MarcForrest.com

Category: iPhone

  • How to ensure Find My iPhone is activated

    How to ensure Find My iPhone is activated

    I recently read a couple of horror stories of break-ins and robberies from houses around South Africa. One of the articles I read had a guy chasing after the fleeing robbers, barefoot in a cop van, in Alexandra township with his neighbours iPhone in hand, tracking his iPhone and iPad which had been stolen in the robbery using the Find My iPhone application on the phone.

    Loads of people have asked about Find My iPhone and how it works, and how it is activated. So I thought I would put a quick blog post together with some info.

    • Check the Find My iPhone service activated. To do this on your iPhone or iPad go to Settings -> iCloud
    • Make sure you are signed into iCloud using your iTunes username and password. If you share multiple devices, you can sign into 1 account multiple times
    • Make sure the Find My iPhone switch is set to ON. This will ensure you are able to locate your device using the Find My iPhone app or iCloud when it is switched on
    • This will only work if it has internet connectivity, so if you have a 3G iPad, ensure it is always on

    There are a number of ways to check and see where your device is:

    • Download the Find My iPhone iOS app which can be installed on any iOS device. Using this device, you sign in using you iCloud username & password set above. This will display all the devices associated with this username & password
    • You can track your device online by going to the iCloud.com website. Again, sign in with your username & password and click on the Find My iPhone Icon. All your devices that are online will be viewable on the map

    Once you can see your devices on the map or in the app, there are a number of different options to alert the person with the device

    • Play sound – This will play a pinging sound for 2 minutes on the device at full volume, even if it is on mute. I have used this plenty times to find the iPhone when it’s slid down the back of the couch
    • Lost Mode – This mode allows you to put in a number where you can be contacted when someone finds the phone. It is important to put the phone number in International format (ie +27xxx) as this will allow the finder of the phone to call the number without having to unlock the phone. You can also set a message here to alert the finder of the phone that it is lost and has been locked. The phone will be locked using your existing lock code if you have one, otherwise you can set one from the App/Site
    • Erase Mode – This mode will erase all the content on the phone and set it back to factory reset. The biggest issue here is that the phone can no longer be tracked when it is set to Erase Mode. I suggest only doing this in extreme cases.

    Another cool tip is that Mac OS also offers Find My Mac functionality for your Macbook or iMac. The biggest downfall through is that the computer has to be connected to the internet to send the signal. You can set this up by going to System Preferences -> iCloud -> Activate Find My Mac

    Have you used Find My iPhone or Find My Mac before ? I think it’s an awesome little add-on which not many people use.

  • MTN Business App Of The Year Awards 2013

    MTN Business App Of The Year Awards 2013

    It’s time for the Annual MTN Business App Of The Year Awards which celebrates South Africa’s technical talent by showcasing locally developed applications that make a positive and lasting impact on consumers.

    Last year the overall winners were the team from FNB for the FNB Mobile Apps

    The award categories are as follows:

    • Best IOS App – Enterprise
    • Best IOS App – Consumer
    • Best BlackBerry App – Enterprise
    • Best BlackBerry App – Consumer
    • Best Android App – Enterprise
    • Best Android App – Consumer
    • Best Windows App
    • Best HTML5 App
    • Most Innovative App
    • Best Garage Developer App

    To submit your app – download the entry form  attach the required screenshots, game shots, pack shots or presentations as well as usernames and passwords that might be required to access your app for judging. Entry forms can be emailed to [email protected]

    You can also visit the official competition website www.appoftheyear.co.za to submit your apps.

    Some points to note: 

    • Only apps that are Live and available to consumers will be considered.
    • The deadline for submissions is the 1st of July and the awards will be taking place in August.

    Good luck, and I’m looking forward to seeing who will take the prize this year, there have been some awesome apps being released this year

  • Review – Cars.co.za iPhone app

    Review – Cars.co.za iPhone app

    There has been quite a number of South African iPhone apps released over the last couple of months, which is awesome to see that brands are catching on and releasing apps to enhance their product offerings.

    One of the apps I came across recently was the new Cars.co.za iPhone & iPad (iTunes Link) app. The guys at Cars.co.za already have an amazing site which allows you to search for used cars, get info about new cars & also keep up to date with the latest motoring news in South Africa.

