iMerlion: The Singapore iPhone/iPad Guide

Remember GE 2011 and support independent journalism in Singapore!

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:36:00 +0000

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The General Elections and the Presidential Elections last year were landmark events in Singapore's political scene. It was the time when Singaporean voters, filled with what Catherine Lim has termed "PAP Fatigue", decided to issue a wake-up call to the ruling party.

Remember those heady days with Vote 2011: Singapore Decides, History in Pictures (US$1.99), an iPad app made up of amazing photos from the two elections.

This app is an extended version of the print magazine, GE 2011: We were there, updated with photos from the Presidential Elections. The magazine itself, if you can find it, sells for S$11 so this app at just US$1.99 is a steal.

About half of the photos in the app were taken by people connected with the Wee Kim Wee School of Journalism at the Nanyang Technological University so proceeds from the sale of this app will go to the Wee Kim Wee Legacy Fund at NTU to support documentary photo projects.

Buy this app and support independent journalism in Singapore!

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Best local movies app now even better

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:13:00 +0000

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Popcorn, the best app for locating movies to watch in Singapore, has just gotten even better.

Popcorn Plus (US$2.99) now lets you see at a glance whether seats are selling out at Cathay, GV and Shaw. You can also be notified when seats are selling out for a particular showtime, and also when a specific movie has opened in cinemas.

If you're a movie buff, this will be the best US$2.99 you'll ever spend. Click here to buy it.

And if you're an iMerlion reader, here's your chance to get it for free. We are giving out five promo codes to iMerlion readers. Just email editor at imerlion dot com in the next 24 hours and we will hand out the promo codes to five random lucky readers!

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App makes embarrassing ICs photos a thing of the past

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 04:55:00 +0000

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Face it, most of us would be too embarrassed to show people our IC photos. They were taken when we were gawky teenagers with bad hair and wearing glasses that have long been out of date. And the person taking the photo certainly wan't Russell Wong.

Fortunately, there is now a solution. Tinkertanker has come up with a free app helpfully called IC Photo for Singapore NRIC and Passports. This app will help you take a great shot of yourself, with everything perfectly aligned. You can arrange the lighting to be as flattering as possible, and take as many pictures as you like till you find one that makes you look good.

According to the ICA, if you are 30, you are able to pay $10 to re-register your NRIC. If you've lost or damaged your IC, you pay $60 for a new IC.

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TrafficLah alerts you to traffic jams

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 04:34:00 +0000

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The good people at buuuk had been pretty busy. Apart from DengueLah, they have also just released a free app called TrafficLah that will help you avoid traffic jams.

What's nice about this app is that it will learn what your regular route is and you can set it to send an alert if there is a traffic incident on your regular route or on nearby routes.

If you drive an Off-Peak Car, the app will help you buy an electronic day license to drive your car that day.

All in all, pretty neat.

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DengueLah helps you avoid dengue hotspots in Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 04:23:00 +0000

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Track dengue hotspots with buuuk's latest app DengueLah. Stay safe!

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Pushing the Limits now available on Kindle too

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:37:00 +0000

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Here's your opportunity to save trees (and more importantly, save on shipping). Mugunth Kumar's iOS 5 Programming Pushing the Limits is now available on Kindle as well as iBooks. If you prefer owning the dead tree version of this book, you can buy it from Amazon as well. Amazon is selling it for US$27.70

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Learn iOS development from the developer of Definition. No experience required.

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 04:13:00 +0000

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Let's face it. Not all of us are ready to tackle Mugunth Kumar's iOS 5 Programming Pushing the Limits: Developing Extraordinary Mobile Apps for Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. Mugunth's book is a mid-level to advanced guide to iOS programming. What if you're just an ordinary Joe who has an great app idea and who wants to become a millionaire? What you need is help from The Pragmatic Lab.

The Pragmatic Lab is run by local developer Sidwyn Koh, who is responsible for the iOS app Definition and was one of the developers of Seesmic.

He is offering one-day basic, intermediate and advanced courses and will also do custom courses for you (if you're a student, a member of staff or an alumni of NUS, you also get a special discount). Sidwyn promises that even if you have no programming experience whatsoever, by the end of the basic course, you will be able to make your own simple app.

Alternatively, if you find that his rates are too rich for your blood, the entrepreneurial Sidwyn also has video tutorials that you can buy as well from his website Dive into iOS.

If you have a loved one who wants to get started with iOS programming, signing him or her up for courses with The Pragmatic Lab would make a great Christmas present.

Click here to go to The Pragmatic Lab or here to check out Dive into iOS.

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Local developer's programming book a bestseller on Amazon

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:05:00 +0000

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A new book co-written by local iOS developer Mugunth Kumar is doing well on Amazon's bestsellers list, even though the book isn't out yet.

The book, iOS 5 Programming Pushing the Limits: Developing Extraordinary Mobile Apps for Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, was written by Rob Napier and Singapore's own Mugunth Kumar and will be released on Dec 20.

However, even though the book has not been released, it is already number 2 in Amazon's Mobile and Wireless Programming category.

According to Mugunth, the book is aimed at mid-level to advanced iOS developers. Mugunth contributed eight of the 20 chapters in this book.

The book is out just in time for Christmas. This handsome 360-page paperback is just US$27.70 from Amazon so buy the book today. It will make an ideal present for your favorite iOS coder who's been nice all year round.

This book is also available on Apple's iBooks here which you can buy if you have a US iTunes account.

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Intellectually disabled children in Singapore benefitting from the iPad

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:54:00 +0000

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Children with learning disabilities in Singapore are getting some help from Apple's iPad, according to this story from Today.

One disabled student went from being uninterested in drawing, to winning a card design competition. Others have learned better control of their behaviour and have improved their communications skills.

These remarkable changes were observed after just six months of a special pilot project conducted at Towner Gardens School (TGS), run by the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS), which caters to children with learning disabilities and developmental delays.

At the heart of the program is a device that many of us are familiar with and use on a daily basis - Apple's iPad.

Read the full story here and don't miss the four-minute embedded video.

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Local firm Karuma develops 7-inch Android tablet

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:45:00 +0000

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A local firm called Karuma has thrown its hat into the tablet ring with a 7-inch device called PlayBase that they are selling for US$270.

The tablet has a 1.2GHz processor, 1GB of DDR 3 RAM and 8 GB of onboard storage. The PlayBase runs a modified version of Gingerbread but with that amount of RAM, it looks like they are planning to run Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich on it in future. The device will go on sale before Christmas.

We wish them luck. So far, it has been more of an iPad market than a tablet market though Amazon's Kindle also seems to be gaining traction. It looks like manufacturers are able to shift tablets because of a content ecosystem rather than specs but maybe PlayBase will be an exception.

Learn more about PlayBase here.

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UOB finally releases iPhone app

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:17:00 +0000

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Customers of United Overseas Bank in Singapore can finally heave a sigh of relief. The bank has finally released an iPhone app.

Apart from the usual online banking features, the UOB app also allows you to withdraw money from a UOB ATM without needing your ATM card.

Using their Mobile Cash feature, you can get the cash from the ATM with just a password. This also means you can transfer cash to someone else too; all they need is a password that you send them.

UOB is very late in the game as competitors DBS and OCBC have long had iPhone apps and, in the case of OCBC, a pretty good iPad app as well. However, UOB is certainly making up for lost time. So far, the app has garnered 64 five-star ratings out of 88 total ratings, a pretty impressive feat.

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New app Squiryl helps you rack up, trade loyalty points

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:53:00 +0000

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If you're a serious shopper, you probably have too many loyalty cards in your wallet. A new app called Squiryl promises to fix this problem.

Instead of having to hunt for the right loyalty card to present at the cash register, you use the Squiryl app to rack up points, or acorns, as the app calls it.

What makes this app interesting is that you can also trade your acorns with your friends. That really makes it useful because you can now get rid of acorns from merchants you don't usually patronize for acorns from merchants that you do.

Currently, the app has 20 merchants including iStudio. More will be rolled out later.

To learn more about Squiryl, check out there website here. They have one of the nicest video introductions I've seen recently. Download the free Squiryl app here.

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Nubox's deals at Sitex

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:16:00 +0000

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Another day, another IT show. This time, it's Sitex at Singapore Expo.

If you're planning to head down, check out Nubox's booth at Hall 6 booth 6D30 and booth 6E30. For instance, buy a MacBook Pro from them, add $78 and get $495 worth of stuff including a doubling of your RAM to 8GB.

They are also offering deals on purchases of iMacs, MacBook Airs and iPods.

In addition, Nubox is also offering discounts on accessories.

Follow the links to get full details of their Mac deals and accessories deals.

Sitex will run from today until Nov 27.

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Rumour: iOS 5.0.2 next week will fix battery problems

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:16:00 +0000

While the latest iOS update promised to fix the battery drain problem, it hasn't worked for some people. Hope, however, is on the horizon.

