MarcForrest.com

Category: iPad

  • Apple iPad launches in South Africa

    The iPad will officially go on sale in South Africa. From 9am on the 28th January, you will now be able to buy the iPad from premium Apple resellers,  Dion Wired, Incredible Connection or any Apple store. Digicape should also be stocking the iPad. For more info on pricing & specs check out http://www.core.co.za

    The prices for the iPads are as follows:

    16GB WiFi – R4,399
    32GB WiFi – R5,399
    64GB WiFi – R6,399

    16 GB WiFi & 3G – R5,599
    32 GB WiFi & 3G – R6,599
    64 GB WiFi & 3G -R7,599

    This is really exciting news for SA, but also comes as a bit surprise when the iPad 2 is due to announced anytime soon. That said, I only predict we will see the physical iPad2 in around April, so it’s not the end of the world. Also, I can’t see the iPad2 being available in South Africa from the launch, so we will most probably have to wait. Apple have already sold close on 15 million iPads around the world since it was announced exactly a year ago.
    Check out this infographic below on some stats of iPad sales around the world.

    I am really excited by this announcement, as it will mean loads more people enjoying the awesome iPad :)

  • How to setup AirPrint with any Printer

    With the release of iOS 4.2 Apple allowed wireless printing from a number of apps on the iPad & iPhone. This meant, that with a compatible printer, you could print a document, email etc directly from your iPhone/iPad over a WiFi network. The problem came in, where only a small number of printers had this feature enabled, and currently they are all (15 of them) only HP printers.

    From the Apple iOS AirPrint page:

    AirPrint on iPad makes it simple to print your email, photos, web pages, and documents. There’s no software to download, no drivers to install, and no cables to connect. With just a few taps on your iPad, you can go from viewing something onscreen to holding a printed copy. And because all the printing takes place in the background, there’s no waiting around. Instead, you can start printing and then go back to flicking through photos, surfing the web, or doing whatever you were doing before.

    I came across an awesome little app, which is available for both Mac & Windows, that “spoofs” your printer into allowing you to “think” it is a compatible printer, and allows you to print from your iPhone or iPad to ANY printer. The app is called AirPrint Activator (Mac download/Windows Download), and works as simply as running the app/exe and sharing & activating your printer. Really, as simple as that.

    Here is a short video that shows how to do it.

    Easy. I have tested it on my deskjet printer at home, and it works like a charm !! Now you can print from an iPhone to ANY printer :)

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  • Infinity Blade review

    Another great review by guest contributer Simon Boulle who takes at one of the top selling iPhone & iPad games, Infinity Blade

    Infinity Blade – $5.99 (iTunes Link) is an incredible game. The graphics are amazing, and look great on the Retina display of the iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4G. The gameplay is fun and immersive, and I was hooked on trying to defeat the God King (the ultimate boss).Infinity Blade Beginning

    Casting a spellThe concept of the game is relatively simple: you play a warrior who plans to avenge his father, who was killed by the God King. A  battle ensures with a series of other warriors, from Paladins to Marrow Fiends, in order to reach the God King. You will gain experience along the way,with gold, potions and equipment, in order to improve your character. Each battle is connected by short-cut scenes where you can pick up gold and potions, provided  you keep an eye out. During battle you can defend, dodge an attack, parry an attack and obviously attack. These actions are performed by swiping or tapping on the screen. The controls work really well, though at times tapping on the defend icon is interpreted as a swipe to attack, which can be annoying.

    After roughly 10 – 15 battles, you can reach the God King, who is initially at (a high) level 50. If you lose (which is most likely in your first playthrough) a new bloodline starts, and your character now becomes the son of the defeated warrior, who in turn tries to avenge his father. He gains all the experience, items and gold of his father. Eventually you will reach a level where you will be able to defeat the God King. Once you defeat him, you start from the beginning again, and can play through again and try to defeat the God King again. Each time you defeat him, he gains an extra 50 levels.

    Attempting to defeat the God King, though somewhat repetitive, is fun and had me hooked. Equipment is made up of swords, shields, helmets, armour and magic rings (which enable you to cast spells). As you defeat other warriors, you earn gold which can be used to buy new equipment. Equipment gains experience and can be mastered, which means it can’t gain any more experience but your character is able to use it better. However, your character only gains the experience your equipment gains. So if all your equipment is mastered, your character doesn’t gain any more experience. This encourages you to buy more and better equipment.Equipment

    The characters and environments are detailed, clear and sharp. I have never seen any other game on any other platform which matches the clarity and detail of the graphics in Infinity Blade. They are simply breath-taking. If you own an iPhone 4, you should buy the game for that reason alone.

    In closing, the game is enjoyable and the quality of the graphics is simply unimaginable. I highly recommend it to the owners of the iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4G. It is also supported on the iPad, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch 3G, though obviously the graphics aren’t as good, due to the lower resolution screens. Interestingly, Chair originally decided to create the game for the iPhone 3GS, as they thought it was powerful enough to run the game. When the iPhone 4 was announced and released they decided to add support for Retina display graphics. The game sells for $5,99 in the US App Store, and is a Universal game, meaning it also runs on the iPad.

  • How to update your iPhone/iPad firmware manually

    I have had a few people ask me about updating firmware manually on the iPhone/iPad manually. A huge issue we have here in SA, is that because of our sometimes “dodgy internet connectivity”, we get disconnected quite often.

