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Babbel's subscription-based language learning apps arrive on the iPhone
Avid users of Babbel's iPad apps, feel free to give your tablet a rest. The full versions of the Spanish, English and French learning apps have arrived on the iPhone, with more languages to follow. If you'd rather not shell out the $22 fee for a three-month subscription, however, you'd better download the free basic apps soon, as they'll only be around until October. Meanwhile, linguaphiles running Android hardware will get their chance to compare the service against rival offerings when the apps hit Google Play later this year.
Babbel acquires PlaySay in bid to bolster US language learning presence
Babbel's been doing a solid job of picking up users as it attempts to help people around the world learn new tongues over their lunch breaks, but evidently, it's not picking up steam in the US as well as it would like. The remedy? Buy the market share one so desires. Today, the company has announced the acquisition of San Francisco's own PlaySay -- a language learning company that has been tearing up every app store it approaches since launching at TechCrunch Disrupt in September of 2011. With that, however, comes some pretty unfortunate news for users. PlaySay apps are going to be yanked 45 days from now, with website visitors funneled over to Babbel's site. Moreover, we've confirmed that none of PlaySay's technologies will be integrated into Babbel's programs, and that only PlaySay's founder (Ryan Meinzer) will remain on staff as an "adviser." We've got nothing but love for Babbel's software, but what this means for consumers is simple: one less player in the space, and a dead-end for the technology that was developed in order to launch PlaySay. Of course, we aren't going to pretend that this type of thing doesn't happen all of the time, but alas....
Babbel brings 11 language learning apps to Windows Phone 8, for free
Yours truly has had some pretty positive experiences with Babbel's existing product line, with the latest being a subscription-based alternative for iPad that makes it a lot more affordable to learn the basics of 11 different tongues. After launching last October on Windows 8, the outfit is showing Microsoft's other major OS a bit of love today. Babbel is bringing its 11 language learning programs to Windows Phone 8, with the apps scheduled to hit the 'Education' segment of the Windows Phone Store any moment now. For those who've yet to give it a whirl, Babbel uses a mix of repetition, visual cues, spelling exercises and voice recognition, and it does a pretty stellar job of segmenting things into digestible lessons for those who only have five or ten minutes at a time to spare. The apps themselves are free to download, with a company spokesperson explaining to us that the WP8 builds "are mainly vocabulary trainers with 3,000 words broken down into themed lessons." Ideally, the phone apps would supplement a user's learning on their main platform (iPad or desktop). So, at $0.00, your last remaining excuse to not understand what the locals are chatting about in Moorea has been obliterated. Vous êtes les bienvenus.
Babbel launches subscription-based language learning program for iPad
Looks as if there's a new twist in the language learning game. Following the release of a basics guide on the iPad last year, Babbel has decided to bring most of its 11 language guides to Apple's tablet line -- but rather than forcing customers to fork out giant sums for the full monty, it's offering tools in smaller subscription chunks. Learners can choose from French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Turkish, Dutch, Polish, Indonesian and English, and you'll find practically everything available via the company's website available on the iPad. There's a review manager that keeps track of words that have been learned as well as the learner's progress, and synchronizes them to coincide with the web app, and those who download lessons ahead of time will be able to soak in new vocabularies while offline. For those interested solely in the iPad app, you'll be asked to pay $12.95 (1 month) / $26.85 (3 months) / $44.70 (6 months), while the app + web access will run $16.45 / $32.85 / $53.70 for the same durations. Hit up the source link to grab the download. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
IRL: Epson R1800, Babbel for iPad and the Nokia Lumia 920 on Rogers
Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. This week we've got Darren learning a little Spanish through Babbel and Jon, the man of many Canadian phones, testing the Lumia 920 on Rogers' LTE network. And, on a slightly more nostalgic note, Billy delivers a eulogy of sorts for the Epson photo printer that got him through years of graphic design school.
