MarcForrest.com

Blog

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 1^st 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
May 24, 2013
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″]

May 23, 2013
Introducing Geekshop – Online shopping for Geeks

More often than not I get asked by people who have seen my reviews on the gadgets & gizmos I get to review, “Where can I get one of those ?”

Usually I direct them to some brick & mortar store, who doesn’t end up having stock or not knowing what they exactly wanted. So I did some thinking & tinkering and put together, what I think, a pretty cool online store, where you can buy all these gadgets & gizmos. Clever hey !

So enter Geekshop. Geekshop is simply an online shop where you can get everything from Covers for your iPhone to Cool Remote Controlled Helicopters, to fully installed home security camera systems. You can also even pick up a Entry Level Android Phone or even some Cool Screen Protectors for your phone or iPad. I also managed to get some of the awesome stylish FLD Products Bags on offer

The idea is really to keep it plain and simple and as easy as possible. Payment can be made via PayFast using Credit Cards or Instant EFT and there is free shipping on orders over R350. Else there is a next day (2 days for outlying regions) for R35 delivery.

So that’s it. I would love some feedback on Geekshop and any ideas or product lines welcome. Really want to try and make the store as accessible and user friendly to everyone :)

May 16, 2013
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.

The 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 :)

May 14, 2013
Talk on iPhoneography at Epson Develop Yourself Event

Last week I got given an awesome opportunity to talk a bit more about iPhoneography in South Africa at the fantastic Epson Develop Yourself event, which was held in Jozi.

The event centred around the launch of the new Epson Inktank Printers which are being launched in SA at the moment. The Intank system allows low cost printing, with refills only costing around R100 per bottle. Much cheaper than your standard run of the mill printers.

The printers are also WiFi enabled printers which allow you to print photos at a fraction of the cost, using a specially developed iPhone app, called Epson iPrint. We also managed to go on a photowalk around the Arts on Main area in Jozi, and take some photos.

The presentation I did centred around iPhoneography, where it is in South Africa, and where it is going. I used the awesome Prezi to put together the presentation, and got some pretty cool feedback.

Here is the presentation I did, would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below :)

April 30, 2013