MarcForrest.com

Category: iPhone

  • Who will win the iPhone 4 race in South Africa ?

    Techcentral reported earlier today that MTN would also be offering the iPhone 4 on contracts, when it (finally) launches in South Africa towards the end of September. We all know the iPhone 4 is going to be big in South Africa, I have already had over 3500 views on my iPhone 4 in South Africa post I did a while back. But I still have a pertinent question, which is really bothering me about the iPhone in South Africa.

    Which operator, be it MTN, Vodacom or Cell C, will be able to provide the best support for the phone ?

    Support, not just being hardware support, but also software and iPhone support. My biggest “gripe” with the iPhone in South Africa, is that people are spending up to 10K on a phone,  without knowing their full capabilities.
    The fact that it is so much more than just a phone, and you can install applications and use it for push email, amongst a whole whack of other things, makes me believe that the network operators have to play some part in promoting the phone, instead of just “selling it”.

    Vodacom have been selling the iPhone for just short on 2 years, and have already sold around 110k iPhones in South Africa. They have the upper hand I think, with the knowledge and expertise gained, as well as offering services such as Visual Voicemail & dedicated iPhone packages. But yet daily, I get emails from people who need assistance with their iPhones, that’s why I setup SA iPhone Help to try and help people with posing questions about the iPhone.

    At the end of the day, for me, it isn’t about the price, or about the best data bundle, which ever cellular network wants to be want to be the market leaders in the iPhone 4 race, they are going to have offer better support & education on the iPhone which will educate the users about the phone and it’s capabilities.

    Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below :)

  • Vodacom launches entry level SmartPhones

    Today at Tech4Africa had the pleasure of meeting Vodacom CEO, Pieter Uys, in person. We had a great chat and he told me about ann exciting initiative that Vodacom was launching.

    Starting today they will be selling Vodacom Branded “Smartphones” at entry level prices. Starting at R399 for the basic model, to R599 for the fully fledged model that includes a camera and QWERTY keyboard.

    I think this will be interesting to see and allow everyone access to high level phones.

    Here is the press release from MyBroadband:

    Vodacom unveils its new smartphone range with prices starting at R399; ‘Up to 50% off’ sale launched

    Vodacom today announced that it is bringing a range of new handsets to South Africa that promise to ‘revolutionise access to communications at affordable prices’.

    According to Vodacom these devices give those on a budget the opportunity to experience the benefits of full communications including web access and email along with some of the gadgets like cameras and MP3 players.

    Vodacom is launching three new Vodafone branded smartphones priced between R399 and R599 per month:

    The VF340, priced at R399, comes equipped with Opera Mini, an FM radio, an MP3/ACC player as well as a built-in camera and changeable covers.
    The VF543, priced at R499, features a touchscreen and supports email and web applications like Facebook and Twitter. It also features an FM radio, Bluetooth 2.0, and video recording capabilities.
    The VF546, priced at R599, features a full QWERTY keyboard for optimised internet browsing, email, SMS, chat and a 2MP camera. The 546 is distinctive in that it offers both Zulu and Xhosa language options.
    “Providing access to communications has been a key focus for Vodacom over many years, and we’re excited to be able to use our relationship with Vodafone to bring in these new handsets which really do provide revolutionary functionality at an affordable price,” said Mark Taylor, Managing Executive: Terminals, Financials and Online Services for Vodacom SA.

    50% discount sale

    Vodacom also recently launched its ‘up to 50% off’ sale which slashes the price of its 300 MB data bundle contracts and various mobile phones on prepaid and 24 month contracts.

    Some of the deals include:

    300 MB data bundle and 3G capable Linkbook netbook at R99 per month on a 24 month contract
    300 MB of data and a Huawei K3565 3.6 Mbps HSDPA modem for R99 per month on a 24 month contract
    A Sony Ericsson W995 for R1499 on prepaid – a saving of R2400
    An LG KT610 phone on a Top Up 135 package for R69 per month on a 24 month contract (saving R1440)
    These ‘50% off’ deals are valid from 7 August until 6 September

  • Let’s see if the iPad can become my laptop

    So I’m finally in Jozi for the long awaited and much anticipated Tech4Africa.

    I am sitting at the Vida in Sandton after being blown away by the Gautrain. That was amazing !!!! Airport to Sandton in like 15 mins. I honestly felt like i was in London :)

    So, I have decided that for the 2 days of Tech4Africa conference I am gong to only use the iPad. I left the macbook at home, and all note taking, blog posting and tweeting will be done between a combination the iPhone, iPad and MiFi. I think the biggest challenges will be the iPhone battery life as well as getting used to the iPad keyboard. I think it should be ok :)

    I am thinking of using Evernote on the iPad to take notes, and TwitBirdPro for tweeting on the iPad. The ever faithful Tweetie on the iPhone will suffice there.

    I will writing a couple of blog posts on the Tech4Africa blog, about the conference in general and 1 or 2 of the sessions. There is also a live Twitter stream on the site, which you can follow if you missing out. All in all, I am really looking forward to the next couple of days, and if you at the conf, please come say howdy :)

  • Get iSkysoft iPhone Video Converter for FREE

    I came across this very cool offer the other day, for a piece of software called iSkysoft iPhone Video Converter, which allows you to convert most video format’s into videos specifically for the iPhone. The software scales the video’s to the correct size, and then allows you to add them to iTunes, which can then be synced to your iPhone or iPad

    From the iSkysoft site:

    iSkysoft iPhone Video Converter for Mac converts all popular video and audio formats such as AVI, MPEG, MOV, OGG, WAV to iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 4 supported formats including MP4, MP3, etc. This Mac iPhone Video Converter software provides a series of practical settings such as video crop, file trim, video brightness, contrast and saturation, and merging multiple files into one outputfile.

    The free offer is only valid till the 26th of July, and they will send you a key to use the full functionality. It usually costs $29

    To download the software you can go to the iSkySoft site – http://www.iskysoft.com/iphone-video-converter-mac.html for Mac’s or http://www.iskysoft.com/iphone-movie-converter-windows.html

  • Flipboard – WOW !!!

    I got asked the other day, why I haven’t blogged more about my iPad since I got it almost a month ago. Well, the dead honest truth, is that I haven’t been wowed by any apps. There have been a few ( a whole separate blog post) and  News24 & Mix Mobile apps, def did catch my eye, and every morning I read the news on the News24 app.

    Well, that was until this morning. Enter Flipboard (iTunes Link). A free app for your iPad from the iTunes app store. Flipboard will revolutionise the way we will use the iPad. It puts the news you WANT to read and is relevent to you, in an awesome looking magazine format.


    Here is a video on how the app works:

    You simply “swipe” through to the next page, pinch & zoom into an article, and read your news. But for me, the big seller in Flipboard is the fact that it integrates with your social networks. So, it links into Twitter & Facebook and shows you content that has been retweeted or shared by your friends. So for example if someone shares a link on Twitter from any website, it will present it on your Flipboard.

    Here is an example. Here is a page from my Flipboard which shows images & stories shared by friends on Facebook.

    You can also add specific catgories, like tech & photos etc, which will show you the best of the web. I also love the way page turns and the “animation” it uses.

    This is by far one of the best mobile or desktop applications I have used in a long long time. If you have an iPad I highly recommend you download Flipboard, and if you don’t have an iPad, I suggest you download the app, and go and buy one :)