MarcForrest.com

Category: iPhone

  • Navigon Mobile iPhone app

    Here is the official press release of the Navigon iPhone app. Stay tuned for a review (and maybe, maybe a little surprise ;)) coming soon…

    NAVIGON Launches First Professional GPS Navigation for iPhone in South Africa – App From Europe’s Fastest Growing GPS Company Now Available

    NAVIGON AG, Europe’s fastest growing GPS brand, today announced the availability of a South African version of its on-board navigation software in the iPhone App Store. The MobileNavigator transforms the iPhone into a complete navigation device with turn-by-turn voice directions and unique features such as adjustable audio-visual speed warnings, branded point of interest icons along the route, direct navigation to contacts saved in the address book, full integration of the iPod control and much more.

    JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 28 September 2009 — NAVIGON is a world-leading manufacturer of navigation solutions and the first top-tier provider to launch an iPhone navigation app for South Africa. The Germany-based company is a navigation expert across all platforms standing for high-quality GPS navigation on pocket PCs, PNDs and mobile phones. NAVIGON’s iPhone solution has already been extremely successful in Europe, North America and Australia. It quickly reached top positions in the local App Stores. The software features a very easy to use interface that is seamlessly integrated into the overall iPhone experience. It is packed with NAVIGON’s hallmark navigation features such as Speed Assistant providing audio warnings when exceeding speed limits to an adjustable degree, a handy Take Me Home button and sophisticated and elegant map views including branded POIs along the route. Taking advantage of the iPhone’s own functionalities, the app even allows navigating to contacts saved on the phone’s address book, to directly call the number of a point of interest such as a hotel or restaurant, share a location or destination with friends via email or listen to music from the iPod while navigating.

    The MobileNavigator transforms any iPhone 3G, equipped with at least Apple OS 3.0 operating system, or iPhone 3G S into a complete navigation device. After downloading the GPS application, the software and map data is saved directly on the device. This means that users don’t have to pay subscription fees or wait for map downloads during the navigation.

    “By making the MobileNavigator for the iPhone available for users in South Africa, we are taking another step towards the future market of GPS navigation on mobile phones,” said Gerhard Mayr, Vice President World-Wide Mobile Phone & New Markets of NAVIGON AG. “The combination of NAVIGON’s signature navigation features with typical functions from the iPhone creates an integrated and unique experience.”

    The NAVIGON solution sells for $99.99 and is equipped with maps of South Africa from NAVTEQ. It will be available for a promotional price of $74.99 until October 15.

    Key features of the NAVIGON MobileNavigator for the iPhone:

    • Speed Assistant with adjustable audio-visual warning.
    • Direct Access allows navigation to contacts saved in the iPhone’s address book.
    • Location Sharing. This feature makes it easier to meet-up with friends and acquaintances. Users can share their own location, an address or a point of interest such as a restaurant or museum with other people via email.
    • Route Planning. NAVIGON’s route planning function enables users to plan a route with different destinations ahead of a trip.
    • Call POI’s. The call POI function allows to directly call the number of a POI such as a restaurant or hotel by simply clicking on the number.
    • Seamless integration of the iPod control. Users can access the iPod functions while navigating. During voice announcements, the volume of the music smoothly fades out.
    • Automatic Day and Night Mode. Depending on the time and location, the map colors change for optimal display visibility at all times.
    • Branded POIs and POIs along the route
    • Take Me Home Button
    • 2D and 3D map view.
    • Automatic switch between portrait and landscape format.
    • Intelligent address entry.
    • Real signpost display.

    For more information and FAQs, please visit: www.navigon.com/iphone.

    You will also find NAVIGON on the following platforms:

    Twitter: www.twitter.com/NAVIGON_.
    YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/NAVIGONcom
    Facebook: http://facebook.twi.bz/Ob

  • Weekly app Review – 11 Oct

    After the success of my previous 2 posts of weekly app reviews, I have decided to make this a full-time weekly feature. The new apps that are hitting the app store just seem to be getting better and better with each one.So jumping right in….

    Photoshop.com Mobile – Free

    First off this week is an app that is awesome in all respects, least of all the price. Here we have a fully fledged photo editor on your iPhone, that is made by the gods of Image editing, Adobe. The app allows you to do the basics of cropping, rotating etc, but also allows you full control over options such as changing the exposure & saturation amongst others. The app also has a couple of funky filters that you can apply, and then finally you are able to upload the completed image to Photoshop.com for sharing. All in all a well rounded app, that has the potential to become one of the most used apps on my iPhone. Just get it…

    Remote – Free

    This isn’t necessarily a new app, but one I have been using loads lately. Imagine a braai with some mates. You fire up the iTunes on your computer, hand your friends your iPhone, and you have a fully fledged DJ in your hands. Seriously. You can now choose your next song, and if anyone else has an iPhone or an iPod touch, they can vote songs up or down. You can make playlists on the fly with your music, and even the genius function works wonders. This is a great app for those parties or braais that need a little bit of life injected into them.

