No iPhone in SA on 22 Aug? August 7, 2008
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Dosent look like SA is being added to the mix on 22 Aug. Apparently 20 or so countries around the world have been confirmed to get the the iPhone on Fri 22 Aug, but NOT South Africa!
So if not 22 Aug then when?
iPhone in SA? July 3, 2008
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Vodacom have opened bookings for the iPhone 3G for the South African market
Seems you can sign up to get one as soon as they land. However there’s still no word on when exactly it is coming (US/ Western Worlds release date is 11 July) or how much/ what the plans will be. Looks like it will also be available on pre paid which is cool.
I just hope Vodacom introduce a decent flat rate data plan!
iPhone coming to SA – Official May 6, 2008
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Its official – the iPhone is coming to SA! Vodafone have signed an exclusive agreement to offer the iPhone in 10 markets incl good old South Africa!
Click here and here for the official word!
Lets just hope Vodacom come up with a decent data plan. Im also pretty sure it will be the 3G iPhone hopefully due in June! Finally!
One lucky SA person will get to drive the Renault F1 Car April 10, 2008
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The company i work for has put together an awesome new reality series offering one lucky South African the chance to drive the official Renault F1 car around Silverstone while being filmed on TV for a reality show. The series is being sponsored by the Gauteng Provincial Government and the Renault F1 team.
Its easy to enter – just go to any Renault Dealership country wide, fill in the supplied form, and if you make the grade, you’ll join other hopefulls in a series of challenges as the eventual winner is found! There will also be a driver training in France before the big drive.
So get down to any Renault Dealership between 11 and 19 April only to enter – who knows it could be you (im not allowed to enter – damn)
For more info check out www.ultimategrandprixdrive.com or if youre on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ultimate-Grand-Prix-Drive/11233683460
First working iPhone in South Africa! September 14, 2007
Posted by mikesolomon in Uncategorized.43 comments
Yup you guessed it – unless im wrong, this is the first working iPhone in SA! Im actually on Vodacom but having some minor issues – MTN works 100% though!
Oh and for anyone wanting to know – iPhone is undoubtedly the best mobile phone out there.
UPDATE: After using the iPhone fora few months now i am really enjoying it. Im still on the original firmware (1.0.2) but im going to upgrade. I have noticed a few issues which have come about, namely some dead blocks on the touch screen (which weren’t there before) and a sim failure error which i never got before. Im hoping a firmware upgrade will fix if i can get it to work. The things we do for Apple!!!
The TV Killer? May 22, 2007
Posted by mikesolomon in Different Advertising, Sites, The Web, Uncategorized.1 comment so far
I signed up to check out Joost, the new internet tv streaming programme from the heavyweight founders of Kazaa and Skype.
Essentially, Joost is being touted as tv on your internet and boy is it good. They’ve worked hard on their streaming capabilities and they are pretty much the best ive seen. I was watching on a 3g datacard with true speed of 1.8mbps and it looked great. I can only image what a 4gig fixed line would deliver. ( or even higher speed like they have overseas)
Unfortunately there isnt much to watch at the moment, but im sure as they get going, more and more networks will jump on board. Joost is ad sponsored and free to the end consumers (as long as they look at a few ads) I was exposed to a Nike ad for a product that you cant get here, so theres a bit of
wastage there. I also saw it twice and was a bit annoyed, but im sure they will fix that going forward.
I only hope they dont block shows by region i.e. only show Lost in the US etc.
In short, if all web tv looks this good, I seriously see trouble in TV’s future.
The Movie industry is odd May 9, 2007
Posted by mikesolomon in Thoughts, Uncategorized.1 comment so far
The movie industry confuses me! Here why. About a month ago I was invited to what they call a junket where the newest releases for the year are shown. Nothing odd there.
However we did have to hand in our cellphones as we were going to be shown “top secret” footage!!
Now there seemed to be much paranoia and fear about showing this footage and having someone copy it on a poor quality device that probably couldn’t even see the screen in focus from the back of the cinema! Anyway this footage turned out to be a 9 minute preview of the new Pixar animated film called Ratatouille. Thrilling stuff i assure you!
Anyway i now see that Pixar have released the very same 9 mins of footage on the web via Apple trailers!
So my question is this – why all the fuss? Let people leak 9 mins of footage – hell it made me want to see the film. Why are these people so paranoid about 9 minutes of footage being leaked? It time for them to embrace the web as medium? Hell people arent going to cinema anyways – isnt it time to find new ways of advertising movies? But what do i know 
Playstation 3?? March 1, 2007
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Ok so PS3 is supposed to be launched in South Africa this month, but I havent heard a peep for the Sony boys! No web advertising, above or below the line, street pole advertising, nothing!(unless ive missed it all which is odd because im technically their target market) All I found is this lousy site.
I think Sony (or Ster Kinkeor, the local distributors) have missed a massive marketing opportunity! My feeling is they think the console will sell itself so they can just launch and it will sell!! Well maybe 5 years ago, but not today with hefty console competition.
Figures from the Register report “Certainly, the PS3 has failed to sell in the volumes other consoles have. In the US in January, 244,000 PS3s were sold to 294,000 Xbox 360s and 436,000 Wiis.”
It just shows the damage that can occur when a brand becomes complacent as they probably truly believe they have no competition. Im a serious PS fan, but im seriously thinking of getting an Xbox instead!
UPDATE: Still no news on Sony, but it seems someone in the States isn’t too happy with the PS3 Either. Check this You Tube vid – its bloody well done!
Too True! February 15, 2007
Posted by mikesolomon in Uncategorized.4 comments
For anyone whos worked in Marketing and Advertising!
Hotel 2.0 – Vegas Style September 21, 2006
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Vegas continues to set trends when it comes to its customers (who could forget $1 buffets and clock-less rooms)
Anyway the Wynn hotel in Vegas is offering a huge range of customer customisation to people who check in (check out this link) you’ll have to scroll down a bit on their site!
I really like this – it sets a point of differentiation for the hotel. It makes them stand out – even in Vegas where the competition is fierce. I’m sure people would rather go back to a hotel that knows their names as opposed to one that treats them like a faceless clone. More and more companies could learn from this including the bloody banks!!
