MarcForrest.com

Category: iPhone

  • 16 Apps for your new iPhone

    I have had a couple of people ask me recently what are the “essential” apps for getting your iPhone up and running. With over 100,000 apps in the app store at the moment, it is almost impossible to give an exact list. So what I wanted to do is give you my list of 16 essential (and cool) apps, which will help you fill up your first screen on your new iPhone.

    The first thing you need to do is open a US iTunes account. See my post on 5 iphone tips & tricks on how to do this from a country outside of the US. This is essential to getting the best apps on the market, as many developers do not sell their apps in the South African store. After you have opened a US iTunes account, be sure to get some credit, by buying an iTunes voucher. You shouldn’t need more than $15 to get the show on the road.

    (The links on the app names below all open iTunes links)

    Shazam – Free
    Every time you hear that song on the radio, and you don’t know what it is, use Shazam. Instantly identifies the artist and song title for you.

    Layar Reality Browser – Free
    If you have acquired a 3Gs, get this app. It allows you to see what is around you, using your GPS position. Going to become very useful in the future as augmented reality starts to get more popular

    Skype – Free
    Everybody knows about Skype.Free VoIP calls on the go. Simple, effective and easy to use.

    Dropbox – Free
    Keep your files in sync in the cloud, and access the on your phone. You can upload files on your computers at work or at home, and then access them on your phone.

    Evernote – Free
    Keep your notes synced and up to date on the go. You can also create Notes and take pictures on your phone and sync them back to your computers.

    Facebook – Free
    Everyone loves Facebook :) The latest update is super, and you can pretty much do everything on your iPhone that you can do on the website

    PicPosterous – Free
    Posterous is a fantastic site that allows you to automagically upload your photos to other services like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr etc. The app allows you to take pictures on the fly and then update them to these services.

    Wikipedia – Free
    The mobile interface for the ever popular Wikipedia site. Useful if you looking for info on something while on the go

    Doodle Jump – $0.99
    What would a new iPhone be without a game. The most addictive iPhone game of all time. Just get it. You won’t put it down

    Photoshop Mobile – Free
    Edit your photos on your phone. Very simple to use and has loads of cool feature.  You can also upload your edited photos to the photoshop.com site.

    TweetDeck – Free
    The best free twitter app. Also recently updated with some nifty features, and it syncs with your desktop Tweetdeck. Tweetie2 ($2.99) is also another great twitter app.

    News24 – Free
    The ultimate South African news site on your iPhone. You can also view news and storie from other 24.com platforms such as Fin24, Wheels24 and even has a function to view resturants closest to you.

    ZATV Guide – Free
    Keep up to date with your favorite tv programmes and whats showing today. You can also set your favorite channels for a quick glance

    CNN Mobile – $1.99
    Best app for international news on the go. The coolest feature of this app is that it offers live streaming for breaking news.

    Flickr – Free
    You can upload and view photos on your Flickr stream. You can also view your contacts pictures as well as comment on them with the app

    Ping! – $0.99
    A fantastic little app that allows you to “ping” another iPhone user, much like Blackberry Messenger. The app will send the other Ping! user a push notification to alert them to the message. There is also a free version available, which has limited functionality.

    So that’s my list, if anyone else has some suggestions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. Who knows, we may just fill up the next screen :)

  • Weekly app picks – 16 Nov

    I missed out the last 2 weeks of my new favorite apps I picked up in the app store.To be honest there hasn’t been too much that has grabbed my attention. But that said, I have come across these 3 fantastic apps in the last 2 weeks, so here they are:

    MoneyBook ( $2.99)

    A fantastic little app that allows you to keep track of your expenses using your iPhone. The user interface is really simple to use, and the graphics within the app are very cool. The app allows you to enter your monthly budget, and then as you go along during the month, you enter your expenses, and it shows you your available budget. The app also allows you to add in recurring expenses as well. All in all, a very useful app that I think I may use more often.

    I ALSO have 2 copies of MoneyBook to give away, so leave a comment below and I will randomly select 2 people by the end of today  (Monday 16 Nov 5pm) to win a copy.