    BaDaBoo – Free

    Ever had one of those moments sitting in a queue where you need something mindless to pass the time. Or a game that frustrates you to no end. Then this is the app you looking for. A simple game, where all you need to do is flick a ball into other balls, kinda like marbles, and make sure they all match up in colour after your 4 turns. The funky sounds in the game, just want to keep you coming back for more as well. It sounds a whole lot easier than it is. Once you have downloaded the game, let me know in the comments how you scored. Let’s see if you can beat my high score of 51570 :)

  • Weekly app review – 4 Oct

    Last week I started what I hope will become a weekly feature here, by reviewing a couple of the fantastic apps I have downloaded or used of the last week. With over 80000 apps available in the iTunes store, I’m pretty sure I’m not going to be running out of apps soon :) So, here are 3 apps I found pretty useful this week.

    Bargain Bin – FREE (Opens iTunes Link)

    A cool little app that, for me, runs in the “background” on the iPhone. By background, I mean, this app pushes me a notification whenever a popular app lowers in price, in the iTunes store. So When an app developer decides to have a special on their app, they lower the price in the iTunes store, and Bargain Bin, then picks this up, and sends me a push notification with the new price. I have picked up loads of bargains this way from the iTunes store. You can also have a watchlist of specified apps, so if the price drops, it will send you a push notification as well, for that specific app. A cool little app all round, which is handy to save a few $’s as well.

    CNN Mobile – $1.99 (Opens iTunes Link)

    Don’t let the price put you off of this one. This is well worth the $1.99 you goint to shell out for this. CNN is world renowned for the breaking news that they report on daily. And now you can get this on your iPhone. The best part of this app is the LIVE streaming breaking news you can watch on your phone. On Friday, the 2016 Olympic city was being announced, and I tested out this app, by watching the announcment, live, right on my Phone. The quality was unbelivable. Another awesome feature of this app, is all the news you can take in. The stories can be read in a “cover flow” format, simialr to iTunes. You also get push notification alerts for Breaking News stories. At first I was a bit sceptical about buying this app, cause a lot of the reviews moaned about the ads, but I honestly don’t find them intrusive at all. All in all an awesome app, that I highly recommended.

    StreamToMe – $1.99 (Opens iTunes Link)

    Shhh, don’t tell anyone about this app. This is one AWESOME AWESOME app. We all know the iPhone & iTunes can be a pain when trying to watch video’s on the phone. What StreamToMe does, it automagically converts most video formats including, MP4, AVI, MOV, FLV, MPG or WMV,  video/music you have stored on your local machine or external drive and plays it for you on your phone. You don’t have to convert anything to make it work, it converts the video as you watching. All you need is to have the Server software (http://projectswithlove.com/streamtome/servetome.html) running on your MAC, and the rest is 1 touch to watch your favourite series or movie on your phone while lying in Bed. A great, yet simple app all round.

  • Weekly app review – 27 Sep

    I have decided to start a weekly review of a couple of the iPhone apps I have downloaded over the last week, to give an idea of whats out there, and get some comments on what I may be missing out on. Let me know in the comments what apps you downloaded this last week, and if you tried any of the apps I mentioned what you thought.

    Best Camera – $2.99 (Link Opens iTunes)
    WOW. Fast becoming my new favorite photo app on the iPhone, and if you follow me on twitter, you will see some of the pics I have created using it.  I also did a quick review of it earlier this week. The app was created by world renowned photographer Chase Jarvis. To see some of the images I have magically created, check out my iPhone Photo blog iPhonetograph.com

    Ping! – Free for a limited time (Link Opens iTunes)
    A fantastic app, that allows you to instantly message you iPhone contacts, which then sends them a push notification, when they receive the message. Works similar to Blackberry Messenger, and cheaper than SMS. Just get it. It is free in the app store now, and is going to become an essential app to have on your iPhone. Ping me ->  MarcF

    Aardvark – Free (Link Opens iTunes)

    South African’s, don’t be fooled. This is NOT that dodgy search engine we all once used. Promise. (I will not be responsible for you clicking that link :))
    Aardvark, is set to become the next big thing. Trust me, and when it does, just say you read it here first. Aardvark allows you to post a question, about almost anything, and then matches you up with the best person for the job, and send them an IM or alerts them through their iPhone app. And as the community grows, the more clever people come on board, the more questions get answered, accurately, and the faster they get answered. I have asked a couple of questions, and within minutes, I have received a push notification that I have an answer. The system also works on Instant messaging, so it may randomly pop up (you can set it to how often you want it to ask you), and ask you to help answer the question. You specify your fields of speciality, and it works on that. Just trust me on this one. Really. To see what Aardvark is all about, and to sign up, go to Vark.com

  • Best Camera iPhone App

    Chase Jarvis is a world renowned photographer, who has one of the most awe inspiring portfolio’s I have ever seen, has released his own iPhone app, aptly called Best Camera (Opens iTunes). Why Best camera ? Cause as Chase says the “Best Camera is the one that’s with you”. At $2.99 on the App store this app is a Steal !!!

    The app has 14 different filters which can be applied to photos you have taken on your iPhone. Some of the cool filters include Warmify, which adds yellow tones, Jewel, a one Touch signature filter which creates rich textual looks. You can also one click crop to square, as well as add frames. Given 14 different filters you can make your photos look absolutely awesome :)

    Once you have finished applying the filters, you can upload to twitter, facebook or the specially developed community site for the app , http://www.thebestcamera.com/

    I have been playing around with it for the last day or so, and am blow away. Below are some of the images I have created using the BestCamera app: