Apple’s recently launched (in SA) iPhone4, has received greater internet search interest than teen pop sensation, Justin Bieber, reveals Google Zeitgeist. SA’s fascination with the latest gadgets is clearly evident, with iPhone4 topping the list of fastest rising searches from the last seven days, while Bieber claims the number five spot. The YouTube star got SA teenyboppers in a flat spin last week, when he breezed into the country for some ‘rest and relaxation’.

Heritage Day and the ANC are placed second and third respectively, followed by Kulula. Idols, a perennial favourite for the rankings, still makes an appearance at number seven, as the country counts down to the final winner being announced in a few weeks time.

Fastest rising web searches, South Africa, last 7 days:

Lady Gaga’s ‘scandalous’ meat dress, which she wore at the MTV Music Awards, has stolen first place on the list of fastest rising image searches in September, while Bees Roux remains the top newsmaker for the month. He is followed by ANC Youth League Leader, Julius Malema; the Blue Bulls; President Zuma; the Currie Cup; and controversial Bok coach, Pieter de Villiers.

Fastest rising image searches, South Africa, last 30 days

Fastest rising news searches, South Africa, last 30 days

Anyone can use Insights for search to come up with their own rankings by visiting http://google.com/insights/search/ and Trends http://www.google.com/trends

Zeitgeist Explained

Google reveals the internet “Zeitgeist” (German for “the spirit of the times”) through an exploration of the billions of search queries we receive each year. We also have several tools that give insight into global, regional, past and present search trends. Google Zeitgeist tools can never be used to identify individual users because we rely on anonymized, aggregated counts of how often certain search queries occur over time. These tools are available year-round for you to play with, explore, and learn from.  You can create your own lists and rankings on www.google.com/zeitgeist

Simon Pegg, John Cleese, and Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley headline this October’s revolutionary action-adventure experience in Fable 3.

It takes a village, so goes the popular adage, and never has this been truer than in Fable 3. As you embark on your own revolution to seize the throne from an evil tyrant you’ll be flanked by a supporting cast that features some of Hollywood’s most renowned talent, with film accomplishments that include “Monty Python,” “Star Trek,” “Harry Potter,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Alice in Wonderland,” and the upcoming “X-Men: First Class.”

Available today, the latest installment to the popular “Inside Lionhead” video documentary series features the talented cast, including Sir Ben Kingsley, Michael Fassbender, Simon Pegg and more, as they reflect back on their experiences working on Fable 3. From topics such as Sir Ben Kingsley picking up a Welsh accent to how Michael Fassbender prepared to take on a villain’s role in his first video game voiceover project, watch what happens when the star-studded cast applies their craft to Fable 3 – this October’s most anticipated title.

The ‘Fable’ franchise has always been recognised for its unique take on drama, morality, and of course, humor,” said Yvette van Rooyen, Xbox Product and Marketing Manager for Microsoft South Africa. “We’re taking this to the limits in Fable 3 by bringing on a star-studded cast that includes Sir Ben Kingsley, John Cleese and Simon Pegg, who truly understand what it takes to bring characters to life in complex ways and add new dimensions of blockbuster entertainment.

“This is my first experience voicing a video game, so what drew me to it was the team, how committed they are, how well organized everything is and how beautiful the game is,” said Sir Ben Kingsley in the video documentary. “One of the things that’s missing from a lot of video games is good writing and good voice work. I think this one has a wonderful mythology and it’s witty and it’s engrossing,” added Simon Pegg in the video documentary.

Interact with these critically acclaimed actors in Fable 3 like never before. Talk politics with Sir Ben Kingsley, dish over the latest fashions with John Cleese or stir up trouble with Simon Pegg, all while plotting to bring the tyrannical King Logan – voiced by Michael Fassbender – to his knees. The Fable 3 voice-cast brings together some of the world’s most talented actors from all genres of the big screen, silver screen and theater, including:

• John Cleese as your trusty butler and confidant, Jasper
• Sir Ben Kingsley as the leader of the mountain dwellers, Sabine
• Simon Pegg as attention-seeking soldier Benn Finn who is looking for action
• Michael Fassbender as the evil King Logan whom your “Fable III” hero will lead a revolution against
• Zoë Wannamaker returns as Theresa. She was last seen taking over the Spire in Fable II, but who knows what her real motivation is?
• Stephen Fry returns as Reaver, the narcissistic marksman blessed with eternal youth
• Bernard Hill as Sir Walter Beck, your faithful mentor
• Nicholas Hoult as the potential male love interest, Elliot, to your Fable 3 female hero
• Naomie Harris as Page, the leader of the rebels who reside in Bowerstone

Fable 3 will be available in a Standard Edition R699 and Limited Collector’s Edition R799 for Xbox 360, and is available now for pre-order at participating retailers. Fable 3 launches in South Africa on 29^th October 2010.

