Press Release: Alta Vida announces Babelingo 1.1 for iPhone and iPod Touch

by Eric March on August 6, 2008 at 8:13 am

So there you are, stuck some few miles to the left of nowhere in the Etruscan wilderness, trying to get your bearings. You’ve lost your luggage, which contained your passport, your GPS, and your Italian phrasebook. As you wander down a nondescript road bordered by endless fields of tall grasses, you come across a proper old-world Italian gentleman. You fumble for half-remembered words from your lost phrasebook to inquire as to the nearest town, but instead inadvertently tell the gentleman that your hovercraft is full of eels. After the stately Tuscan shoots you a quizzical look, you remember — you still have your iPhone with you! So you load up Babelingo and are quickly pointed in the general direction of Arezzo, which just happens to be exactly where you weren’t going, but at least they have bathrooms.

Austin, Texas - Alta Vida LLC is delighted to announce Babelingo 1.1, their language translation utility for iPhone and iPod Touch. Containing more than 300 useful phrases and words, Babelingo is an incredibly fast and easy-to-use phrase book communicator, allowing anyone to show a professionally translated phrase to a foreign language audience.

Babelingo can translate to and from 7 different languages, including English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. Each phrase is carefully translated by highly skilled professional translators and displayed in a large, beautifully rendered script that is easily read from a distance.

Each category, phrase, word, and screen can be presented in any one of the supported languages. The user chooses their native language, the alternative audiences language, and Babelingo does the rest. Phrases are grouped by category in a flat list for fast navigation. Simply tap a phrase and its translation is immediately displayed.

For commonly used phrases, users may add them to a favorites list for quick and easy access. Quickly search for phrases using key words. And Babelingo is more than a simple phrase book too. The application also enables two way communication by allowing the alternate party to navigate Babelingo in their own language and respond to requests, making it the perfect travel companion for both business and leisure.

Version 1.1 includes professionally translated phrases in the Italian language, and a recommended update. Customers who have a need for a specific language are urged to contact support so that it may be prioritized into a future release of Babelingo.

Feature highlights include:
* Over 300 useful phrases and words
* Each and every phrase carefully translated by highly skilled professional translators
* 25 different categories
* Large and beautifully rendered translations
* Native language responses
* Phrase search
* Favorites list
* No network connection required

Language support:
English, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Japanese, and Chinese

Minimum Requirements:
* iPhone or iPod Touch 2.0

Pricing and Availability:
Babelingo 1.1 for iPhone and iPod Touch is only $5.99 USD and available exclusively through Apple’s App Store.

Alta Vida
Babelingo 1.1
Download Babelingo

Headquartered in scenic Austin, Texas, Alta Vida LLC is a privately funded company founded in 2005 by Shane Crawford. With a sole focus on the Mac platform, Alta Vida’s aim is to develop unique Mac and iPhone products, as well as provide customized development solutions. Copyright 2005-2008 Alta Vida LLC. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod Touch are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

It would be nice if it contained audio clips to let you listen to how it should be pronounced. But let’s face it though, this is a lot handier than carrying around a paperback, especially if you happen to be backpacking across southwestern Europe before flying off to tour the Orient. Just pray you don’t get stuck on an extended stopover in Hungary.