Developed by immedia and DStv Online in Johannesburg, the tablet app offers television and entertainment fans a compelling platform to engage and consume content. DStv for iPad now incorporates the DStv Catch Up feature, enabling subscribers to choose when and where to watch your favourite shows. By simply logging in to your DStv Connect profile, thousands of delighted app users have access to around 500 episodes of local and international series and movies – right on your iPad.
immedia’s work with DStv was also a finalist in the Best Windows App category. Created in conjunction with RogueCode, a Durban-based Windows 8 development house, DStv for Windows 8 is a good expression of this growing ecosystem, taking advantage of many of the features offered by Windows 8 devices such as live tiles to display real-time information about the user’s favourite channels. Currently the top free app in the South African Windows Phone store, DStv for Windows 8 has remained in the top 5 since its launch earlier this year.
Left: James Smith (iOS developer – immedia), Nazeem Ebrahim (Business Development – immedia),
Byron Linsell (Portal Manager – DStv Online) and Bevan Andriés (Technical Director – immedia)
Right: A screenshot of the DStv Catch Up feature available on DStv for iPad
Says immedia Technical Director Bevan Andriés: “We’re delighted to be creating this type of product for consumers. With teams in Johannesburg and Durban collaborating constantly to deliver really compelling product for consumers, this award is a testament to the new way of creating useful and relevant digital services. It takes 100% commitment and tireless effort from a group of individuals from various backgrounds and world-views with different skill-sets and strengths, all coming together to create a world-class app.”
Innovation is in immedia’s DNA. The team recently won an Innovation Award at the annual NSTF-BHP Billiton Awards for its collaboration on the ARTIST project. Together with consortium members from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Durban-based organisation walked away for the award for “Outstanding Contribution to Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation through Research leading to Innovation: in a Corporate organization or Institution” for their creation of the ARTIST technology solution.
In its second year running, the MTN App of the Year Awards celebrates South Africa’s technical talent by showcasing locally-developed applications that make a positive and lasting impact on consumers. The Awards are supported by a number of players in the local telecommunications industry, such as Nokia, BlackBerry, Core Group and MTN.
With over 250 apps submitted into the competition this year, this win is a sure sign of the burgeoning app dev industry and Durban’s relevance within it. Durban’s Silicon Beach is seeing smaller app development agencies like immedia, RogueCode and other teams contributing to the digital output of the country like never before. The app dev (or postPC) economy, aimed at producing solutions for tablets and smartphone devices in particular, has resulted in hundreds of thousands of new jobs being spawned, a revolution now hitting South Africa and Durban.
Together with its partner companies in the immedia ecosystem, immedia represents a new breed of development agency emerging out of the post-PC space that present a holistic solution to organisations and, in doing so, create globally-relevant careers within local communities, spanning all sectors and fields.