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  • Ster-Kinekor iPhone App

    I got wind yesterday, on Twitter, from the team at Prezence Digital in Cape Town about the new Ster-Kinekor iPhone app (FREE) they released. I knew that they had done the mobi site & website revamp a while back, so I knew this one would be a goodie. I often use the mobi site to book tickets, and the whole user experience is something to behold. Everything just works, and they have made is simple to use.

    So I downloaded the Ster-Kinekor app yesterday, and gave it a run.  WOW ! Was seriously blown away with the simplicity and usability of this app. Although I haven’t actually booked a movie for the family yet, I can’t wait to make that booking. The app allows you specify your closest theatre, and shows you whats showing there with full info. You can also watch trailers, and of course, book your seats. You zoom right down onto the seat you want, book it, and boom. Done. Simple.

    I have to admit, this is by far one of the best locally developed apps I have seen in a while, and I can’t wait to see what the iPad version will look like. Now just to find the time to go watch some movies :P

    From the app store description:

    Experience the poster-rich fan-centric Ster-Kinekor mobile app. This feature rich movie app with interactive seating plans, toggling between Ster-Kinekor and Nouveau cinemas has been created for the movie fans, by a team of movie fans who just love movies anytime, anywhere!

    Swipe through movie lists of what’s currently on circuit and coming soon:
    • Find out what’s “Now Showing” and “Coming Soon” – use our search function, browse movies by poster and filter movies by
    • Genre
    • Cinema
    • Date

    • View high-quality trailers that plays seamlessly on the app.
    • Read detailed movie information that includes synopses, parental ratings, run times, director, producer and casts lists and enriched Movie News from Africa’s number 1 Entertainment Content provider.
    • View accurate performance times
    • Find nearby cinemas using the iOS location feature, view them in a list or within a map and connnect with the maps app for directions
    • Send trailers to your Apple TV over Airplay
    • Sync booked movie times with your iphone’s calendar and get an alert an hr before the start of the performance

    Purchase Tickets:
    • Buy tickets seamlessly without leaving the app.
    • Get the seats you want by interacting with the cinema seating plan and choose the exact location of where you would like to sit in the cinema (for cinemas that allow reserved seating).

    • Sign into your Ster-Kinekor profile account to update your profile information so that relevant movie news gets delivered to you

    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/za/app/ster-kinekor-theatres/id554648185?mt=8″]

     

  • Unlocking the power of the internet with my top 10 iPhone Apps

    Over the last couple of weeks I have been doing a post a week with some of the best iPad apps I have come across over the last few years. I really enjoyed putting the lists together and got some great feedback. Some of the categories I covered were Travel, News, Kids Games, Educational Games & even Cooking apps.

    So now, I thought to end off the series, I wanted to put together a list of my Top 10 iPhone apps. The ones I use on a daily basis, and would recommend installing first, when buying your new iPhone. Make sure you read all the way to the bottom of the list, I have an exciting prize of a 5GB data bundle, to use as you wish,  to give away from the team at Vodacom, who are helping us all “Unlock the power of the internet”

    Number 1 on my list has to be Tweetbot. This is without a doubt, the first icon that gets opened on my iPhone every morning. The functionality and design of this app is far superior to any other Twitter app out there. I would even go so far to say, that it is def the best looking app I have on my iPhone. The cost of the app for the iPhone is $2.99. Well worth it. Just get it if you have a twitter account

    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tweetbot-for-twitter-iphone/id428851691?mt=8″]

    The next app that gets used “first thing in the morning” is the Facebook App. Given the recent update, which has made it waaay more user friendly, it’s a must have on your home screen. And it’s free !

    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/facebook/id284882215?mt=8″]

    Whatsapp is the next app to claim it’s stake on my home screen. Almost everyone uses Whatsapp now, so it’s a no-brainer to have this app. The cost of $0.99 is worth every cent given how many people are using it !

    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/za/app/whatsapp-messenger/id310633997?mt=8″]

    The number 4 spot on my must have iPhone apps is another regularly used app. Camera+ – The ultimate iPhone camera replacement app. I have moved this to my home screen and the standard iPhone camera to the “Unused” folder on the last page. Another “must-have” app at only $0.99

    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/za/app/camera+/id329670577?mt=8″]

    The wildly popular and very user friendly FNB Banking app is another home screen resident. I use the FNB app for quite a bit of my online banking now, and prefer being able to use it on the go. It has saved my life *many times* :)

    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/za/app/fnb-banking-app/id450094779?mt=8″]

    I have to admit (if you didn’t already know) I’m a HUGE instagram fan, so another one of those FREE have-to-download apps. This app and the images of some of the people I follow keeps me entertained for hours.

