MobiLearn Debuts BlackBerry Version of Award-Winning Multilanguage Phrasebook

July 16, 2011 - PRLog -- MobiLearn, Inc., winner of numerous competitive awards since 2001 for its talking travel phrasebooks, has announced the release of its first phrasebook for the BlackBerry phone. The phrasebook enables English speakers to express themselves easily in French, German, Italian, and Spanish.  Likewise, speakers of these European languages can use the talking phrasebook to converse in English or any of the other four languages.  The products are designed as just-in-time tools for business travelers, tourists, and students, regardless of their prior fluency.  In seconds, you can choose an expression in one language, then see, hear, and repeat it in any of the other four languages.  The translated word or phrase is spoken out loud through the device’s speaker or earphone in a clear professional native voice.

With each product release, MobiLearn has built on ideas from its customers, adding new features tailored to the practical needs of travelers and students.  In the latest version you can Sort phrases alphabetically or by topic.  A Search function quickly finds all the entries that contain specified words or characters.  Translations are displayed instantly and can be played aloud with a tap.  You can choose to play all selected phrases in one continuous flow, and can set the voice to repeat each phrase up to nine times, to aid practice and memorization.  A Bookmark feature lets you flag selected items and save them in a personal category for easy review.

How it works:  suppose you’re traveling in Spain and want to learn and use some practical Spanish expressions.  On the Home screen, select Eng Spa (English to Spanish).  Now let’s say you're going shopping in Barcelona and want to be able to ask whether a merchant takes credit cards.  In three quick steps, you can find the right expression:

•   On the Home screen, select the Out & About icon.
•   In the Out & About list, select the Shopping category.
•   Scroll through the Shopping phrase list and select "Can I pay with a credit card?"

You'll see the Spanish equivalent, "¿Puedo pagar con tarjeta de crédito?” in the gold translation window.  To hear it out loud, select Play.  Then when you're ready to make a purchase, just repeat the phrase to express yourself in natural Spanish.

To do the same in Paris, select Eng Fre, then repeat the steps you followed for Spanish.  You'll see the parallel French phrase, "Je peux payer par carte de credit?" in the gold translation window.  To hear it out loud, select Play.  You can do likewise to hear and speak the equivalent German and Italian phrases.  Multidirectional translation: you may translate from any one of the Phrasebook’s languages to any other.  Thus you may go from Spanish to German, Italian to French, or any other way in which you can pair the five languages.

MobiLearn Multilanguage Phrasebook phrase categories:

CONVERSATION
Basics
Telephone
Complaints

TRANSPORTATION
Airplane
Train
Taxi
Subway
Bus
Car
On foot

HOTEL
Private Home/B&B
Camping
All Above

OUT&ABOUT
Restaurant
Shopping
Recreation

PUBLIC SERVICES
Post Office
Bank/Currency Exchange
Tourist Office
Passport/Customs

NUMBERS&TIME
Numbers
Time
Days of the Week
Months of the Year

EMERGENCIES
Police
Doctor/Hospital
Pharmacy
Dentist
In Distress

BOOKMARKS

In announcing the Multilanguage Talking Phrasebook for Blackberry, Arthur Granville, MobiLearn’s president, said “We’re dedicated to building products that meet the real-world needs of our customers and we’re proud to be recognized for our excellence.  We aim to harness the power and flexibility of mobile computing technology so you can personalize the way you learn and carry a virtual tutor in your pocket.  The features that especially distinguish us from the competition are the voice quality of our native-language speakers, the ease with which you can find and learn essential phrases, and the travel-tested practicality of our language database.”  MobiLearn has worked in partnership with TransPerfect Translations of Boston to ensure that the written and spoken expressions contained in MobiLearn’s language products are authentic and up to date.

MobiLearn, Inc. (www.mobilearn.net), based in Boston, Massachusetts, develops mobile learning tools for business, education, travel, and the professions.  Since its launch in 2001, the company has won numerous competitive awards for its imaginative approach to interactive language education.  The awards and critical praise bestowed on the company’s products reflect the growing recognition of the smartphone’s unique qualities as a language learning tool.  When traveling abroad, just pull it from your pocket for quick conversational assistance in a restaurant, at the post office, or on the subway.  Or take it along to work or school to polish your pronunciation or test your vocabulary during free moments.  Try that with your PC!  Even a laptop is normally too cumbersome to be practical as a portable learning aid.  But smartphones have slimmed down considerably while increasing in power, and are becoming essential companions for on-the-spot learning and practice.

The Multilanguage Talking Phrasebook for BlackBerry is priced at $9.99.  For more information or to download a free trial version, visit http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/search/mobilearn?....

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MobiLearn, Inc. (www.mobilearn.net), based in Boston, Massachusetts, develops mobile learning tools for business, education, travel, and the professions. Since its launch in 2001, the company has won numerous competitive awards for its imaginative approach to interactive language education.

MobiLearn is led by Arthur Granville. Dr. Granville holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology, has been a senior corporate training and quality manager, and has served as an Examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. He speaks French and Chinese. Kim Hoa Tram manages MobiLearn's product design. She holds a master's degree in French literature and has over 20 years of experience in teaching French at all academic levels. Mrs. Tram also teaches Spanish, Latin, and Vietnamese.

MobiLearn has worked in partnership with TransPerfect Translations of Boston to ensure that the written and spoken expressions contained in MobiLearn’s language products are authentic and up to date.