MarcForrest.com

Category: iPhone

  • Opera Mini iPhone app

    Opera Mini iPhone app

    The iPhone finally has another web browser thanks to the chaps from Opera (iTunes Link – Free) . You may have used Opera Mini before on other mobile operating systems, such as Symbian, and I have to admit that I much prefered using it over the standard browser.

    Opera made a bit of a whoha when they submitted the app to the app store about 3 weeks ago. They had a counter which showed how long it took Apple to approve the app, which they finally did this morning.

    I downloaded the free app this morning and gave it a whirl, and was pleasantly surprised. It did take a while to load the first time I used it, but since then it seems to be working brilliantly. I am going to try to use it exclusively over the next couple of days and see how it pans out.

    Here is the official press release from the guys at Opera:

    Opera today announced its popular mobile browser, Opera Mini has been approved for iPhone and iPod touch on the App Store. Opera Mini will be available as a free download within 24 hours, depending on market.

    Opera Mini, with more than 50 million users worldwide, enables fast mobile Web browsing by compressing data by up to 90 percent before sending content to the device, resulting in significantly improved page loading. Users of the app will notice an uptake in speed, especially on slower networks such as the 2G Edge network. Surfing the Web with the Opera Mini App on iPhone and iPod touch will also help users save money because of its data compression capabilities. This will hold especially true while the user is incurring roaming charges.

    “We are delighted to offer iPhone and iPod touch users a great browsing experience with the Opera Mini App,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software. “This app is another step toward Opera’s goal of bringing the Web to more people in more places.”

    The Opera Mini App is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

    If you have downloaded the new Opera Mini for iPhone, leave a comment below and let me know what you think ?

  • Apple launches iPhone OS4

    Apple today announced the iPhone OS4 operating system for iPhone.The event was held at Apples HQ in San Fransisco earlier today. Here are a couple of highlights of the event:

    • Apple have already sold 450k iPads since Saturday !!!
    • 3.5 Million iPad apps have been downloaded already
    • iPhone has a 64% Mobile Browser usage share in the US
    • Over 85 Million iPhones & iPod Touches sold already
    • Dev preview of OS4 released today
    • over 1500 new API’s for developers
    • released to the public in South African winter (June/July) and to the iPad in Spring (Sep/Oct)
    • Some of the new iPhone OS4 features may not be able to run on the older 3G and 2nd Gen iPod models.
    • 7 new “Awesome Features” (Tentpoles according to Steve)
      1. MULTITASKING !!! – Woot, this will be big :)  Access your open apps by double clicking the home button. The software is also designed not to make your battery drain when using multitasking
          • Audio For apps like Pandora or Radiopod
          • Voip for Apps like Skype or FNB connect
          • Background location, so services like Tom Tom or NDrive can run in the background while using other apps
          • Push notifications
          • Local notifications means your notifications can now running on the phone instead of going through a server
          • Task completion, so now apps can load stuff in the background, like Pictures in Flickr
          • Fast App switching, means you can now switch to another app quickly
        • Couple of different API’s that allow you to run the app in the background
      2. Folders
        Eish, I need this function. I’m running out of screen space on my iPhone, and can never find my apps. Now I am able to create a folder where I can store specific apps like, games, utilities etc. VERY cool ! Now instead of having 180 apps I can have over 2,000.
      3. Enhanced Mail
        • You can now have a unified inbox, meaning all your mail accounts will be in 1 mail programme. No need to switch back between accounts
        • You can now also filter by thread, so you can keep track of conversations easier, much like GMail does
      4. iBooks comes to the iPhone. Yip, now we can spend more money-making Apple rich and Amazon poorer. Good move. Going to be interesting to see the books literally flying off the shelves
      5. Enterprise Features
        By adding a whole bunch of security features, now opens a whole new door for Companies to start implementing the iPhone into the workforce. They can now also deploy apps wirelessly to devices.
      6. Game Center
        • Over 50,000 game titles on the iPhone !!
        • Apple have added a Social gaming network, that now allows us to challenge and compete against friend. Brilliant concept. Keen to see how this one takes off
      7. iAd
        Apart from being the shortest name of an Apple Product (apart from i), Apple is now allowing Developers access to ad revenue in Free apps. So put Apple ads in your app, and you can make money from your free app. Clever ! Estimating over a BILLION ad impressions per day.WOW. The ads will also run “within” the app. Gonna be interesting to see how they implement that. 60% of the revenue goes to the developer. Not bad, Nige !
        The ad platform looks very cool, and opens up a whole new market to iPhone app ad developers. You can interact with the ads, by playing games, using location based services etc. This will be interesting for things like Gowalla and Foursquare which will now be able to use Location Based ads (Thanks Mike :) )

