Talking Books for Children
Since buying the iPad I have been looking for some books that Nong Grace could read for herself. Like other children, she took to the iPad like duck to water and I wanted to find some good apps for her. One of the difficult things about living in Thailand is finding enough English reading material. It is true that things are better these days but with the arrival of digital readers we can now buy ebooks at the same time as the rest of the world and at the same prices. This iPad app called iRead HD - Classic Fairy Tales Collection is the first one that I bought for her and I haven't regretted it. Nong Grace absolutely loves it and has read every book many times.
The app costs $8.99 which is more than I would normally want to pay. But, for this price you get ten classic fairy tales: The Emperor's New Clothes, The Ugly Ducking, The Adventures of Pinocchio, The Little Mermaid, The Fisherman and the Golden Fish, The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs, Peter Pan, The Little Tin Soldier, Sleeping Beauty and The Frog Prince. This works out at only 27 baht each which is cheaper than if I bought the print versions. In addition, you get a lot more as each book is narrated so that your child can follow along. Another bonus is the recording mode. The idea is for parents to make their own recordings. But, Nong Grace likes using this to make up her own version of each story!
There are a number of options to make reading easier. Pages can be turned automatically or manually with a swipe. You can have a narration or you can sit with your child and read it to them. There is also a bookmark feature which remembers where you were the last time you opened the app. You can buy many of these books separately but it is obviously cheaper to buy the "library" version. They also have a couple of free versions if you want to test them out first. We also bought iReading HD - Animation Stories Series 1 ($2.99 for 6 books) and iReading HD - Stories Collection 1 ($2.99 for 9 books). We will certainly be interested in any more that they release. For full selection, visit their website.
Visit Thailand on the iPad
The first iPad app to be published by the Tourism Authority of Thailand celebrates the stunning beauty of Thailand's cultures, locales and traveling experience through an array of brochures and magazines. The published material contains breathtaking photography and engaging articles perfect for regular and potential travelers planning trips or reminiscing about Thailand's picturesque beauty.
I think there is a difference between the kind of apps that you do for the iPhone and then for the iPad. A good thing about the iPad is that you can use it to flip through picture books. That is one advantage over the Kindle as you can view the pictures in glorious colour. This is basically what the TAT have done with their first of a series of "books" for their VisitThailand app for the iPad. This is basically a library app where you will be able to download various colour brochures about Thailand. The first one available today is "Phuket". The e-magazine is split up into several sections: 12 Beaches & Bays, 15 Major Sights & Attractions,Tours & Cruises, 5 Sporting Opportunities, 6 Special Events and Getting there & Accommodation.
Don't expect too much and then you won't be disappointed. There is a map but neither that nor any of the pages are interactive. There are three videos embedded into the pages though the first two are advertisements for Thailand and only the last focuses on Phuket itself. It is a surprisingly large app at 185 MB. I presume most of that is taken up with the Phuket brochure though I am not sure why. The first page is an empty bookcase with only the Phuket brochure on display. I wonder how big this will get by the time they have finished. I did have a few problems with it to start with as it kept crashing and two of the videos wouldn't play. But, it seems alright now after I have re-booted the iPad. I know it is free, but I am not sure if it is really worth downloading such a large app just for a dozen pages!
Uploading Photos to Picasa
On your iPhone, you can now view your Picasa Photo albums and also bulk upload photos from your iPhone to old or new albums by using this free app called Piconhand - Picasa Web Albums on Your Hand.
For a while now I have been looking for somewhere to upload my iPhone pictures while I am still away on a trip or covering an event. Normally I just upload pictures one by one onto my Twitter stream, but sometimes it is nice for people to see in one place all of the pictures that I took during an event. I first experimented by uploading pictures to my Facebook photo albums. I used the excellent Pixelpipe to do this. However, there turned out to be two problems. Firstly, believe it or not, not everyone has a Facebook account and so some people had difficulty in viewing the pictures. The second thing I didn't like is that it would post on the wall again if I uploaded some more pictures to the same album ten minutes later. Using Pixelpipe I could already upload to my Picasa Photo Albums but it was very limited in what I could do after that. That is when I found Piconhand which I think now solves my problems.
The free iPhone app Piconhand is dedicated for the Picasa Photo Album (free for google account users). When you log into your account you can see a list of your photo albums, both public and private. You can then choose which album to upload to or even create a new album. You then browse to the photos on your iPhone to choose the pictures that you want to upload. As you tap on each picture a green tick appears so that you can see which ones you are uploading. Once they are all uploaded, you can view your album with the options to edit the album info and also add captions and tags to any of the photos. You are also given the option to "share album link" but unfortunately this only sends this to your email programme. Would be nice also nice to share the link on Twitter and Facebook.
