MarcForrest.com

Category: iPhone

  • iPhone 4s launched & available in South Africa in December

    iPhone 4s launched & available in South Africa in December

    So tonight we heard all about the new iPhone4S that Apple launched at a small press briefing, with only 350 people attending. I followed the event live on the Engadget live blog, which was super awesome and kept up to date.

    While many people expected a iPhone5, we got to see the new iPhone 4s, which includes a couple of cool new additions to the current iPhone. Some of these cool new features include:

    • Well firstly we got to hear about how well Lion is doing (Love Lion) and then music & iPods. Interesting, the iOS operating system is now installed on over 250 million devices ! That’s quite a bit. Also 16 billion songs have been downloaded from iTunes
    • iOS5 & iCloud will be available on the 12th October. Free update
    • iPhone4S stays the same form factor, but now includes
      • A5 chip, which is the same as the iPad2. So effectivley a much faster phone
      • A new antenna system, which should hopefully help with all the crap dropped calls we have at the moment
      • An 8MP camera, which should iPhoneography a lot more interesting
      • 1080p Full HD video recording, which is also quite cool. Also has video stabilizing
      • Wireless Airplay. I have used this on the iPad2 with the Apple TV which is actually pretty cool and has loads of potential
      • iCloud. Coming 12 October. Let’s see how this one works
      • iOS5, which is also pretty cool. Lots of new cool features
      • Siri, which is a voice activated assitant. Hmm, not really sold on this one, and I don’t know so much about the limitations in South Africa. Let’s see
    • The iPhone4s will be available in the US on the 14th, and looks like we might see it here in around December
    Overall, not the most exciting Apple keynote we have ever had, but I guess we will just have to wait and see how this one works out. The APPL stock also took a bit of a dive and didn’t seem to recover. The pricing does not change for the US, so hopefully our pricing should stay the same. Added to that, the iPhone 4 will only now be available in a 8GB model.
    I’ll also be updating here with more news if I missed anything out. What do you think of the iPhone4S ? Lemme know in the comments below.

  • Apple’s ‘Let’s Talk iPhone’ keynote tonight – 7pm

     

    If you even midly interested in anything Apple you will know that the iPhone 5/4s announcment is taking place tonight at 7pm South African time. While there is NO official live video streaming, there always seems to be someone in the audience who has a cellphone and is live video streaming.

    I am going to be following the Engadget Live Blog, which always seems to be quick with their updates and also post some really good quality pics. The Gizmodo live blog is also pretty good.

    Also, you can listen to TWiT.tv, who offer some really good audio comments of the announcement. If you follow me on Twitter, I will be tweeting some thoughts & highlights as the event progresses.

    To get an idea of what we are in for, check out the Bandwidth Blog team’s take on what to expect with the iPhone 5.

    I can’t wait to see what is announced, and am really looking forward to it. Blog post up here as soon as we have all the info ;)

     

  • Olloclip – The ultimate iPhone photography accessory

     

    I came across the Olloclip Lens set a while back while browsing around the net one night, and it looked amazing. At $70 it didn’t come in as a cheap accessory, so I ummed & ahhed about it, until I eventually caved in after I had some extra cash lying around in my PayPal.

    Macro Lens

    I am glad I did, and finally got to pick it up yesterday. WOW ! What an awesome little accesory. The Olloclip is essentially 3 extra lenses in 1 nifty device, and offers a Wide Angle, Fisheye & Macro Lens, withouth the need for a special case. It simply just fits over the camera lens.

    Wide Angle Lens

    I took a stroll to Gateway at lunch time to give it a run, and you can see some of the pics I took. I have to admit I am most blown away by the Macro Lens, and you will be amazed at what you can actually pick up using it. The Fisheye lens is also cool, and gives a distorted view at how we normally look at things.

    Fish Eye Lens

    If you looking for an extra little gadget to up your iPhoneography, I can highly recommend the Olloclip. Also check out their Facebook Page & Flickr Group for some awesome pics. The only downfall I can see here is that the Olloclip is specifically designed for the iPhone4, and with a “potential” iPhone5 around the corner, you may want to hang on if you looking to upgrade. Otherwise, well worth the cash !

     

     

  • iTunesUSA/iEverything gets a little makeover

    The guys over at iTunesUSA/iEverything, which I told you about a while back, recently relaunched their brand new store.

    The site offers instant delivery of iTunes vouchers to your email address, which you can redeem in the US iTunes store. The best thing about the site, for me, is it is offers an Instant EFT option, through PayFast, which allows you to log into your internet banking (no matter what bank), and instantly transfer your cash across to get your voucher delivered to you. You can also buy Ukash vouchers at any Pick ‘n Pay and can use those on the site as well.

    I have been chatting to the guys at iEverything for a while now, and they really love what they do. Often I get queries about their service through my site, and I can forward it to them anytime of the day, and they sort the issue out ASAP. Their service is superb. The biggest gripe I have heard about the site is that they always seemed to be out of stock, but after having a coffee with one of the owners the other day, they seem to have sorted this out with a new supplier & should have stock more often.

    If you looking for iTunes vouchers, give them a try. I can honestly vouch for them.

    P.S. I was NOT asked or payed to write this. The links to the site are however affiliate links, which help contribute to site costs

     

     

  • iPhoneographySA exhibition a SUCCESS !

     

    I know this is a couple of days late, but I have been trying to come off of the high of the 1st ever iPhoneography exhibition that was held on Thursday evening at the iStore in Sandton.

    After 5 months of planning, emailing, choosing photos, getting images, hanging & sweating, it all culminated in an awesome event. From all the comments we had, both on the night and after, everyone only had good things to say. We had around 200-250 people come through the exhibition on the night, and have had requests to do another event, possibly in Cape Town. All I can say, is that it “should” happen, but probably only in a while. There were a lot of lessons learnt, and loads of planning for this one, so if we end up doing another one, it can only be better. If anyone has suggestions, complaints or compliments, I would love to hear them in the comments below.

    The event trended on Twitter during the course of the evening as well ! We also got some awesome coverage in The Sunday Times Lifestyle section & iMaverick. Also check out Jeanette Verster’s blog post & Matthew Arnold’s post for some pics on the eve.

    Shaun Lavagna also put this cool walk through video together of the whole exhibition.

    I am also busy putting together an iPhoneography blog – www.iPhoneographySA.com where I will focus just on iPhoneography apps, events & profiles. Stay tuned :)