MarcForrest.com

Category: iPhone

  • 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

  • Vodacom MiFi Device

    After a week with the beloved iPad, I am starting to see the bigger potential for the device. admittedly in the beginning I was a naysayer (sorry to all), but after using it for the last week, I truly see the bigger picture.

    That said though, my biggest gripe about the iPad is the WiFi. Well, I suppose I can’t really call it a gripe, I think it’s got more to do with the fact that South Africa still hasn’t seen the WiFi wave that you have in say America or Europe. Internet access is hard to come by in SA unless you have an ADSL line, which means you can’t use a mobile device, or 3G. although the higher spec iPads do have 3G connectivity, the model I received is a WiFi unit.

    So that’s that were the Vodacom MiFi device comes in. The awesome team at Vodacom kindly sent me a MiFi device to use with my iPad, and WOW, what an amazing piece of hardware. The MiFi is a 3G broadband router which is capable of speeds up to 7.2MB/sec, AND it also acts as a Wireless hotspot. What this means is that you can have 5 wireless devices connected to the MiFi hotspot, all sharing the 3G connectivity.

    So I picked up the MiFi (marketed as the Vodafone MiFi 2352) yesterday from the swanky new Vodacom offices in Umhlanga Ridge. They have just completed the building, and it looks awesome, although no where near as pretty as Vodaworld :) Earlier in the day, I had bought a pre-paid simcard for 99c (Bargain), which I had to RICA before I could use it. Surprisingly the RICA process was pretty painless, and I did all my sims, and I was out in 5 minutes. I then loaded the sim with a prepaid data bundle (R88 for 110MB). Once I had the new gadget in my hands, I put the sim card in, switched it on, and it just worked. Boom. Just like that. No config, no setting up, no messing with advanced settings. It JUST worked. Easy.

    Once the MiFi is up and running, you can search for a wireless hotspot using the iPad, or any wireless device, it will pop up with the name of the MiFi, usually something like VodafoneMobileHotspot_XXXX. It will then ask you for a WEP key password. They key can be found on the back of the battery compartment, and once you have entered it, it stores the key and keeps you connected. You can also change settings by navigating to http://vodafonemobilebroadband.hotspot/ from any of the connected devices, which will allow you to log in and change some of the options.The rechargable battery lasts up to around 4 hours, so you can use it while you are on the go.

    And that’s it really. It is by far one of the easiest pieces of equipment I have ever needed to set up. I am looking forward to getting out and about and using the MiFi device, and seeing what it is capable of. You can pick up a MiFi device from most Vodacom retail outlets, for around R2500. The price may seem steep, but it is well well worth it if you travel and need constant internet access. If you don’t come right, pop me a mail, and I will try to point you in the right direction. I will also post some of my findings in the future about the MiFi and how it handles the networks and the different devices.

  • iPhone apps capitalise on iOS4 update

    Cross-posted from my latest article on Memeburn

    With the release of Apple’s latest iPhone and iPod operating system iOS4 last week, the quality control team at the iTunes App Store has been hard-at-work approving updates to iPhone applications in the past week.

    Not only does this mean loads of updates for users, but it also means a couple of new apps showing up on the app store which have taken advantage of the new operating system’s capabilities such as an improved battery life, the ability to create folders, and of course, multi-tasking.

    Here are three notable apps which caught my eye and are worthy of a mention:

    Farmville by Zynga (FREE)
    The popular Facebook web app, which has almost 83 million active users playing the game, finally has its own iPhone app. The Facebook flash game, in which you manage a virtual farm alongside neighbours, now allows you to do so on the go, syncing back in real-time to the Facebook version. The free iPhone app also offers push notification alerts when it is time to harvest your crops, as well as a couple of added features to ensure your cows are always milked on time. Also included in the app are in-app purchases, which allows you to “top-up” your spending budget.

    Twitter for iPhone (FREE)
    The popular Twitter for iPhone app, previously called Tweetie, also received an upgrade this past week, taking advantage of the new multi-tasking feature from iOS4. With the update, once you exit the app it continues running in the background, allowing the completion of sending tweets, as well as keeping your place in your Twitter timeline. Twitter is one of the few apps to have taken real advantage of this great feature in the first week, and I’m looking forward to seeing a couple of more apps using the new technology in the coming weeks.

    ooTunes Radio ($4.99)
    The ooTunes Radio iPhone app allows you to stream live radio stations from around the world. A number of South African radio stations are included in the app such as 5FM, Highveld Stereo, TuksFM and others. The latest update to the app has included support for iOS4 multi-tasking, meaning you can now carry on listening to your favorite radio station once you have exited the app. This is a huge plus as previously you needed to keep the app open to listen to the stream. This must-have app brings radio to your iPhone, and is well worth every cent.