    The new iPhone OS4 is only scheduled for release in about 3 months time, so hold onto your horses, this will be an interesting update. I can’t wait. What you think ? Leave your comments below

  • Get a US iTunes account

    Get a US iTunes account

    I know I have blogged this before, but I get requests daily from people asking on how to open a US iTunes account, as well as it IS a must have, so I decided it’s best to just post it again :)

    I have had a couple of requests from people asking me where to buy iTunes Vouchers, and after a whole lot of research, I have found that the local guys iTunesUSA.co.za seem to be the best. If you don’t have a PayPal account, and want to use your credit card to purchase vouchers, I suggest using

    I can undoubtedly say, that this is probably the most important thing that you can do when you have an iPhone or iPad. By having a US iTunes account, you are able to download all of the cool apps, compared to whats available on the crappy South African store. You can also buy songs from the iTunes store.

    You can now also get a Full Downloadable guide or we can even set up the account for you -> https://www.marcforrest.com/creating-an-itunes-app-store-account-without-a-credit-card/

    (more…)

  • My South Africa Essentials iPhone App

    A very cool FREE iPhone app, called My South Africa Essentials (iTunes Link), which is targeted at international visitors to the country,  has recently been launched on the App Store.

    From what I can see the app was developed by CNN Mobile for South African Tourism. The app is awesome and provides a fantastic outlook on our country with images which you can download, as well as submit. There is also full info on all the World Cup Host cities around the country, as well as tips on what to do and what not to do. You can also send a generated postcard using your images on your phone. The app will be a winner for the FIFA World Cup coming up in a few weeks time.

    Here is a bit more info & a couple of screen shots from the app store:

    MySouthAfrica.tv essentials is the app you shouldn’t travel without. Download it for FREE today for detailed city and destination information. Plan adventures to make the most of your exciting trip to South Africa!

    If you are visiting South Africa for the World Cup, on holiday, looking for some travel advice or simply want to share your South African pictures & stories then you need MySA Essentials.

    This FREE application is a simple and accessible resource for people travelling to South Africa, South African natives and anyone looking for information about South Africa.

    Even if you aren’t planning to go just yet you can still join in the fun on mySouthAfrica.tv

    Features include:

    – City Guides & Interactive Map

    – Travel Tips & Advice

    – World Cup information & Updates

    – Send a Postcard using your iphone camera

    – Share pictures, videos and stories on MySouthAfrica.tv

    – Direct links to South Africa Tourism Board website

  • Hands on with the iPad

    Hands on with the iPad

    The geeks at immedia invited a couple of the Durban twitterati over to their offices this afternoon to have a hands on peek with the new Apple iPad.

    Kishyr & Annice from immedia flew over to New York this past weekend, and camped outside the Apple store, just to pick up their iPads, making them the first South Africans to own the iPad. When I popped around this evening to have a look, I have to admit I was seriously impressed with the device. When the iPad was launched, I was in 2 minds about it, but having played with it for half an hour, there is definitely a glimmer of hope.

    Yours truly :)

    The iPad specific developed apps that run on the iPad work quite well, and the Real Racing HD game ($9.99) is awesome to play. The graphics are insane, and the playability of the steering the pad to the left & right is amazing.

    Another app that looked really cool was the Scrabble App ($9.99) and allows you to use your iPhone or iPod touch to see your tiles, which then you “throw” onto the Scrabble board on the iPad. We also got to see the Weather HD app, which shows you what the weather looks like in your city, with really cool looking clouds or wind etc. There were also a couple of other interesting apps, which we flipped through as well.

    MarcForrest.com in FULL iPad glory

    But, that said, the price of the apps is quite steep. Most games are going for around $9.99, while most of the other apps in the same sort of price range. Yes, you can run your iPhone apps on the iPad, but they definitely don’t look like they belong there. When you upscale to 2x, it looks rather out-of-place, and when it runs in 1x size, it just looks too small for the screen. The other bugbear that I found was the keyboard, and while I suppose it may take some getting used to, it may just take that little bit longer than what it took to get used to the iPhone keyboard.

    My other baby, izimvo.com on the iPad

    Overall, I reckon it will be a winner, and with over 300,000 units sold on opening weekend, it looks like Apple have (another) winner. I just need to wait and see when I can get mine :) I am also looking at getting a review unit in the next couple of days, and then I will post a bit more info.