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  • [Review] iPad DODOCase now available in South Africa

    The guys from WildTwig (better known for their iTunes Vouchers) got in touch me the other day to let me know they have officially partnered with DODOCase to bring the awesome DODOCase cover for the iPad to South Africa. The iPad cover is THE ultimate iPad cover, and has won numerous awards, ranking it as one the top accessories to have.

    The DODOcase exterior gives your iPad the look and feel of a hard-bound book. Not only does this provide superior protection, it disguises your iPad to look like an ordinary book, preventing theft. The DODOcase cradles your device in a strong, yet gentle, bamboo tray. The multifunctional design also allows you to use the case as a stand for typing or watching videos.

    I have had mine for a couple of days now and I am really impressed. The quality is far superior to any case I have ever had, as well as it makes for easy handling when using the iPad as a book. The fact that it look awesome, with a moleskin type feel, and you can choose from 9 different interior colours.

    The WildTwig guys are selling them for $72.95 from their site, which works out to around R600. This comes in at around what some of the other iPad cases I priced. The Apple Smart Cover goes for between R499 & R799.


    If you keen on finding out more about the DODOCase, I suggest checking out the WildTwig site, where they have loads of pictures & videos showing you. 

  • South African Mobile Apps Directory

    I have been putting together of all Mobile developed apps in South Africa. This is across all platforms, including, iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7 & Nokia.

    The list is by no means complete, and there may well be lots of apps missing. The idea of the list is to be as “open source” as possible, with the community contributing. If you see a missing app, . There aren’t any specific rules & regulations for the submissions of apps, except that the app should be developed in South Africa & should be geared for South Africans. If you have developed an international app, that would also be awesome to see.

    The list has grown quite a bit since I started collecting information last week, and has some interesting stats. Firstly iOS seems to be the most developed for platform in South Africa, with around 80 apps that I have come across personally. Android has 17, and BlackBerry & WP7 minimal. Nokia has a quite a few from Simon Botes & the guys at AppCraft.
    What I also noticed is that the majority of apps in South Africa are free from the stores. This again proves that the “app culture” in South Africa is still in it’s infancy, and we have a long & exciting road ahead of us.

    So, to see the list of apps I have already collected, head on over to the I have put together. Eventually, I will try and put this into some sort of a directory site. One day. You can see the doc here ->

    If you see an app that is missing from the list, please please add it, using this Google Docs Form ->

    You can also mail me details of your apps if you wish, and I will add it. Also, please feel free to add a comment below if you want with the details.

    Looking forward to the list growing in South Africa, and doing a follow up post soon with some more interesting stats.

     

     

  • Introducing Qprefs – Access settings directly on your iPhone

    I came across a couple of sites earlier today that found a neat little hack in iOS5, which allows you to access certain parts & preferences of the iOS operating system using specific URL’s.

    My good friend from iPhoneZA.co.za put together a neat little web app called IconSettings which allows you to create icons and add them to your home screen and access specific portions.

    After being inspired and loving what he had done, I started playing around with HTML5 and some javascript stuff (non dev dude here), and came up with a nifty little tool (I think so anyways) called Qprefs.info

     

    Basically you can access all of these hidden links on 1 page. So for example, you can turn wifi on or off using this page, or even get access to the brightness screen. Turn Location services On/Off, check for software updates. Loads more, there are around 35 different functions on the screen.

    To access this, you need to visit http://Qprefs.info on your iPhone/iPad/iPad touch. Or simply just snap the QR Code below, and you will be redirected to the page.

    Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below :)

     

  • A weekend with Johnnie Walker at the Gary Player Invitational

    A weekend with Johnnie Walker at the Gary Player Invitational

    As I mentioned last week, I was fortunate to get an invite to attend the Gary Player Invitational at Zimbali from the guys at Johnnie Walker. Yoh ! What. A. Weekend. Amazing to say the least :)

    I got to Zimbali on Saturday around lunchtime and quickly checked into the awesome Fairmont Zimbali Resort. Seriously, if you ever get an opportunity to stay in this hotel, grab it. The place is another world. The staff are super friendly and helpful, and the rooms are HUGE. I stayed in one of the Villa apartments, which is probably bigger than my house. Each room also gets their own Golf Cart to run around in.