    Geocaching ($9.99)

    One of my favorite pastimes when I have time, is to get out and geocache. For those of you who don’t know what Geocaching is, think big peoples treasure hunts :) I’m just kidding :) What it is, is you your GPS device (in this case iPhone), to locate a hidden “treasure”. These are usually placed at interesting places around the world, and there are almost 100,000 scattered around the world. Once you find the cache, you sign the log, and sometimes you can also exchange an item in the cache. It is a fantastic way to get out and see your country, and the price of the app is well well worth it. So if you are a geocache fan, or are looking for a new hobby, I highly recommend this app.There is also a free Geocaching intro app, which helps you get into the game

    PicPosterous (Free)

    I am a HUGE fan of posterous. It is by far one of the best web apps I have ever seen. It is so simple to use. All you do is email whatever you want, anything, to a standard email address, and Posterous does the rest, by uploading to all your other sites & services, such as Youtube, Facebook, Flickr….etc etc.

    PicPosterous is an app on the iPhone which makes it just that much easier. Now you don’t have to even email. You just click what photo’s you want to upload, and it does the rest for you. The app has just received an upgrade which allows you to update previously created albums, which is a big big plus. This is one of those apps I will be moving to my first screen. Very very handy, AND, it’s free :) You can check out my 2 Posterous sites at http://marcforrest.posterous.com & http://www.iphonetograph.com/

  • NDrive South Africa iPhone app

    A couple of days ago, I did a couple of gps reviews and ratings for the iPhone, that are available for South African iPhone users. Out of the 3, NDrive seemed to be the most user-friendly and had the most up to date maps.  I got in touch with the guys from NDrive, and agreed to do a review for them on the app.

    The NDrive app is fairly simple to use. The use of the app is super easy to use, and the layout of the buttons are quite big, which makes it a whole lot easier when trying to drive at a 160km/h 60km/h. The GPS locations seems to happen relatively fast, given that you need to have an accurate reading for the map to work. There are quite a few customisable settings which allow you to make the app easier to use. One of the cool things for South African’s is there are 2 alternative languages, Afrikaans & Zulu, which should help appeal to a greater audience.

    The app has “Saftey Camera”  alerts built into the app, so when you are going a 160km/h 121km/h, a friendly little warning will alert you to slow down. You can also have a choice between a 3D display and a 2D display, which should put things into a clearer perspective. One of the things I have noticed between this and the TomTom app, is that NDrive shows you the roads around you, whereas TomTom only shows you the road you are travelling on.

    The maps in the app are fully up to date, and I have yet to have any issues of finding a road which isn’t on the map. I also took quite a drive this past weekend and NDrive was fantastic on the long trip.

    There is 1 issue in this app which does bug me though, which doesn’t break the deal, but I think, would make it that much better. The keyboard in the app, is a custom keyboard and not the standard qwerty iPhone keyboard. This makes it a mission to type when driving, as we not used to the keyboard. I think if this had to change, it would make a lot more people smile :) Other than that, I can’t see anything else that needs to change dramatically. I know that the guys at NDrive are working on the app all the time to improve it, and that the maps are being updated as we speak.

    Now,  for the cool part. The guys at NDrive have offered to give away 2 copies of NDrive to readers of this blog. The app is valued at $69 which is a fair amount to be giving away, so I need to make it a bit of a challenge to give away.

    Below are 4 images from around South Africa taken off Google Maps Satellite images. I need you to identify the 4 places, from around South Africa, and you will be entered into a draw for a copy of NDrive. The places in the images are quite tricky to find, so you may need to put the thinking cap on.   There is a little clue below each pic to get you going :)

    The rules for the competition are as follows:

    • To enter the competition, you need to submit your answers using the contact page
    • You need to leave a comment below on this post to say you have entered.
    • Competition will close on Friday 20th November at 12pm, and winners will be announced shortly thereafter
    • Follow me on Twitter for a few clues throughout the week
    • The winner will be chosen using Random.org, should there be more than 2 correct answers
    • You NEED to have a US iTunes account in order to redeem the promo code should you win

    One of South Africa's top Tourist destinations
    1. One of South Africa's TOP tourist destinations – click image for bigger view

    Bordering GP & FS
    2. Bordering GP & FS- click image for bigger view
    Splash with Gambit
    3. Splash with Gambit – click image for bigger view
    Longest runway in Africa
    Longest runway in Africa- click image for bigger view

  • SA iPhone Apps

    SAIA

    I been working on a new site called, SAiPhoneApps, that showcases South African developed iPhone apps & South African iPhone app developers.

