Aquila Online

Eugene Terre’Blanche murdered

// April 4th, 2010 // No Comments » // News

According to many reports - the leader of Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) Eugene Terre’Blanche was murdered at his farm 10km outside of Ventersdorp on Saturday. (more…)

Garmap delivers enhanced mobile online navigation

// November 22nd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // News, Tech

I’ve been a big fan of Garmin ever since I got my Nuvi back in 2006. That being said, I’d always hoped that Garmin would bring out a software suite that could run on mobile phones, without the need for any GPS attachments. Last week, I was notified that Garmap has done just that.

The official word:

Garmap, the official map data provider for Garmin navigation products in Africa, announced at the AfricaCom event in Cape Town recently that Garmap for Mobile Online, Garmap’s newest navigation software suite for mobile devices, will be available to purchase in retail blister packs at outlets and mobile phone stores around South Africa from mid-November.

Powered by Appello’s award-winning navigation platform, Garmap for Mobile Online delivers full-feature navigation throughout South Africa on nearly any GPS-enabled mobile phone, while only utilising a minimal amount of the phone memory.

“With this software, GPS-enabled mobile phones can be equipped with the same navigation capability utilising the latest mapping data that is available on bigger and more expensive GPS devices,” says Andrew McHenry, head of mobile for Garmap.

“When people purchase the new retail blister pack, they can enjoy the full version of Garmap for Mobile, which gives them access to voice turn-by-turn navigation, a full list of points of interest (POIs), weather updates and – for a small monthly fee - real time traffic, just to name a few of the features,” he adds.

Garmap for Mobile is designed to keep as small a presence as possible on a mobile phone and, as such, relies on a data connection (either GPRS, Edge or 3G/HSDPA) to download maps, POIs and other data that gives users the full GPS experience.

Because maps and POIs are downloaded in real-time via the phone’s data connection, users can be assured that they are always accessing the most up-to-date maps of Southern Africa that Garmap has to offer.

Garmap for Mobile is available for Symbian-based phones as well as BlackBerry, Android and Windows Mobile phones.

Garmap for Mobile Online retails for a recommended R990.00, which includes a 24-month usage license and a live traffic subscription.

Screenshots

Comments
I’m delighted that this is out, but I have a few reservations. It’s still only available for Symbian, ~~Crack~~BlackBerry, Android and Windows Mobile, which unfortunately doesn’t help me with my iPhone. Secondly, the pricing model seems a bit steep, considering that Google Maps is free (and it works on practically any mobile device).

I’d like to think that Garmin offers a completely different experience with its extensive POI (Points of interest) database and Southern African coverage - the area that the Google maps lags behind in many ways. We’ll wait and see.

Voted with an inked thumb to prove it

// April 22nd, 2009 // No Comments » // General, News, Photos

South Africa Elections, Vote, Inked thumb

Hey, have you voted yet? We have. Go exercise your democratic right and vote today. If you’re into all things social, tag your posts, pics, tweets, etc with #saelections and if you have pictures of your inked thumb then use #inkedthumb. The BBC is also collecting tweets, texts and pictures of the South African Elections.

Update: The BBC used my pic above to show the indelible ink after voting - check it out.

JPG Magazine closes down

// January 2nd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // News, Photos

On 5 January 2009, JPG Magazine will be no more. In an email sent to site users it was announced that the publication and website will shut down for good. JPG weren’t able to raise the money needed to keep the business model afloat in these extraordinary economic times.

Unfortunately even the site will be taken down, which means you have only have until the 5th of January 2009 to download PDF’s of back issues, outtakes, and photo challenge selections.

The news came as a bit of a shock for me and I must admit that I’m quite sad. I submitted a few photographs to JPG Magazine in the hope of getting published. Although this never happened, the site has proven an invaluable source of inspiration for me.

So, with a sadness I bid JPG Magazine adieu.

Update: It appears that the JPG community pulled together and voila, JPG magazine is back! Yup on 27 February 2009, they announced that the magazine has a new owner and will not be shutting down. Yay!