    So, after a quick check-in, I headed up to the country club to get sorted and start watching some golf. Headed down to the 9th green and managed to watch a couple of guys come through. There were loads of celebrities & pro golf players in the field, so was quite cool to see some faces you only get to see in the papers & on TV.

    At round 3ish, the first group with Gary Player finished their round on the 18th. We then headed down to the putting practice green, where Gary Player gave us some putting tips. Keep your head down, and keep your head still. Easy. Not quite. A few of us from the “media” (bout 6) were then allowed to have a quick one on one session with the man himself, with some personal coaching.

    To say this was daunting was a bit of an understatement. Here, this legend, has been a Pro Golfer for over 60 years ! Sixty.Years. Wow !
    So I stepped up for my 3 practice putts, and needless to say, I sucked. Hahaha. All 3 of my shots were too hard, and the coach wasn’t happy.  But all in good fun. We then proceeded to a putting competition, and the winner, who was closest to the hole would win a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. My shot was to hard again, and I overran the target. Eventually Ben from FollowTheBounce won the bottle (read his recount of the weekend here), and got it signed my Gary Player himself. That’s probably gonna be worth a bit in a few years time. Awesome prize.

    We then headed back to our rooms to get sorted for the evening’s event, more commonly known as “The Saturday Night Party”.Very Apt. After a couple of speeches and some great dinner, the entertainment for the evening was Johnny Clegg, who is beyond amazing. That guy is a legend in his own right. And he really got the crowd going. Then after that a few(few) Johnnie Walker Black Labels were consumed with a lot of dancing with Gareth Cliff on the decks. All in all a VERY VERY cool evening, and a lot of sorry looking faces at breakfast the next morning.

    We headed down to the 9th green again to see the golfers come through. We were quite lucky to see the whole field come through, and saw a couple of great putts. One day, I will be able to putt like that.

    So, all in all, an awesome & inspirational weekend ! Some great golf, lots of really cool people, and really well organised event. A huge HUGE thanks to the team from Johnnie Walker for the invite. Def THE highlight of my year so far.

  • Off to the Gary Player Invitational at Zimbali this weekend

    The guys from Johnnie Walker gave me a call a few weeks ago to invite me to the very cool Gary Player Invitational Golf Tournament at Zimbali this coming weekend. Johnnie Walker are one of the premier sponsors of the event, and it is looking to be a cracker of a weekend with some great golfers and celebrities lined up. The golfers in the challenge have been handpicked from a whole host of backgrounds, and achievements.

    Some of the lineup for the big event include Gary Player, Ian Woosnam, Tony Johnstone, Sally Little, Roger Wessels and European tour winner George Coetzee, while some of the celebrities who will be lining up are sporting legends Pierre Spies, Lucas Radebe, Kapil Dev, Paul Collingwood, Shaun Pollock, rugby referee Craig Joubert and popular 5FM Breakfast Show host, Thomas Msengana. I’m gonna be heading down on Saturday to see some of these guys (and lady) in action. I am also really excited to have been invited to an exclusive putting session with Gary Player on Saturday afternoon, so will def be taking some pics and reporting back on that over the weekend. You can also follow me on Twitter, and I’ll be posting pics during the course of the day.

    I had a bit of extra time on my hands last night, so I did some reading up on the Johnnie Walker brand and how it was started. The story itself is really interesting and, actually, pretty inspiring. The story goes that early in 1805 a grocer, John Walker saw a gap in the market for a whisky brand, which starting to gain popularity as a drink at the time, and decided to start blending his own. From there the blend become popular and people started asking for it by name, which was then named Johnnie Walker. The business & brand was passed on through generations, and only in 1908 did the striding man logo, that we all know so well today, come to life. Actually if you read the whole story (Also read the Wikipedia story) you will see how inspirational the story was, and how the brand has become so popular over the years. The association with the Gary Player invitational is pretty cool in the sense, if you look at what Gary Player has achieved, both as a golfer, and as a person, you will see the similarities between the brand and the legend.

    I once read a quote by Gary Player – “The harder you practise, the luckier you get“, which is actually so true with anything in life, and actually pretty comparable to the Johnnie Walker motto ‘Keep Walking’ which essentially helps men and woman focus on their own progress and inspires them to move forward in life.