All posts in Mobile

Flick App by Cape Town student

A new app launched today called Flick (Easy to transfer files between iOS, OSX, Windows and Linux.) and it’s reported that it was created by a 20 year old Cape Town student! Absolutely awesome to see things like things coming out of Cape Town, incredibly impressive!

Android will be coming soon!

LTE available for iPhone 5 on Vodacom

That’s right folks, Apple have rolled out a software update which gives iPhone 5 devices access to LTE – yes, that means you’ll have lightning fast Internet on your iPhone 5 once you’ve updated!

Check this out:

If you’re not sure what LTE is, About.com have created a video which explains it:

This is 4th generation technology, which offers us serious connectivity speed on our iPhone 5′s!

Once you’ve updated the software, you’ll be prompted to enter in new carrier settings:  lte.vodacom.za

Update: “Your number must also be provisioned with the LTE service. Your nearest Vodacom dealer will be able to activate it for you (or call customer care).”

Live Tile Experiment

With the recent launch of Windows Phone 8, Microsoft are experimenting with some awesome marketing campaigns, one of which involves a live tile. I really don’t want to spoil it by explaining it to you, but rather take a watch of the video which is rather short and you’ll get a real feeling for what the campaign is all about – pretty wicked idea if you ask me!

In other news, Microsoft are coming under legal fire for this and you can read about that here.

Controversial Badabing! iPhone Application

A new iPhone application has popped up and is causing a lot of stir on the Internet. The applications sole purpose is to allow people to find photographs of their friends in revealing outfits. Of course, there’s the funny side to this, but at the same time there’s a fear attached to it and I can completely see why people are jumping up and down about it with anger.

Once a user has found the photographs he or she is looking for, with a click it’s possible to share these photographs with others, this means that pictures that aren’t meant to be public (even though they’re on Facebook in the first place) could go public and people could get hurt. It raises the question about stalking and safety of people of course. 

Probably not the best application ever launched and unfortunately due to the Internet’s viral nature, this will go viral and thousands of people will be using it. My advice is to make sure that you remove any revealing photographs you’ve put on Facebook before they’re found in forums and places that you wouldn’t want them to be.

Facebook is more public than we all think, think before you post!

40% Jump in Apple Product theft

Articles have been published today about Apple product thefts increasing by as much as 40% in New York City. This stat is doubly interesting because the spike in crime is going over and above the city’s overall crime rate – the devices are that much in demand, and it stands to reason because of the sheer cost I guess.

11,447 devices have reportedly been stolen since the beginning of the year – this compared to last year gives us the figure of a 40% increase. It has also been reported that the devices are being stolen on the street, in subways and is absolutely not specific to shop breaking.

In an effort to assist with the crime rate of Apple products, the NYPD have launched a program that lets people register their devices, so that devices can be tracked when stolen.

Major security vulnerability with Samsung mobile phones

Is it just me, or since Apple and Samsung bitch slapped each other, mobile news has been pumping out into the world wide web? Today’s news is about a major security vulnerability in some TouchQiz-based Samsung smartphones, which includes the Galaxy S2 and certain Galaxy S3 models on the older firmware.

The vulnerability is quite scary – with a single line of code on a website, the device visiting the website will immediately trigger a factory reset without prompting the user! Youch. This means that with a little extra code, you could more than likely automatically dial a number on the device or who knows what else.

The fix: Update your device’s software as soon as possible if you use your mobile to surf the Internet or use applications.

I’m not a Samsung user (although the D500 was one of my best phones ever), but from what I can tell, the Samsung site offers what you need to do an update to your phone’s firmware.

Have you experienced this problem?

Introducing: Split Bill

I doubt there’s anyone who can’t relate to a situation at a restaurant when the bill comes and you have to calculate who owes what – it’s an absolute nightmare sometimes. The good news is that a new iPhone application has been launched that allows parties to split their restaurant bill, simply, and beautifully.

Say hello to Split Bill.

Here are some screenshots:

Really cool idea, no more losing track whilst writing on the bill, no more time-wasting discussions and no more miscalculations – If anything, it’ll save you a good few minutes and some stress every time you go out for food or drinks with your mates. The application also comes with a built in tip calculator.

I’m stoked to see South Africans launching awesome web and mobile apps, there’s Pashash, Serperture, Airborne Music and many others popping up all over the place, and what intrigues me most is that these apps are built by the younger less established folks in the market.

Coupons, Coupons, Coupons

Want a coupon for Split Bill? Here you go, first come, first serve:

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Want a coupon for Serperture? Here you go, first come, first serve:

  • http://www.serperture.com/promo?h=37500409b93a
  • http://www.serperture.com/promo?h=0a51c649ab0f
  • http://www.serperture.com/promo?h=7bd0058d1dd6

Video introduction to Apples iOS6

Since Apple unveiled the new iPhone 5, everyone’s been talking about iOS 6 and I’ve read several exciting reviews about it and felt I’d look for a video so that we could look at the great features.

The three most spoken about features are Facebook Integration, Siri on the iPad and of course, Apple Maps. Apple Maps is probably the one thing that has had me excited – I have nothing against Google Maps, in fact, I use it really often, but to know that there is a built in Apple Maps makes sense.

Here’s a video that Mashable put together:

Of course, this isn’t a very granular break down of the features, but it’s enough to give us an understanding of what’s available to us in the new operating system.

I’ve got an unlocked phone and I’m too anxious to upgrade the software unfortunately, so if you’ve upgraded, please let me know how you’re finding it!

Ah, the iPhone 5 is finally here!

Apple have confirmed that the next mobile device they’re unveiling is the iPhone 5. For those of you who follow, you’ll know that I’m an Apple fan, so I naturally get exciting whenever a new product gets launched – can’t wait to get my hands on one – pity I’m in South Africa, it’ll be months until we get them here.

I don’t know all the ins and outs, but over the past several months (since dear Steve Jobs passed away), Apple haven’t done anything amazing or anything that I feel has kept them ahead of the pack, in fact, I’ve been turning my eyes to Android a little more, which goes to show! So, what I’m hoping is that the iPhone 5 and the release of iOS6 will bolster Apple back into the heat and we’ll see what we’ve all grown to love about Apple.

The release date of the device is September 12th (2012 of course), which is just a week tomorrow! I really hope Core arranges for the device to be sold locally in due course so I don’t have to arrange another import and deal with the unlocking fiasco again! Then again, I don’t think I can justify R10k for a mobile device, but let’s see what happens.

So, who’s going to be getting one?

iPhone 5 Promo Video

Take a look at the a leaked video of the iPhone 5 promo video:

[Hat Tip, Rou]

 

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