Speaking Dictionary

Speaking Dictionary XS2 is a portable translation application for cell phones and PDAs. It was developed by XS2TheWorld, a software company based in Amsterdam. The application plays pre-recorded phrases, chosen from a menu, using the mobile device's speaker.

History
According to inventor Sander Munstermann, one of the company's founders, the idea for the product came about after a move to Shanghai. Two of his colleagues came to visit him, and they had trouble getting around due to the fact that they didn't speak Chinese. They found that the most economic solution was to get their friend to record his home address on an MP3 player, and play it back to the taxi drivers.

Software
The Sunday Express writes that the application "contains up to 300 phrases in seven languages, including French, Spanish and Mandarin. These are displayed on screen phonetically and spoken by the phone. The application can be downloaded for free at xs2theworld.com." The screen of the user's mobile device displays a series of menu icons, such as "City Guide," "Phrases," and "Emergency." Each of these main headings opens to reveal further categories. The user can open a list of phrases and read the text of the phrase in English, in the target language, and in the Anglicised phonetic version of the target language. It also speaks the phrase in the target language, to aid the user in pronunciation. There are also plans to utilize the Speaking Dictionary to assist visitors to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Languages
The Speaking Dictionary XS2 software application is available in English, Spanish, German, Danish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Czech, Swiss, Dutch, Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin , Greek, Hungarian, Japanese, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese.
 
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