as he enters high school at Michaelhouse in KZN.

    Spud writes about everything from his crazy mates, and crazy girls, as well as the ups and downs of teenage years. The author, John van de Ruit adds in loads of humour which kept me reading for hours.There are 3 books in the series. The first is simply called Spud. The 2nd is called “Spud, the madness continues“, while the 3rd is called “Spud, Learning to Fly”

    And now, in November a “Spud, the movie” staring John Cleese & Tanit Phoenix amongst others, will be shown at cinemas across South Africa. I came across the trailer this morning, and I can’t wait to see the movie when it is released. It is sure to be a cracker. Here is the youtube video:

  • Introducting SA Lotto iPhone App

    Well, today is a pretty exciting day, because I can finally let the cat out of the bag, and reveal, a project I have been working on for the last couple of months. Introducing the SA Lotto App iPhone app (iTunes Link).

    Over the last couple of months I have been working with a chap down in Cape Town called Juliaan Evenwel on this app, and today it was (finally) approved by Apple. Juliaan did most of the iPhone groundwork, and designed the app, while I gave input on the functionality and design aspect of the app. Big Big thanks go to Juliaan on the work he has put into this app. He has spent hours and hours on this project. Respect :)

    The app will show all the latest results from the South African lottery, as well a couple of cool features such as a random Quick Pick generator. Another funky feature is the ability to choose your own numbers which the app will then match up to the drawn ones, and show you if you have won.

    This is the app store description we have set:

    SA Lotto App offers you the most comprehensive iPhone South African Lotto App

    Features of the app include:
    * Simple and intuitive user interface
    * Instant results from Lotto, Lotto Plus & Powerball draws as soon as they are made available.
    * Full prize division payouts for Lotto, Lotto Plus & Powerball.
    * Full draw information including machine used as well as draw number etc.
    * Quick pick numbers with hot & cold indicators as well as number appearances.
    * Pick your own numbers to match up to winning numbers to see if you have won.

    * This App Requires a working internet connection (WiFi or 3G) to download the latest results and statistics.

    To see more info about SA Lotto App, head on over http://www.salottoapp.com or download it from the app store at – http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sa-lotto/id378928613?mt=8

    I would love to hear feedback and comments on the app and if you have any suggestions on how we can change the app, we would really appreciate it. This is just the start of a couple of what is destined to become a really great South African iPhone app.

  • Zoopy iPhone app

    The guys from Zoopy, South Africa’s number 1 video sharing site, have released the official Zoopy iPhone app, which allows you to view and share video’s on the go.

    I downloaded the app earlier today, and so far am pretty impressed. The interface is pretty slick, and pretty fast as well. The app has a featured sections, which shows the best video’s on Zoopy site, as well as ability to search and a Zoopy TV section.

    The main feature of the app is that you can upload your own videos you have captured, which will be a treat with the new iPhone 4 HD video recording. I haven’t tried uploading a video yet, but it looks pretty simple. One thing the app is missing though is background uploading in the iOS4 software. That would be a great feature to have, given the size of video clips. Hope to see that in the next update

    Here is the app store description:

    Zoopy is an online and mobile social media community, where you can upload, share and discover videos, photos and audio – all in one place. It’s also home to Zoopy TV, with online video shows created especially for the web and mobile, ranging from news, events and movie reviews to games, fashion and public opinion.

    You can download the app, which is free from the app store here -> http://itunes.apple.com/se/app/zoopy/id376162601?mt=8