  • 5 iPhone iOS4 tips & tricks

    So iPhone iOS4 has been out for a couple of days and so far I have really enjoyed it. There are a couple of really cool features, so I thought I would do a quick list of 5 of the coolest tricks I have found so far:

    • Turn on SMS character count
      This is something we have all missed previously on the iPhone, and now it’s finally here. Before we never knew when the 160 character limit was being reached and when the bill arrived at the end of the month, there would be loads of SMS’s sent. To turn on the SMS character count, simply go to Settings -> Messages-> And turn Character Count ON. The character count will now show when composing an SMS, but only appears after about 25-50 characters.
    • Camera Zoom
      The camera speed in iOS4 has been greatly improved, and taking a photo now is such a pleasure. One of the new features on iOS4 is that they have included a zoom functionality. To get this working, simply tap anywhere in the camera view finder when you have the camera open, and a zoom bar will appear at the bottom. Bearing in mind that the iPhone 3 & 3GS camera’s are not the greatest  in the world, when zooming in, the images become pixellated
    • Multi Tasking (App switching)
      For me this is probably the best feature in the new OS. Most of the apps are being updated to allow you to run them in the “background”. While this doesn’t consume any battery or degrade performance, this is extremely useful with apps like Twitter for iPhone (Tweetie). The app stays open in the same place you left off and can send tweets in the background when you return to the home screen. Another app that uses this functionality is Skype, which means you can still receive calls when not in the actual app. To get the Multi-Tasking to work, double-click the home button, and it will bring up a list of all the open apps. To exit an app, hold your finger on one of the open apps, until they start “jiggling”. This will bring up a “No-Entry” sign on the top left of the app, which you tap to exit the app.
    • Folders
      Another awesome feature of the new OS. Simply put, you can now have loads more apps on your phone, by categorising them in different groups. To create a folder simply drag one app into another, and folder will be created. You can edit the name of the folder(up to 13 characters). You can then drag other apps into the folder as well.
    • iBooks
      With the advent of iOS4 you can now make full use of the iBooks app which is offered on the iPad. But the coolest thing for me, is that with the latest release of iBooks 1.1, you can also read PDFs. To make use of this functionality, you just need to drag a PDF document into iTunes (you also need 9.2), which will add it into the Books folder. You can then drag this into your iPhone once it is connected which will sync it to the device. Once you are in the iBooks app on the phone, there is a PDF button at the top, which will display all the synced PDF’s which you can now read as normal books on the iPhone. I also came across a really cool site called http://www.ebookee.com which has loads of magazines and books in PDF format

    These are just some of the cool new features, and I’m sure there are loads more I haven’t listed here. Be sure to leave a comment below with your favorite.

    http://www.ebookee.com

  • Vuvuzela 2010 iPhone app

    My latest article from memeburn :)

    A Dutch mobile development company has shot to fame (or notoriety depending on your point of view) for building a Vuvuzela iPhone app that has quickly become the number one downloaded app in many parts of the world.

    Love them or hate them — everyone will agree that the Vuvuzela has made the FIFA World Cup in South Africa the loudest in the tournament’s history. Everyone has caught onto the Vuvu bandwagon, and sales around the world are skyrocketing. In the UK, Tesco’s recently reported sales of one Vuvuzela every 20 seconds during one of the recent England games.

    But it’s not only the piece of plastic that is making a noise around the world. A pair of Dutch iPhone app developers, Jeroen Retrae and Lyan van Furth, who own mobilo.nl, say they developed the Vuvuzela 2010 iPhone app to capitalise on the World’s greatest sporting event.

    The Dutch pair are apparently also making “tens of thousands of dollars a week through advertising revenue” using Admob’s mobile advertising network.

    The Vuvuzela 2010 iPhone app is now the number one ranking free app on many of the app stores around the world, including the likes of Germany, UK, France, Japan and of course South Africa. Even in the hotly contested US app store, the app is sitting in a healthy 6th position.

    The company claims the app has now been downloaded a total of over 3,5-million times and with the final whistle to blow on the 11th July, the Vuvuzela legacy will definitely live (blow) on with the Vuvuzela 2010 iPhone app.