Not Your Average MObile
An exciting mobile for Welsh-speakers and Welsh language learners, has been launched, with nav bars and predictive text in the language – so this isn’t your average mobile phone.
The Samsung S5600, offered via the Orange 3G network, will be available from September.
The National Eisteddfod has also seen the launching of an iPhone application, or app, for Welsh speakers. Leading academics including the head of computer science at Aberystwyth University, Professor Chris Price, have been involved in the development of the Welsh learning iPhone softwrae application.
The two new technologies were released at the eisteddfod in Bala, Gwynedd. As well as important people from Orange and Samsung, the Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones was also present for the Welsh phone introduction.
Sian Doyle, Orange’s head of retail, said: “Orange is truly proud to be the first network to introduce this truly innovative service to Welsh speakers. “This initiative is part of a wider commitment by Orange to provide Welsh speakers with more options.”
At the last count more than 44,000 Welsh words will be accessible on the mobile telephone.
Very soon, the Learn Welsh phrase book will be available in the iTunes store, for downloading. It is understood that thecost has not been set for this application.
The phrase book application has the 12 internal segments subdivided based on the Professors experience of learning Welsh. The divisions include well known phrases, food and drink, as well as traveling. The Professor has been an key part of the application development process; even going so far as to record the the way that each word is pronounced, to help learners.
An additional new feature is a practice mode, which offers learners the opportunity of testing themselves as they learn.
The iPhone has a number of applications which can be downloaded, which assist the user in learning an additional language. These cover many languages from French, to Italian, through to Irish and Tagalog. “I felt it was about time that help of this kind was made accessible for those learning Welsh.”
Moving from Welsh to Irish; we have discovered that over 93% of those living in Northern Ireland currently own a mobile telephone.
This is 4% higher than the average for the rest of the UK (89%) and up by 8% from last year (85%).
52% of the population in Northern Ireland use their mobile phone as their main communication method; which is 14% larger than the rest of the united Kingdom. The study that was carried out also exposed the fact that nearly ninety percent of Northen Irish households have some form of digital TV too.