Pretty interesting observation made by Brett Jordan here. This takes into account the Apple’s most popular product 10 years ago vs now:

The SA based wordpress design pros over at Obox have gone and made it easy for any wordpress site owner to go “mobile”. And I dont mean those standard iPhone plugins which just redact the posts and give them neat iPhone buttons. No, this is a plug and play solution that instantly makes sites look professional, as if they were made to run on a mobile phone. And its not iPhone only – its optimized for webkit browsers, so your Android and Nokia site visitors will be treated to the same effects. Current features that can be enabled in Obox Mobile include:

• Touch operated feature post slider
• Automatic orientation adjustment
• Menu management
• Search bar
• Commenting (including threaded comments)
• Logo uploader
• Background uploader
• Advert management for mobile
• Theme switcher
• Automatic upgrades

I tried out the site demo’s and I was pleasantly surprised – sliders loaded quickly and the effects were pretty great considering they were rendered inside a browser. I was especially impressed by the orientation changes – images rerender automatically to fit different widths, and resolutions. So whether you use iPhone (Retina display or not), or one of the many different Android resolutions out there, the orientation changes works without problems.   I patiently wait for the first sites to start using this, and this would probably be soon enough, seeing as it is merely a plug and play add on for wordpress.

As a bonus if you go ahead and purchase Obox Mobile over the next month you can be entered into a draw to win a brand new iPhone 4. What better way to demo your brand new mobile enabled site? It could not be any easier to enter: Once you’ve purchased your copy of the framework, you’ll automatically be taken to a “tweet this” screen. Push the button and BANG, you’re in with a chance.

Have a go and demo Obox Mobile, type this URL into your phone and watch the magic happen: demo.obox-design.com/oboxmobile

So what if you do not want to feed the Amazon machine, but still want try out electronic books? Kalahari.net is announcing today that they will make their own e-book store and reading software available. Presently the software is being made available for both Windows and Mac.

I tried out the Mac version, and the application was built on Adobe AIR (which explains the cross platform ability). At present users download and authenticate using Adobe authentication. While I was unable to purchase additional books yet, we have to wait until final launch to see pricing that will be made available. Currently any Adobe Digital Editions book will load in the new Kalahari Reader, with the addition of being able to purchase books directly from Kalahari.net.

One portion I would like to try out is the borrow function – its a big shortcoming in the Kindle Marketplace, and a big criticism of e-books in general. I believe that books are made to share, and there needs to be a formal solution made. Also, I would like the ability to give my book to someone else once I am done with it. But lets see which e-book retailer would like to do that!

Have to give credit to Kalahari.net for throwing their net in as well – good luck to them!

Cellucity just made their pricing available on the iPhone 4 for a variety of contracts – while its not Vodacom’s official pricing, you can expect similiar pricing if you can get it through Vodashop. They made this pricing available on the MyBroadband forums, so it ought to be legit… Well here we go:

Vodacom:

APPLE iPHONE 4 16G FREE ON TALK 1000
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G FREE ON iPHONE TALK 500
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R2419 CASH ON BUSINESS, TALK 130 (per minute billing)
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R2759 CASH ON BUSINESS (per second billing)
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R3899 CASH ON TALK 75s
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R2639 CASH ON TALK 120
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R2529 CASH ON TALK 200
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R2299 CASH ON TALK 240
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R2189 CASH ON iPHONE TALK 120
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R1959 CASH ON iPHONE TALK 240
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R2189 CASH ON TALK 350s
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R2069 CASH ON TALK 500
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R2529 CASH ON TOP UP 315, 400s
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R3099 CASH ON TOP UP 315s
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R2419 CASH ON TOP UP 500
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R2299 CASH ON TOP UP 590
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R3439 CASH ON iPHONE EVERYDAY OFF-PEAK 120
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R3669 CASH ON EVERYDAY OFF-PEAK 120 (per minute billing)
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R4349 CASH ON EVERYDAY OFF-PEAK 120 (per second billing)

*** MONTHLY PAYMENT DEALS
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R119 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON BUSINESS, TALK 130 (per minute billing)
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R139 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON BUSINESS (per second billing)
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R129 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TALK 120
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R129 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TALK 200
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R99 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TALK 240
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R109 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON iPHONE TALK 120
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R99 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON iPHONE TALK 240
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R109 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TALK 350s
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R99 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TALK 500
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R129 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TOP UP 315 & 400s
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R149 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TOP UP 315s (per second billing)
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R119 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TOP UP 500s
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R109 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TOP UP 590
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R189 PM FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TALK 75s
APPLE iPHONE 4 16G @ R169 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON iPHONE EVERYDAY OFF-PEAK 120