You can view my Picasa Photo Albums now and then keep an eye on it over the next week or so as I will be going on a few trips and attending a few events. I will upload pictures to Picasa while still on location at each place. Follow me on Twitter @RichardBarrow for all the latest news about Thailand and also tips on using the iPhone in Thailand.
uTalk Learning Thai
Developed by a company with 20 years of experience in language learning and over ten million customers, uTalk HD gives you the key words you need and a fast, scientific way of remembering them.
There are quite a few apps for the iPhone and iPad that have been brought out to help teach you Thai. Some are better than others. The one that I am reviewing today is called uTalk HD Thai, and although it might not be the most comprehensive, it is certainly one of the most professionally produce apps for learning Thai that I have seen for a while. It is very well designed and works perfectly on both the iPhone and the iPad and you only have to pay once. You are basically presented with nine categories: first words, food, colours, phrases, body, numbers, time, shopping and countries. They claim that there are 275 words and phrases all of which are useful in helping you to start speaking Thai quickly.
If you go into one of the categories, say food, you are then presented with a list of vocabulary words. You can either go through these in the correct order or jump to any that you like. Pictures are very important in this method of learning. You see the word in Thai and English, you see a picture of it and you also hear a native speaker reading it. You then have the option to record yourself. When you click the recording button you will hear the word first and then you have to repeat after it. You then get to hear how you say it compared to the native speaker. Each category also has three types of games. In the first game you are presented with four different pictures and you are told what each of them are in Thai. The pictures are then mixed up and you are told to pick a certain card. In the second game you are presented with four picture cards but this time you are not told the name of each one. You then have to follow the instructions to pick out the correct picture. In the last game you are presented with a certain number of picture cards for only a few seconds before they are turned over. You are then asked to pick out the cards as and when you are asked in Thai.
I have enjoyed using this well produced app for the iPhone and iPad. At $11.99 the uTalk HD Thai app might be pricier than others for teaching Thai, but the audio and visual content is certainly of a higher standard. You are also able to switch the language of instruction from English to one of 35 different languages. So, if you are German for example, you can have the menu in German instead. Sometimes the prices of apps drop down for a few days. If this happenss to this one or any other app that I have reviewed I will post the news immediately on my Twitter feed @RichardBarrow.
New iPhone and iPad apps for Thailand
The following are the latest apps released or updated for the iPhone and iPad over the last week and are useful for people living in Thailand.
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| Smart banking with KTB from your iPhone now. Krung Thai Bank have launched KTB Online@Mobile application that help you bank smarter. With the most highly concerned in security and .. | Collins Mini Gem Thai-English & English-Thai Dictionary is an up-to-date, easy-reference dictionary, ideal for learners of Thai and English of all ages. The dictionary covers about 10,000 words... | Wanna cook Thai food? Know how? iThai Cook Book is your presonal Thai sous-chef. It helps your Thai cooking experience full of joy and delicious taste. iThai Cook Book have got simply 5 Thai... | This FREE version has functions like FULL version but departure dates and return dates are limited within 7 days . ThaiFlight is the real simplest domestic flight... | iPoodThai is an English to Thai talking phrase book including 500 phrases and words. It is useful for people who are traveling around Thailand. It can also be a good starting point for those who... | HEdictionary English Thai for iPhone & iPod touch is a superlative dictionary not only for Thai to learn English but also for English to learn Thai. The comprehensive dictionary contains 4... |
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| A complete introduction to the 44 consonants that make up the Thai alphabet. *Photos to illustrate the name of each letter. *Full name of each letter in Thai and Romanized script. *Translation of... | mySiamGold is an only application that helps you not to miss any valued data of gold trading investment especially in Thai market. mySiamGold helps you monitor easily the prices of both gold bullion... | Thailand Election and statistic information. -By Province -By Year This is a tool for Thai Voter and Politician. Language: Thai | This is useful to travel Thailand for the first time. You can listen the native pronunciation for every sentences. Thailand food menu included. | This app was designed to facilitate the process to memorize the Thai alphabet, including consonants, vowels, tone marks, and pronunciation rules. You'll also get a chance to practice reading some... | Learn to read and write the Thai alphabet the easy way with this app. It is especially helpful for people learning the Thai language at beginner or intermediate level. All schemes for writing Thai... |
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| Thailand Post Office Database List of Thailand Post Office all over Thailand you can search by name, address, telephone number etc. |
Longdo Traffic HD provides access to real-time traffic information for roads in Thailand. The traffic data provided by the Intelligent Traffic Information Center Foundation is overlaid on top of the... | The complete offline travel guide to the Khao San Road area of Bangkok. Our aim with this travel guide was to take the stress out of arriving in Bangkok and getting to your hotel. So no need to worry... | view information of Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre - view activities calendar - view floor plan - plan visit information and map - view facilities - share activity via email, twitter, facebook,... | ★ Explore Bangkok... It's Fun ★ From major temples to young new designer shops, this guide shows you some of the city's most exciting spots to explore. You'll find relaxing places to stay, visit... | This is a fast PDF viewer designed to view large travel map files for Bangkok. Most PDF software on iPhone cannot handle large files well, they are slow in loading the files and... |
Wide Angle Lens for the iPhone
Now that I have a good camera on the iPhone 4, it is time to think about lenses. One thing I don't like about the camera on the iPhone is that it isn't very wide. Sometimes I have to step back in order to get everything in the picture. Now you don't have to do that with this cool accessory for your mobile phone. It is a wide/macro lens that I ordered on the Internet for only $20 (600 baht).
