Bad at Languages?: There's An App for That

If you are anything like me, you are not blessed with the ability to learn languages effectively. And from somebody who loves to travel but also failed out of intermediate Spanish in college, I have excellent news for you.

The iSpeech translator, an application available for both Android and iPhone users, allows the user to instantly translate phrases and questions from their native language to another simply by typing or speaking. The resulting text can either be read or simply shown to the person you are trying to communicate with in order to get your point across.  If pronunciation really isn't your thing (I know rolling my "r's" is never going to happen), iSpeech will even read aloud these translations in 18 different languages, with more to come!

Instead of lugging around a heavy translator book, this application makes it easy to learn the phrases that you are going to be using the most on your travel adventure.  Its ability to easily switch its translation from one language to another allows the user to customize and change the settings depending on what country you travel to.  From a vacation to France to a full European adventure, this application has what you need to succeed!

I have attached the links to the application bios to this post so you can learn more about them! If you have plans to travel over the summer, these are a great addition!

How to Beat Mobile Technology Shocks Overseas

When traveling abroad there comes the struggle of communicating with family and friends because phone charges can be overly expensive in foreign countries. Between texting, calling, and social networking, the costs of mobile technology can skyrocket in seconds. 

Using a smartphone overseas is said to be the in the top causes of mobile plan bill shock. This is because uninformed travelers use international roaming with no idea what checking those emails and Facebook are really costing them. International roaming means that while overseas, your phone will use the network of a mobile phone carrier in your destination country. Just loading one webpage is using about 1 megabyte of data and can cost up to 4 dollars. 

The easiest way to avoid high mobile bills is to take advantage of free WiFi wherever you can. Free WiFi can be available in hotels, restaurants, cafes and other free hotspots. Cell phone users are not billed for their data used on WiFi. However, be aware that free WiFi is not common everywhere in foreign countries like it is in America. 

Another mobile phone option that is fairly new and available in the app market is Viber. Viber is an application that can be used on any smartphone or computer. It features FREE calling, texting, picture and location sharing technology with other Viber users. It also instantly integrates your contacts from your phonebook. When my friend was traveling in China this past summer, we communicated over Viber. It was so quick and easy to use and one of the best ways to communicate while using a smartphone!

The key to communicating with family and friends overseas is to find out the communication options of your destination before you go. Being prepared will come in handy when you avoid hundreds of dollars in cell phone bills back in America!