APPLE iPHONE 4 32 GIG
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R1389 CASH ON TALK 1000
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R2869 CASH ON iPHONE TALK 500
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R3549 CASH ON BUSINESS, TALK 130 (per minute billing)
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R3899 CASH ON BUSINESS (per second billing)
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R5039 CASH ON TALK 75s
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R4309 CASH ON TALK 120
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R3669 CASH ON TALK 200
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R3439 CASH ON TALK 240
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R3329 CASH ON iPHONE TALK 120
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R3099 CASH ON iPHONE TALK 240
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R3329 CASH ON TALK 350s
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R3209 CASH ON TALK 500
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R3669 CASH ON TOP UP 315, 400s
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R4239 CASH ON TOP UP 315s
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R3549 CASH ON TOP UP 500
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R3439 CASH ON TOP UP 590
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R4579 CASH ON iPHONE EVERYDAY OFF-PEAK 120
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R4809 CASH ON EVERYDAY OFF-PEAK 120 (per minute billing)
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R5489 CASH ON EVERYDAY OFF-PEAK 120 (per second billing)

*** MONTHLY PAYMENT DEALS
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R69 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TALK 1000
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R139 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON iPHONE TALK 500
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R179 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON BUSINESS, TALK 130 (per minute billing)
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R189 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON BUSINESS (per second billing)
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R209 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TALK 120
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R179 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TALK 200
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R169 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TALK 240
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R169 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON iPHONE TALK 120
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R159 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON iPHONE TALK 240
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R169 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TALK 350s
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R159 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TALK 500
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R179 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TOP UP 315 & 400s
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R209 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TOP UP 315s (per second billing)
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R179 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TOP UP 500s
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R169 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TOP UP 590
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R249 PM FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON TALK 75s
APPLE iPHONE 4 32G @ R229 PER MONTH FOR 24 MONTHS + SUBSCRIPTION ON iPHONE EVERYDAY OFF-PEAK 120

MTN also announced their pricing – which seems to be a much simpler structure:

MTN is offering the iPhone 4 on the following packages (all on a 24 month MTN AnyTime 200 contract):

16GB iPhone 4 with a 150MB internet bundle: R379 per month

16GB iPhone 4 with a 300MB internet bundle: R429 per month

32GB iPhone 4 with a 150MB internet bundle: R429 per month

32GB iPhone 4 with a 300MB internet bundle: R479 per month

Overall pricing is definitely lower than in the past, turns out the competition with MTN is driving prices lower. Hooray for competition!

A few weeks ago I was contacted by the Olympus representative in SA and was asked if I am interested in reviewing their latest Micro Four –Thirds camera, the Olympus PEN E-PL1. While I am by no means a pro  photographer, I do prefer the speed and control of a DSLR camera.

I personally use the Nikon D90, which has been treating me very well up until now. But there is one big problem with SLR’s. They are big and heavy, even a relatively compact SLR is still quite a cumbersome camera to carry around.

So what if you can have a camera with the increased sensor size similar to an SLR and full manual control, while still being similar in size to a compact camera? Surely you cant be thinking of using thatiPhonecamera? You want real image quality. This is where Micro Four thirds comes in. The camera is compact, while still maintaining the ability to interchange lenses. The version I tested came with a relatively compact 14-42mm 3.5-5.6 lens.

Micro Four Thirds is a standard developed by Olympus and Panasonic, which does away with the mirror inside a interchangeable lens camera. By not using a pentaprism and a mirror, it allows for much more compact cameras while still maintaining relatively large sensor sizes compared to similar size cameras.

But lets start with the camera – it resembles the classic styling of cameras of old, and feels very sturdy in your hands. It comes in a variety of colours (champagne silver, black, or white silver) – mine being the black version, with silver accents.  While it might resemble steel, it is in fact a very sturdy plastic body – if you want steel you will have to pay more for the E-P2 model. The camera is comfortable to hold with a decent amount space on the right for your hand to rest – while still keeping the controls within thumb’s reach.

On top you will find a shoe for an external flash or an EVF, but we will get to that later. The flash also pops out on the top – but the action looks simply stunning – like an old Honda Ballade’s headlights, the flash pops out on a neck. On the rear you will find a 2.7 inch display which has a very decent resolution so you can still see your pictures with enough detail. The big reason for this excellent display is because the Olympus PEN does away with the optical viewfinder.

Now I know many of the serious photographers will stop reading right about now – hear me out. The rear display did an excellent job – in fact, the framerate and resolution made it a perfectly acceptable way to frame shots. Focus brackets were lightning quick using the display and it even worked well at night, which I did not expect. Filters and adjustments were also instantly seen. But if you are someone who needs to have a dedicated viewfinder, you can slot an EVF eyepiece into the top of the camera.