    The site is basically a directory of apps, that have been developed locally by the increasing number of iPhone development teams in South Africa. The site also lists all the iPhone developers, and allows you to connect with them via a contact form.

    I will also be updating the site with the latest news of apps that have been released, as well as any apps relevant to the South African market.

    We have loads of talent in South Africa, and I am looking forward to showcasing the apps they produce.
    If you are an iPhone developer, get in touch with me, either on the contact page here, or the contact page on SAiPhoneApps. You can also follow updates on Twitter on @SAiPhoneApps

  • South African GPS Navigational iPhone Apps

    Earlier this year when Apple hosted WWDC one of the apps that was featured during the Keynote was the TomTom navigational app. Everyone was wowed by the app and what it could offer users as opposed to a separate GPS device in your car. You now had the opportunity for an all in 1 Device. GPS+Phone+Supercomputer all in one. There was a long silence after that, and then suddenly the app appeared on the app store at $99, and a further $99 for the cradle kit. It seemed a bit steep for both of them put together given that GPS devices are now round about the same price as that.

    South Africa had to wait a bit for their mapsets to appear on the app store, but eventually they arrived with Navigon making its entrance first. TomTom was available sneaky sneaky, but has since made it debut in the app store. Finally NDrive, a relatively unknown GPS provider also came onto the scene with their app. So far NDrive seems to be the most popular in terms of reviews from users on the South African app store, because both Navigon & TomTom mapsets in the app are hugely outdated. With road name changes taking place in South Africa daily, and all the road upgrades & changes being made for next years World Cup, the mapsets need to be fully up to date and upgraded regularly.

    I thought I would take a quick look at the 3 apps on offer as well as provide some links to the reviews to see what the people are saying. Most of the reviews I have found have been on the South African app store.

    Mobile Navigator Southern Africa (Opens iTunes)

    Price: $99.99 (±R770)

    Size: 128MB

    Mapset: Navteq

    iTunes Rating: 3.5 stars – Comments Link

    Comments: Reading through most of the reviews online people are really upset by the fact on how outdated the maps are, and how slow the app is.  The mapset seems to be from around 2007, which doesn’t really cut it given the changes to the roads since then. This is the most expensive app out of the lot, and has received a number of 1 star reviews in the app store.

    Tom Tom Southern Africa (Opens iTunes)

    Price: $79.99 (±R620)

    Size: 140MB

    Mapset: TomTom Mapset

    iTunes Rating: 3.5  – Comments Link

    Comments: Again, reading through the comments the maps seem very out of date. I have seen a version of this app on a mates phone, and being TomTom fan, I wasn’t hugely impressed. The app seems really slow and “clunky”. I expected a bit more out the TomTom app given the hype that surrounded it at WWDC. Hopefully they can redeem themselves by bringing out an update to see the new road changes in South Africa. Out of the 3, it also looks the most “basic” to me.

    NDrive South Africa (Opens iTunes)

    Price: $69.99 (±R540)

    Size: 144 MB

    Mapset: Mapit (Q3 2009)

    iTunes Rating: 4.5 – Comments Link

    Comments: Judging by the comments on the review in the app store, it would seem that this is the best GPS navigational app in South Africa so far. The fact that they are using a local company for the mapset, Mapit, and it is the latest version, says something about the app. It is also the cheapest of the 3. I also saw a really cool option in the screenshots that allows you to see some of the buildings in 3D. It also has a built in Adventure mode, which allows you to use it while walking or geocaching.

    By the looks of things NDrive takes the cake with this one, but I am really hoping that TomTom & Navigon comes to the party and updates the mapsets. We have fantastic mapping companies in South Africa, and they should be using them. I still wonder why the likes of Garmin haven’t come to the party. Added to the fact that there is talk of the Google Maps app becoming a fully fledged navigational app, it is sure going to be an interesting few months ahead.