    If you are using iTunes to download the latest firmware, you will notice, that if you get disconnected, more often than not, you need to restart the download every time, which can become annoying as well as expensive

    So, I thought I would show you how to manually update your firmware, after downloading the update to your PC/Mac. I recommend a copy of Firefox, and this awesome download manager plug-in called Download Them All. This will help you download the actual firmware file from the Apple servers onto your PC/Mac and then update.

    To download the latest firmware(file extension is .ispw) directly from Apple, you can go to this page at iClarified (bookmark it), and then choose to download with Download Them All. This way, if your connection gets interrupted, you can continue your download from the same place it stopped.

    Once you have your file downloaded, open iTunes and plug your iPhone/iPad in. On your main info screen, you will see 2 options, Check for update  (which will download from Apple without a download manager, and break) or Restore.


    If you are on a PC, you need to hold the SHIFT button in, and click on the “Check For Update button”. If you are on a MAC, you need to hold the OPTION key and click on “Check For Update button”. You will then be asked to locate the file you downloaded (using Firefox and Download Them All), and chose that file. Once you have selected the file, iTunes will continue the installation as per normal.

    And that it is :)

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  • 5 things to do with your new iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch

    Merry Christmas !! :) :)

    So you may be one of the lucky ones who received a new iPhone, iPad or iPod touch from Santa this year. All very exciting, and I thought I would put together a couple of quick tips & tricks to help you set up your new pretty iDevice :)

    1. Connect to iTunes & setup your device

    This is probably the most important step with your shiny new iDevice. Once you have excitedly ripped off your wrapping paper, run to the nearest computer and download iTunes, if you don’t already have it. iTunes is the crux of all iDevices, and is the software used to transfer your music, movies & apps onto the device. From here you can also sync your Contacts, Calendar & email as well. A must have.
    Once iTunes is installed, you need to plug your shiny new iDevice into your computer, using the cable provided, and set it up. You will be asked to register the device using an email address etc. Once that is completed you will be able to sync your media etc. onto it.

    2. Upgrade to the latest software

    The great thing about Apple is that they offer free software upgrades for their devices, by simply clicking a button in iTunes. Gone of the days of taking your device into a store to upgrade you can simply do it from the comfort of your desk.
    To get the latest software on your device, plug it into your computer and start-up iTunes. You will see a screen with an overview of your iDevice, and on the main screen is a button that says check for updates. Click this button, and it will check with the Apple servers to see if there is an update for your iDevice. If you accept and continue, leave it as is, and the device will automatically be updated. Easy as pie :)
    A small word of warning though. Some of these updates can be quite large in size (~500MB) so make sure you have enough bandwidth allocated to update.

    3. Sign up for a US iTunes account

    The iTunes software also includes access to the iTunes store. From here you can buy music, movies and apps amongst a whole bunch of other things. The South African version of this store does not allow you to purchase music or movies, and has a very limited number of apps. To get around this, you can sign up for a US iTunes account, which allows you access to the full version of the store.
    To do this, you need to follow this I set up, which shows you how to get an iTunes account.You MUST ensure that you choose a FREE app when setting up the account. Otherwise it will ask you for your credit card details, which will not work as it checks to see if it is an US credit card. NB. FREE app :)

    4. Top up your new US iTunes account with some credit

    Once you have set it up, you simply top up your account by buying vouchers, using your credit card or EFT from either Evopoints or iTunesUSA.co.za, which are 2 local sites who offer the vouchers. You can also try Maximus Cards who are based overseas. From these sites, you can either buy $10, $15, $25 or $50 vouchers, which allow you  top up your account and buy music, movies or apps. Remember to check your balance every so often to ensure you have enough credit to buy the apps you want.

    5. Download some awesome apps for your new iDevice.

    So now you done all the “dirty” work, and it’s time to get to business. Download some cool apps for your iDevice, and get it rocking. Here are 6 cool of apps I would recommend putting on your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch once you have it all setup, to get you started.

    Angry Birds – The biggest selling iPhone game of all time is a must have game that will keep you entertained for HOURS & HOURS. Warning though: It becomes completely addictive & you may get a bit frustrated from time to time :)
    – $0.99
    – $4.99

    Instagram – An awesome FREE photo sharing app, which allows you to take a photo, edit it with some really funky filters, and then post to Facebook, Twitter Flickr etc etc. This is a relatively new app on the app store, but has some really cool filters.
    – FREE

    WhatsApp – A messaging tool, that allows you to chat to other iPhone, BlackBerry, Android or Nokia phone users,provided the also have WhatsApp installed. This app will save you loads on SMS’s and calls, as it is instant. You can also share photos, locations & contacts. A must have !!
    – $0.99

    News24 – Another must have to keep up with all the local South African news, sport & weather. And it’s free :)
    – FREE
    iPad version – FREE

    Camera+ – The standard iPhone camera is good, but not great. This is where Camera+ comes in. It allows you change a whole bunch of things, including exposure, focus, zoom etc etc. really and at only $0.99 it’s a steal ;)
    – $0.99

    FlipBoard – By far THE best iPad app on offer, it allows you to view your Facebook, Twitter, Flickr feed as well as allows you to add a whole host of other news sites like Techcrunch, CNN etc. Once you have all your feeds setup, you simply “flip” through the stories as if it were a magazine. Very very cool :)
    – FREE

    And that’s it. Hope you enjoy your shiny new iDevice, and be sure to check back regularly for loads of tips and tricks, to make your iDevice that extra special ;)