    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/za/app/instagram/id389801252?mt=8″]

    In at number 7 is another app I keep on my home screen, purely for 1 small feature. The app is called Celsius, It’s an awesome looking weather app,  and has a red “push-notification” icon which shows you the current premature for your selected city.Very clever ! The app is also pretty useful and is pretty accurate in terms of the actual weather conditions, and a bargain at only $0.99

    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/celsius-weather-temperature/id426940482?mt=8″]

    The default browser on the iPhone, Safari, is another app relegated to the dreaded “Unused” folder. This means that the awesome FREE Google Chrome app takes it place as the go-to browser. The fact that it syncs between your desktop & mobile devices, makes it super cool. My next wishlist item from the team at Apple is the ability to allow me to select it as my default browser. Would make life so much simpler :)

    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chrome/id535886823?mt=8″]

    The 2nd last app on this list is a rather simple app. And this app gets used way, way to often on my iPhone. Simply called Flashlight, this “tool” comes in really handy when I need a torch, which seems to be a lot more often than “normal” people. (Not quite sure why though :)) There are loads of Flashlight type apps in the app store, but this one has proven to be the best by far !

    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flashlight/id379745980?mt=8″]

    Last, but certainly not least, and another of my “morning reads” is the ever popular News24 App. Although the pop-up ads can be a bit annoying, the app always has the latest breaking news. Turn on the push notifications for Breaking news, and you get the news first. Pretty handy, when you a news junkie like me ;)

    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/za/app/news24/id310970460?mt=8″]

    So, that’s my list of the 10 must have home screen apps. And we want to hear what your favorites are.

    Use the RaffleCopter form below to enter in the comp ! The more you do, the more chances you have of winning.

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    We will select a winner by Random draw next week Monday 3rd September. The winner will receive a 5GB data bundle compliments of Vodacom ! Good luck !

  • 2012 iPhoneography Exhibition entries NOW OPEN !

    ENTRIES FOR THE 2012 iPhoneography Exhibition are now OPEN !! All the info @ http://iPhoneographySA.com

    Following the success of the inaugural 2011 iPhoneographySA exhibition, MarcForrest.com & iStore have teamed up again to bring you the exciting 2012 edition of the exhibition.

    This year promises to be a cracker event with events planned for Johannesburg, on the 11th October, & for the first time ever, in Cape Town on the 23rd October.

    Entries will be open from Monday 27th August to Wednesday 26th September (JHB) & 8th October (CT) for submissions.

    Anyone who has taken an iPhone photo, is eligible to enter, so please feel free to upload your images. We have opted to limit the entries this year to a maximum of 5 per person. Once entries have closed, a judging panel will go through all the images to see who goes onto to the final round of exhibting. For full guidelines on the 2012 exhibition visit your Guidelines Page

    This year we have teamed up with the printing team from Printwild to ensure uniformity with the look & feel of the event, and ensuring all prints are delivered on time for hanging.

    We are really excited about this years event, and look forward to your entries. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us on [email protected].

    Stay tuned for updates on this site for more info closer to the time on the events that will be happening with our launch evenings.

     

  • 15 must have Travel apps for your iPad

    I have personally used some of these 15 travel iPad apps in the list below, and they come highly recommended ! If you think I missed any, pop them in a comment below ;)

    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flightboard-live-flight-departure/id390553006?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tourwrist/id335671384?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tripadvisor-hotels-flights/id284876795?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tripit-travel-organizer-free/id311035142?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weathersa/id474736329?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/xe-currency-for-ipad/id364733584?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-world-clock/id368177365?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/go!-kilimanjaro/id471305659?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/za/app/go!-namibia/id422583470?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/go!-kruger/id455235452?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/za/app/go!-travel-south-africa/id474424372?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/50-greatest-photographs-national/id418971545?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/1000-places-to-see-before/id479543504?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/1000-ultimate-experiences/id363314863?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lonely-planet-magazine-dream/id483219715?mt=8″]

  • 11 Essential News iPad apps

    If you are a fan of news on the go like I am, then these 11 iPad news apps are for you ! I usually go through a couple of them in the morning to see whats cooking in the world !
    Any other suggestions of apps I may have missed, leave a comment below :)

    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/za/app/news24-ipad-edition/id376978149?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/za/app/businessday-ipad-edition/id443935519?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/za/app/imaverick/id465130011?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-guardian-eyewitness/id363993651?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bbc-news/id364147881?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-wall-street-journal./id364387007?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-telegraph-for-ipad/id388947468?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-washington-post-for-ipad/id401284198?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sky-tg24/id360500248?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cnbc-real-time-for-ipad/id398018310?mt=8″]
    [app url=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cnn-app-for-ipad/id407824176?mt=8″]