iPhone 'App' Of The Week : Coolgorilla's Talking French Phrasebook

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3/09/2008 – iPhone 'App' Of The Week : Coolgorilla's Talking French Phrasebook

With my enjoyment of Lonely Planet's Mandarin Audio Phrasebook (which I reviewed *HERE*) I set out to find other language translation 'Apps' for my iPhone. While looking at a variety of language options, for not only the iPhone but also ink-and-paper phrase books and instructional software, I found myself downloading Coolgorilla's Talking French Phrasebook.

Much like Lonely Planet's audio phrase books, Coolgorilla's talking phrasebooks are equally easy to scroll through to find the phrase you're looking for and effective in practice while on the road. The phrase categories are broken down into sub-categories. Inside each sub-category you'll find the phrase you are looking for. I was easily able to find the bathroom and explain that my baggage had not arrived while quickly scrolling through the Coolgorilla Talking French Phrasebook.

For those not comfortable in attempting to speak a foreign language (or in my case butchering a language) you can both find your phrase and show someone your comment/question in their native language or you can click the audio icon and play and audio clip of your comment/question. I generally attempt to speak (butcher) the language, but sometimes the audio clip is extremely helpful!

There is some overlap between both the Lonely Planet Audio Phrasebook and the Coolgorilla Talking Phrasebook, however they each have their own strengths, and in some areas there is no overlap in languages. Having used the Coolgorilla Talking French Phrasebook I'm now off to download the Coolgorilla Talking German Phrasebook as I start looking at a possible flight through Frankfurt, Germany.

Below are five photos that walk you through the steps of using Coolgorilla's Talking French Phrasebook on your iPhone.

Happy Flying!

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iPhone 'App' Of The Week : Lonely Planet Mandarin Audio Phrasebook

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14/08/2008 – iPhone 'App' Of The Week : Lonely Planet Mandarin Audio Phrasebook

When traveling many people find quickly communicating in a foreign language difficult. Personally, I am terrible at learning new languages, so when I found Lonely Planet's Audio Phrasebook I was intrigued.

Lonely Planet's Audio Phrasebooks are easy to use and eliminate much confusion when asking simple questions (other than being completely embarrassed to be allowing an iPhone to speak for you). The categories of phrases are broken down into easy to find sections and subsections, such as Tools, Transport, Communications & Banking, Sightseeing, Shopping, and Greeting People.

Inside the sections are easy follow sub-sections. Inside of Communications & Banking for example the subsections are: the Internet, mobile/cell phone, telephone, post office, bank.

Inside each of these subsections are common phrases you may need to use to find the answer you are seeking.

The best feature included in Lonely Planet's Mandarin Audio Phrasebook is that once you find the phrase or question you'd like to ask an automatic voice says the question or phrase for you. This eliminates fumbling through an awkward attempt to incorrectly pronounce the phrase or question. Additionally this iPhone 'App' also displays the text in both 'Roman' and 'Chinese' characters so it may be easily read.

Having played with Lonely Planet's Mandarin Audio Phrasebook for use in practical applications I can safely say I will be downloading other languages available through Lonely Planet's iPhone 'Apps.'

Below are seven photos that walk you through the steps of using Lonely Planet's Mandarin Audio Phrasebook on your iPhone.

Happy Flying!

--Click Images To Enlarge Them--