Using the camera is as straightforward as you want it to be – you can flick the camera in auto mode and just shoot away, or if you want some, or even full control, you just turn the dial that way. The modes include:

iAuto: Might as well be called point and shoot mode. But what makes this mode interesting is that it can guide users into altering settings to get better pictures. For example, instead of setting the aperture, you click on “Blur Background” and select the effect you want. Nice way to dumb down camera terms.

Art Filters: The iArt mode I didn’t bother to look at until my wife saw it – I normally ignore such cheesy modes on cameras. I was surprised at how well the effects were done when using this mode. You can select Pop Art, Soft Focus, Grainy Film, Pin Hole etc. The pinhole mode especially made a few lovely pics. Only disadvantage to this mode is that the processing time for each pic can take a few seconds at a time, but in most cases the results are well worth the processing time.

The rest of the modes are typical ones you might find in a SLR as well:

Program, Aperture, Shutter, Manual,

And then Scene mode which just dumbs down things like saturation and aperture modes based on the “scenario” you are shooting. For example, portrait.

Movie mode – You can shoot in 720p at 30 frames per second. You can also apply the art filters to these movies which make very interesting clips, although the autofocus noise from the camera was audible during recordings.

So what about the pictures?

OK, after oohing and ah-ing about the hardware, I was very impressed by the pictures. While not always up to par with a SLR, it was a massive step up from compact cameras. The larger sensor meant that night shots were without noise, which I didn’t expect from such a small camera.  The  autofocus system was definitely slower than a SLR, but still much faster than a compact. But shutter lag was very quick – in fact it wasn’t really noticeable unless I went back to my SLR in between shots.

The continous shooting mode impressed me as well – with around 3 frames per second it was good enough. Image stabilization is done inside the camera (similar to how Sony does it) which does away with the need for expensive VR lenses.

Battery life is decent – I typically got about 250 pictures per battery charge, which includes about 30% using the flash.

The kit lens was reasonably compact, but had a few issues that a typical user might not be used to – if you switch off the camera you have to lock the lens back in place. It’s a simple twist of the barrel, but its not really common. Also, firing up the camera also requires you to remove the lens cap, and then extending the lens before you can shoot, which might take a few valuable seconds. Images from this lens was very good, with no noticible pincushoining or distortion at the edges. Olympus also makes a 17mm f/2.8 prime lens which is much more compact. I did not have a chance to try this pancake lens out.

Overall the image quality was great. Outside the images were crystal clear with beautiful vibrant colours. Using the iAuto mode meant that someone that doesn’t understand camera jargon are able to take great pictures. I did not play around with white balance, as the automatic mode seemed to do the job well enough. In low light the camera also performed well, but the built in vibration reduction system could not quite keep up with a SLR. On the other hand, the heft of the SLR might be the reason that its images did not blur… Setting the ISO sensitivity was impressive as well, with the PEN not showing any noise up to around 1600.

Conclusion

I think you are starting to get the picture here. The Olympus PEN is a perfect in-between camera. It addresses the major disadvantages of both SLR’s (large size) and compacts (poor picture quality) and forms a good hybrid between the two with as little as possible disadvantages.

Now this “in-between” approach of Olympus was perhaps difficult to justify with their existing PEN cameras, which was more expensive than many entry level SLR’s out there, but I think the market these cameras should approach is the high-end point and shoot models from Nikon (P7000) and Canon (G11 or S95).

Compare it to those cameras and the Olympus suddenly starts to shine. Interchangeable lenses, a much larger sensor and impressive image quality makes a very good alternative. Many pros carry these high end point and shoot cameras as backups, and the PEN is ideal for that use.

If you are looking for a small and light camera which takes brilliant pics, you cannot go wrong with the E-PL1.

Pros:

Brilliant pics for the size

Art mode makes great pics.

Lightweight and small

Large sensor makes for great low light shots

Cons:

No viewfinder

Autofocus a little slow in the dark

Still no SLR beater

Details:

RRP: R7499

Available from: In Gauteng: Etkinds in Sandton, Digital Experience in Fourways, Foto First Clearwater Mall

In Western Cape: Photolens, Foto first in Tygervalley shopping centre.

Looks like it might be the case. Several sources on twitter is reporting that both Vodacom and MTN will be releasing the iPhone 4 on 00:00 on 22 September. Thats tomorrow night folks.

You can go pre-register for the phone over at Vodacom and MTN‘s websites. No info on pricing yet Update: iPhone 4 pricing for South Africa here, probably due to the operators not wanting to play their hands too early. But seeing as South Africa has traditionally had some of the highest iPhone pricing in the world, we can only hope for the best. Maybe the competition will fix things a bit.

I have tried phoning a few stores on where to get one, but clearly Vodacom and MTN’s own stores are not really kept up to date on the iPhone launch. And here I was hoping to get myself the best birthday present…