    I have personally used the site a number of times when looking for info on cars and second hand cars, and have been pleasantly surprised with the amount info coming out of the site.

    So I guess it was only logical when they developed an iOS app which basically replicates the site, and offers a number of search options as well as a feed of the latest news.

    Using the app on iPhone & iPad you can search for used vehicles and mark them as favorites, which you can then access later. The app also offers a specials tab from dealers and the latest motoring news, replicated from the website.

    One cool function I did find, which was obscurely hidden away in the tools menu, was the ability to see specs, images & prices on new cars from almost any manufacturer, and allow you to contact the dealer straight from the app. This is a really handy tool when doing research on new cars. A nice little add on for this would be the ability to email me the specs or save it as a favorite to view later.

    All in all the cars.co.za is an awesome little app for not only the motoring enthusiast, but also anyone who is in the market for a new or used car.

    [app url=”https://itunes.apple.com/za/app/cars.co.za/id626789511?mt=8″]

  • Incipio Atlas Waterproof Case for iPhone 5

    Incipio Atlas Waterproof Case for iPhone 5

    It’s been a couple of months coming, but last week I managed to pick up one of the first Incipio Atlas case available in South Africa, from the good people at Above & Beyond Distributors.

    I have been so keen for this cover since it was launched at the annual CES show earlier this year, and finally it is available in South Africa, for what I think is a pretty reasonable R1,199, and is now available on my new little side venture, the online shop Geekshop (more info coming soon :) )

    The case is built to withstand pretty much everything, from dust to water, and in testing it over the last couple of days, I can safely concur that it stands up to pretty much everything.

    The case is made from an Ultra impact-resistant, shock-absorbent Flex material which provides advanced protection in any environments. The front glass is made from crystal-clear tempered glass which provides optical clarity and protection, although I did find that fingerprints were also fairly noticeable on the case. That said, the screen is super-responsive with the case on, and works 100%. In fact someone asked me if I just had a screen protector on.
    Also included in the packaging is a headphone cable extender which allows you to plug in your earphones with the case on.

    testeThe case has also been tested and met a number of number of international standards including the US Military 810 Standard (Loads of detail about this test here) which puts the devices through a number of tests, including submersion at 2 meters for 60 minutes, drop tests from 3 meters and Vibration & Dust tests. There are a couple of other seriously in-depth tests that have been conducted with this awesome case.

    There are a number of these types of  cases available out there including the Lifeproof, Otterbox and the Griffin Survivor. I have previously tested all of these and specifically the LIfeproof, and can honestly say the Atlas is way better than the Lifeproof. The case just feels that much stronger and sturdy.

    One of the things people have been noticed about with the Atlas case is the sound quality on the earpiece making a sort of strange rattling sound when used with the case. I tried to hear that, but didn’t notice any difference on mine, and call quality seemed great !

    Overall I think the price of this case is well well, worth the quality and functionality of this case. If you an outdoors person or often find yourself dropping your iPhone, I can highly recommend this case. I think you might have a tough time trying to break this case :)

  • Santam Backtracks iPhone app – WHY ?

    Santam Backtracks iPhone app – WHY ?

    If you follow this blog regularly  you will notice I am a huge fan of South African developed iPhone apps for South African brands, and often feature them after finding out about them.

    But this one baffles me, and I honestly can’t figure out, why ? Why would, Santam, who are an insurance company (who indecently looks after my personal insurance) create an app that has absolutely nothing to do with insurance ?

    I only found out about the app after listening to a rather cheezy radio ad on my way to a meeting, and decided to look at the app and what it offers. I thought that maybe the ad was a front for their corporate app, but nope, it seems my insurance company has developed an app that allows you to add backtracks to your videos and just allows you to play a noise, which will “help you out of an awkward situation”

    Awkward…

    There are 2 buttons in the app, 1 which tells you that Santam is in fact a insurance provider, and the other to let you request a quote from them, just in case you didn’t really believe they were an insurance company…

    All I can think is that what happened with this app, is the top brass said (a common occurrence these days) “We NEED an APP !!” and the marketing team thought it would be a great idea to make a really great and fun-filled app !

    Seriously Santam, you might want to re-think this one ? Rather give me an app where I can view my policy, lodge a claim, view claim progresses, and get in touch with your team. That’s 4 buttons you can replace with the 4 you already have at the bottom of your app ?

    Unless I am seriously missing something ???