Author: Marc

  • Custom Ringtones on the iPhone – For FREE !

    We all know that a rather big downfall of the iPhone is the very limited selection of ringtones they offer as standard options. iTunes does offer ringtones for purchase, but at $0.99 a pop, I’m a bit hesitant.

    I came across this fantastic site a while ago, and used it again today. The site, Audiko.net, allows you to upload a song of your choice, edit it, then download it as a custom iPhone ringtone. They also have millions of ringtones that are already on the site, which you can download and then drag into iTunes, and sync to your phone.All of this for FREE !! Cool hey ?

    Here is a quick quick tutorial on how to get your own ringtone onto your iPhone.

    1. Visit Audiko.net. You can either upload a song, trim it to your specs, or download it from the site. For this example, I am going to download a song from the site. Click on “Download Ringtone for iPhone“, and save it to your desktop. The file will be saved in a .m4r format.

    ring1

    2. Drag the downloaded file into iTunes -> Ringtones. You should now see the downloaded file in iTunes under Ringtones. If you don’t see it here, try and add  it by clicking on Ringtones -> File -> Add file to Library in iTunes

    ring2

    3. Make sure that Sync Ringtones is ticked on the Ringtones tab on your iPhone in iTunes. Sync your phone, and you should now see your downloaded ringtone on your iPhone.

    ring3

    ring4

    4. To select the ringtone on your iPhone go to Settings -> Sounds -> Ringtone -> and you now should see your ringtone at the top of the screen under custom. Select it, and you now have your favorite song as your ringtone.

    photo

    Easy hey. Shout in the comments if you get stuck. Happy listening :)

  • Navigon Mobile iPhone app

    Here is the official press release of the Navigon iPhone app. Stay tuned for a review (and maybe, maybe a little surprise ;)) coming soon…

    NAVIGON Launches First Professional GPS Navigation for iPhone in South Africa – App From Europe’s Fastest Growing GPS Company Now Available

    NAVIGON AG, Europe’s fastest growing GPS brand, today announced the availability of a South African version of its on-board navigation software in the iPhone App Store. The MobileNavigator transforms the iPhone into a complete navigation device with turn-by-turn voice directions and unique features such as adjustable audio-visual speed warnings, branded point of interest icons along the route, direct navigation to contacts saved in the address book, full integration of the iPod control and much more.

    JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 28 September 2009 — NAVIGON is a world-leading manufacturer of navigation solutions and the first top-tier provider to launch an iPhone navigation app for South Africa. The Germany-based company is a navigation expert across all platforms standing for high-quality GPS navigation on pocket PCs, PNDs and mobile phones. NAVIGON’s iPhone solution has already been extremely successful in Europe, North America and Australia. It quickly reached top positions in the local App Stores. The software features a very easy to use interface that is seamlessly integrated into the overall iPhone experience. It is packed with NAVIGON’s hallmark navigation features such as Speed Assistant providing audio warnings when exceeding speed limits to an adjustable degree, a handy Take Me Home button and sophisticated and elegant map views including branded POIs along the route. Taking advantage of the iPhone’s own functionalities, the app even allows navigating to contacts saved on the phone’s address book, to directly call the number of a point of interest such as a hotel or restaurant, share a location or destination with friends via email or listen to music from the iPod while navigating.

    The MobileNavigator transforms any iPhone 3G, equipped with at least Apple OS 3.0 operating system, or iPhone 3G S into a complete navigation device. After downloading the GPS application, the software and map data is saved directly on the device. This means that users don’t have to pay subscription fees or wait for map downloads during the navigation.

    “By making the MobileNavigator for the iPhone available for users in South Africa, we are taking another step towards the future market of GPS navigation on mobile phones,” said Gerhard Mayr, Vice President World-Wide Mobile Phone & New Markets of NAVIGON AG. “The combination of NAVIGON’s signature navigation features with typical functions from the iPhone creates an integrated and unique experience.”