A rumour is circulating that a new version of iOS will be released next week that will fix the battery drain problem.

In addition, the new update, iOS 5.0.2 also promises to add new functionality to Siri. They include, taking photos, shooting video and turning WiFi and Bluetooth on and off.

The rumour comes courtesy of a German Mac blog that cites an Apple engineer working on iOS.

(Via Cult of Mac)

iOS 5.0.1 now available

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:47:00 +0000

If you've been having problems with battery drain with iOS 5 on your device, you'll be happy to know that you can now download an update that promises to fix the problem.

You can do the update over-the-air instead of via iTunes. Go to Settings, General then Software Update to update your device.

The update is under 50MB so you need to be on the WiFi network to be able to do the update.

Apart from the battery fix, the update also addresses a security hole that was discovered by security researcher Charlie Miller.

Madness ensues at Hong Kong iPhone 4S launch

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:10:00 +0000

South Asian gangs versus Hong Kongers versus the police at the Hong Kong Apple Store. With video (no Edison Chen footage though).

Adobe makes it official

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:05:00 +0000

Bye bye Flash for mobile.

Adobe discontinues Flash player on mobile devices

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 07:07:00 +0000

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Citing sources close to Adobe, ZDNet has reported that the company plans to discontinue work on mobile browser flash and will focus instead on HTML 5.

There is apparently an imminent announcement that will say:

"Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. We will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations."

Full story on ZDNet here.

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Apple says Siri not for older devices

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 07:02:00 +0000

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If you've been holding out on getting an iPhone 4S because you expect Siri to trickle down to older devices, don't hold your breath. It looks like Apple currently has no plans to allow Siri to run on devices such as the iPhone 4.

In an email from Apple in response to a bug report, Apple wrote:

"Engineering has provided the following feedback regarding this issue: Siri only works with iPhone 4S and we currently have no plans to support older devices."

AppleInsider has the details.

I've been using the iPhone 4S for the past week, a loaner unit from Apple and I am planning to write a full review. However, I can say that thus far, I am really loving Siri and I find myself using it several times each day, making appointments, checking appointments and making reminders. Watch out for the full review coming soon.

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iOS 5.0.1 released to developers, fixes bugs that kill battery life

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:34:00 +0000

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If you're suffering from battery problems with your iOS device running iOS 5, relief is on the horizon. Apple has released a new beta version of iOS 5 to developers that, among other things, promises to fix bugs that affect battery life.

The update will roll out to end users "in a few weeks", according to a statement by Apple to AllThingsD.

Via Cult of Mac.

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Another 15 countries to get the iPhone 4S

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:27:00 +0000

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Apple has announced that the iPhone 4S will be launched in Hong Kong, South Korea and 13 other countries next Friday (Nov 11). Customers will be able to pre-order the device from tomorrow.

The countries that will get the iPhone 4S in this wave are Albania, Armenia, Bulgaria, El Salvador, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania and South Korea. The iPhone 4S is available today in 29 countries around the world and will be available in more than 70 countries by the end of the year, according to the press release.

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SingTel's deF!nd app now in the App Store

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 07:06:00 +0000

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SingTel's deF!nd uses voice recognition to help you find restaurants and businesses in Singapore.

It's no Siri but it does have access to a database that Siri in Singapore does not.

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A Sister's Eulogy for Steve Jobs

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 07:03:00 +0000

He started his farewell and I stopped him. I said, “Wait. I’m coming. I’m in a taxi to the airport. I’ll be there.”

“I’m telling you now because I’m afraid you won’t make it on time, honey.”

Mona Simpson's eulogy for Steve Jobs that was delivered at his memorial service at Stanford University on Oct 16.

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Comparing iPhone 4S plans

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:25:00 +0000

If you're wondering which carrier to go with for your iPhone 4S purchase, here's our handy table comparing what M1, SingTel and StarHub are offering.

iPhone 4S on the block for 30 cents

noreply@blogger.com (Jimmy Yap) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:12:00 +0000

Be among the first people in Singapore to own an iPhone 4S and get it cheap. All you have to do is hop over to local auction site Blick. They have a white 16GB iPhone 4S on the block and the current bid is just 30 cents.

Of course, it will probably sell for a lot more than 30 cents by the time the auction ends, but you will probably still end up paying a lot less than the recommended retail price.

Blick works by charging people to place bids. It costs 75 cents to place a bid, and each bid advances the final price by just 5 cents. It also pushes the end of the auction back by 20 seconds.