iPhone Buzz » dictionary

Phil Schiller responds to Ninjawords censorship

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 12:14:18 +0000

Apple found itself in a bit of a row with users over allegedly censoring a dictionary app called Ninjawords. The crux of the problem was that Apple supposedly made the dictionary sensor certain words from its listings and then hit the app with a 17+ rating as well.

Apple VP Phil Schiller has responded to Darning Fireball’s original story and shed a bit more light on the subject. Schiller says that Apple did not censor the dictionary and did not reject its application for objectionable words found in other dictionaries.

He says that reviewers at Apple found that the app provided access to objectionable terms not found in traditional dictionaries and the app was initially rejected because of this and suggested that the app be resubmitted after the parental controls were implemented on the iPhone. These came with the OS 3.0 update.

Rather than wait the Ninjawords devs chose to remove access to some terms and resubmit before parental controls. At that point, Apple hit the app with a 17+ rating. Apparently, Apple only said that Ninjawords needed a 17+ rating and didn’t tell the app to censor its content. You can read the full email from Schiller at the link below.

[via Daring Fireball]

Dictionary.com introduces free iPhone App

Budi Putra — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:59:48 +0000

Dictionary.com has launched a free iPhone app that lets users look up more than 275,000 definitions and 80,000 synonyms from Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com. According to Compete, Dictionary.com –part of the Ask.com network– drew nearly 3.2 million unique visits in March.

The app’s features include:

Access spelled words.
Alphabetical indexing.
Synonyms example sentences.
Non-standard uses.
Word origin and history.
Ability to access definitions and synonyms offline.
Audio pronunciations.
Dictionary.com’s popular Word of the Day.

Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch, this app requires iPhone 2.0 software update. Some features require internet connection.

[via TechCrunch]

360Wichita adds local iPhone application

Budi Putra — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:37:22 +0000

It’s a nice local directory app for iPhone. 360Wichita launched iPhone version of its visual directory, allowing iPhone users to access to Wichita businesses and information including coupons, maps, pictures, and more from around Wichita.

Our community directory, 360Wichita.com, is the premier online directory of Wichita business, real estate and area attractions, designed to provide valuable information and unique visual content to online consumers. The directory is a lead generator for our clients and offers a visual representation of Wichita for visitors around the world.

iPhone users can get the application for free from the iTunes AppStore (or by searching “Wichita” or “360Directories”). The application is currently used in Kansas City, Charlotte, N.C., Dallas/Ft. Worth and Tampa, Fla.

[via Wichita Business Journal]

Free talking iPhone phrasebook for UK consumers

Budi Putra — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 03:42:18 +0000

Seems this app is a great companion for travelers and holiday goers. lastminute.com launched a new talking phrasebook for iPhone and iPod Touch users, enabling them to ask for directions, hire a car and even engage in small talk.

Developed by Coolgorilla, the phrasebook is available in six different language versions: French, German, Greek, Italian Portuguese and Spanish, and can be downloaded for by visiting Apple’s App Store [iTunes links: French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish]. This app is available free to any UK customer.

Searching through a printed phrasebook, or struggling with embarrassing pronunciation, is now a thing of the past. The intuitive application allows consumers to search quickly and simply for a phrase in English and press ‘select’, their iPhone then pronounces the phrase in the foreign language with a real, native accent. The text translation is also provided on the screen.

“With lastminute.com’s sponsorship, we can offer them free to UK customers, so that they can enjoy their holiday even more,” said Roy Forsdick, MD of Coolgorilla.