    The NAVIGON solution sells for $99.99 and is equipped with maps of South Africa from NAVTEQ. It will be available for a promotional price of $74.99 until October 15.

    Key features of the NAVIGON MobileNavigator for the iPhone:

    • Speed Assistant with adjustable audio-visual warning.
    • Direct Access allows navigation to contacts saved in the iPhone’s address book.
    • Location Sharing. This feature makes it easier to meet-up with friends and acquaintances. Users can share their own location, an address or a point of interest such as a restaurant or museum with other people via email.
    • Route Planning. NAVIGON’s route planning function enables users to plan a route with different destinations ahead of a trip.
    • Call POI’s. The call POI function allows to directly call the number of a POI such as a restaurant or hotel by simply clicking on the number.
    • Seamless integration of the iPod control. Users can access the iPod functions while navigating. During voice announcements, the volume of the music smoothly fades out.
    • Automatic Day and Night Mode. Depending on the time and location, the map colors change for optimal display visibility at all times.
    • Branded POIs and POIs along the route
    • Take Me Home Button
    • 2D and 3D map view.
    • Automatic switch between portrait and landscape format.
    • Intelligent address entry.
    • Real signpost display.

    For more information and FAQs, please visit: www.navigon.com/iphone.

    You will also find NAVIGON on the following platforms:

    Twitter: www.twitter.com/NAVIGON_.
    YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/NAVIGONcom
    Facebook: http://facebook.twi.bz/Ob

  • Weekly app Review – 11 Oct

    After the success of my previous 2 posts of weekly app reviews, I have decided to make this a full-time weekly feature. The new apps that are hitting the app store just seem to be getting better and better with each one.So jumping right in….

    Photoshop.com Mobile – Free

    First off this week is an app that is awesome in all respects, least of all the price. Here we have a fully fledged photo editor on your iPhone, that is made by the gods of Image editing, Adobe. The app allows you to do the basics of cropping, rotating etc, but also allows you full control over options such as changing the exposure & saturation amongst others. The app also has a couple of funky filters that you can apply, and then finally you are able to upload the completed image to Photoshop.com for sharing. All in all a well rounded app, that has the potential to become one of the most used apps on my iPhone. Just get it…

    Remote – Free

    This isn’t necessarily a new app, but one I have been using loads lately. Imagine a braai with some mates. You fire up the iTunes on your computer, hand your friends your iPhone, and you have a fully fledged DJ in your hands. Seriously. You can now choose your next song, and if anyone else has an iPhone or an iPod touch, they can vote songs up or down. You can make playlists on the fly with your music, and even the genius function works wonders. This is a great app for those parties or braais that need a little bit of life injected into them.

    BaDaBoo – Free

    Ever had one of those moments sitting in a queue where you need something mindless to pass the time. Or a game that frustrates you to no end. Then this is the app you looking for. A simple game, where all you need to do is flick a ball into other balls, kinda like marbles, and make sure they all match up in colour after your 4 turns. The funky sounds in the game, just want to keep you coming back for more as well. It sounds a whole lot easier than it is. Once you have downloaded the game, let me know in the comments how you scored. Let’s see if you can beat my high score of 51570 :)

  • izimvo.com

    izimvo_biggerA couple of weeks ago, my mate & colleague Shaun Trennery came to me and said he had a brain wave about a new project. He wanted to put together a site that allowed us to interview regular South African’s like you and me, about our lives in South Africa, and what makes us happy and sad about living here. Throw in a few general fun questions, and boom, izimvo.com was born.

    We launched the site this morning with a from Mike Stopforth about his views of living in South Africa, and how much he loves the Spur. Anybody wanting to have a lunch meeting with Mike, Spur is your answer :)

    Shaun and I have been working on building up a list of potential people to interview, and are aiming high in trying to punch out a post every day or so for the next week or 2. We want to take a look at regular South Africans, from the Construction worker at the new stadium, to the CEO of a top 40 JSE company.

    Keep your eyes on izimvo.com, I promise you, there are going to be a couple of interesting questions being fired off in the next couple of weeks…