Category: iPhone

The boys from Glucode and the Girls from Rubio Communications have done it again. They have successfully created what could be claimed as South Africa’s first addictive iPhone game, called “Hemmed in” which costs $1.99 (iTunes Link). (Be sure to check to the end of the article, I have a couple of promo codes to give away ;0))

The game, which is based on a favorite childhood game called “Dots & Boxes”. Remember ? That game you used to play against your sibling where you had to draw a line between the dots to make a square and the person with the most squares wins ? Yip, thats the one. Except, the team that developed the app, have made it look really really cool, and totally addictive. So much so, that my 5 year old and I are jostling for iPhone supremecy on “Hemmed in”. Ever had a 5 year old beat you at a game you used to be a master of when you were 5 ? Eish…. ;)

To get an idea of what the game is all about, check out the video below:

The game also has a couple of challenging levels which make it a bit more tough to beat the computer. The awesome thing about the game though, for me, is the ability to play against another hemmed in player, using the built in 2 player mode, using Bluetooth.

Here is the info on the app from the app store:

A fun game of strategy, Hemmed In is all about taking turns to join the buttons and beat your opponent by closing a square before they can cotton on!

‘Hem in’ a square to win a point, with the winner being the player with the most points once the entire grid has been filled.

This puzzle game is the perfect time killer while you’re waiting for the train, sitting on a plane or when you just need to zone out. For a low price you’ll have loads of fun stitching up your opponent in Hemmed In.

Hemmed In is based on a the classical puzzle game most commonly known as Dots and Boxes. This pencil and paper game was first published in 1889 by Édouard Lucas and is also known as:
– Dots
– Smart Dots
– Boxes
– Squares
– Carrie’s Dots
– Dots and Dashes
– Paddocks
– Dot Boxing

All in all, the game is very very cool, and I can see myself and my 5 year old spending many many hours in front of the iPhone fighting this one out :)

For more info, check out the official Hemmed in app site – http://hemmedinapp.com. If you would like to win a copy of “Hemmed in”, simply retweet this post using the retweet button on the top right hand side of this post, and by 8pm today (Tuesday), I will do a random draw for 4 peeps to win a promo code (US store only !!)

After my last post about VodacomVisual Voicemail, there was a lot of confusion sorrounding if Visual Voicemail had actually been launched by Vodacom. According to sources the product was still in Beta, but a couple of people of managed to activate the service, albeit at R10 a month.

According to a comment left on my blog earlier, and a tweet from Pieter Uys, Vodacom CEO, Vodacom has officially launched Visual Voicemail for the iPhone

Press release from Vodacom:

Vodacom is pleased to announce the launch of Visual Voicemail, available from 1 April 2010. Visual Voicemail enables Vodacom Contract, Top Up and Prepaid customers who use the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS smartphones to view their Voicemail messages displayed in a ‘list format’, in the same way as they would view their email messages – and it’s FREE for the first 30 days.

PLUS

Vodacom is offering a FREE trial to Visual Voicemail from 1 April to 31 May 2010, which means all customers with iPhones can try out the service at no charge during this period.

Lets hope they can support the product, and hopefully realise that they are the ONLY service provider in the WORLD actually charging for the service.

I came across this really cool app developed by another South African iPhone app developer, Juliaan Evenwel, called Magic Sheet – $0.99 (iTunes link) This is Juliaan’s first app, and I have to admit it’s a very cool little app. The design of the app is well done, and the graphics he has used make the app look pretty slick :)

The app is pretty basic in functionality, but is a real mind boggler when trying to catch out your mates. When the app opens up, you choose (think of)  a number from a sheet of numbers. Using a couple of Yes & No questions, the app will eventually tell you which number you picked. Very clever :)

I also have 5 promo codes to give away for you to give the app a bash. To win a promo code, retweet this post using the Retweet button on the side of the post, or just leave a comment below. I will choose a winner using Randomize.org. Competition closes on Friday 2nd April at 12pm.

Also keep your eyes peeled for the new app that Juliaan is working on. I have been helping a bit on the side, and I can promise you it is going to be a cracker :)

The team from Appfactory have released their latest iPhone app, called Airship (iTunes link), and costs $2.99

The app is an awesome little app that allows you to store files on your iPhone, using a web-based uploader over your WiFi connection. So you can store documents, presentations, video’s, music and pretty much anything else, and then view them on your iPhone.

Once the app has been opened you connect to a web page using your web browser on your computer. From there, you can upload and manage your files, which are then uploaded to your iPhone. I tested it out today, and the setup was simple, literally 1 click, and the app really simple to use.

The app supports the following file types:

• Images (.jpg, .tiff, .gif, .png)
• Excel (.xls)
• Keynote (.key.zip)
• Numbers (.numbers.zip)
• Pages (.pages.zip)
• PDF (.pdf)
• Powerpoint (.ppt)
• Word (.doc)
• Rich Text Format (.rtf)
• Rich Text Format Directory (.rtfd.zip)
• Keynote ’09 (.key)
• Numbers ’09 (.numbers)
• Pages ’09 (.pages)
• Audio Types:
  AAC (8 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3 (8 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV.
• Video Types:
  H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats.

Here is a quick intro on how the app works.

Open the app, and it will give you an IP address to connect to in your web browser.

This will open a page which will allow you to upload files, which will be uploaded to your iPhone:

From here, your files will appear on your iPhone in the app. You can also search for files from within the app:

Overall this is a fantastic app, and I would love to see formats like .avi being included in future upgrades. great to see South African iPhone app developers coming o the party with exciting new apps.

The guys from immedia and Multichoice have released their latest iPhone app offering in the form of the SuperSport iPhone App (iTunes Link).

The app, which covers all the news from the Supersport site, also includes a very cool “Live Scores” feature, which allows you to follow all the latest scores from various sport games happening live around the world. This is very cool for cricket or rugby games, where you would like a quick peek at the score while on the go. I used it over the weekend to catch up on the latest soccer scores while I was out at a friends house.

The app also allows you to choice a specific sport category, and lets you see the news related to that sport. This means, if you would like to see news on just Formula 1 racing, you can do so, by choosing the F1 category.

All in all, the app is a must have for sports fanatics, and is Free on the iTunes Store