You can attach the lens as and when you want to get a wide shot. It is very quick to use. Here are two pictures taken seconds apart. The picture above was taken with the normal lens. The one below has the wide angle lens put on top. As you can see, there is a bit of black in some corners which might mean you will need to crop sometimes. It is also a bit out of focus on the edges. But, I think the overall results are good. The lens also doubles as a macro lens. Just screw off the top lens to get a good close-up picture.
I do like this lens but I did have some trouble in attaching it to the iPhone 4. After I had bought it they put a disclaimer on the website saying that the glass surface of the iPhone 4 makes it difficult to stick the metal ring to your phone. Plus, with the flash on the phone you need to cut it to a "C" shape. The picture below shows an iPhone 3GS. The lens has a magnet on it so that it quickly attaches to the metal ring on your mobile phone. What I had to do in the end is to buy a cheap case and stick the ring to this. Not sure how often I will use this ring but it might be handy.
You can buy the lens from photojojo.com for $20. There are some other lenses which you can buy in Bangkok. I saw a telephoto lens for 1,900 baht and a wide angle lens for 4,900 baht. Do you have any accessories for the iPhone that you like to use?
Thai Alphabet Helper
The Thai Alphabet Helper app for the iPhone was designed to help you memorize the Thai alphabet, including consonants, vowels, tone marks, and pronunciation rules. You'll also get a chance to practice reading some common Thai words.
It is good to see more iPhone apps coming out recently that help you learn the Thai language. The Thai Alphabet Helper is another app to help teach you the alphabet and unlike some others this one is free. Interestingly, this one breaks the alphabet up into the three main groups of middle, high and low consonants. For each one you get a picture and also a sound clip. There is also a section on short and long vowels. The reason the consonants are sorted into groups is because this apps tries its best to teach you the correct tones to use for each word. Quite ambitious but as they say themselves, you should also study from a book and then use this app when you are away as a kind of reminder. The last section has a list of words broken up by letters. You can click on each letter to hear a sound file or the whole word. However, it would be better if when you clicked on the letter you get the sound of the letter "kor" and not the name "kor kwai". Having said that, this app is worth downloading if you want a good introduction to the Thai alphabet.
Heavy Duty Battery for the iPhone
Although the battery life of the iPhone 4 is good and will last the whole day on most occasions, there are times when I run out of battery when I'm covering a live event. For example, when I was documenting the red shirt protests I was using the camera a lot to take pictures and video and also constantly connecting to the Internet to send out reports and upload both the pictures and video. I use 3G for this all the time and so it can consume the battery quite quickly. A solution to this was the battery pack that plugged into the bottom of the iPhone (see here). The size of this battery is 1900 mAh and is supposed to be able to give a full charge. However, the connection was never that good and if I moved it just a little then it would stop charging. A better solution probably would have been the battery pack that doubled as a case for the iPhone. But, this was three times more expensive.
Then at the Apple store on the 5th floor of MBK I came across the HyperMac Mini which claimed a capacity of 7200mAh. I googled it and found that it could extend the iPad battery life by 10 extra hours or fully recharge the iPhone 6 times, extending talk time by up to 72 hours, standby time by up to 1800 hours, Internet use by up to 54 hours, video playback by up to 60 hours and audio playback by up to 180 hours (click here for website). The battery pack wasn't too big and it connected to the iPhone via the normal white lead. This meant I could keep the battery in my pocket while still using the phone to take pictures and connect to the Internet. The listed price on the Internet was $119.95 (3,588 baht) though some places were selling it for only $99 before shipping and tax. However, in the shop it was priced at 2,300 baht. Although still expensive it seemed a bargain and perfect for my needs. I'm glad I went ahead and bought it as I now think someone had written the price down wrong. At the iStore at Siam Square it was priced at 3,200 baht.
Do you ever run out of battery at the wrong time? What do you do about it?
Easy Thai Script for the iPad
Learn to read and write the Thai alphabet the easy way with this app for the iPad. It is especially helpful for people learning the Thai language at beginner or intermediate level.
Easy Thai Script for the iPad is a useful app to help you practice writing the Thai alphabet. I have used one before for the iPhone called TH-Write but the small screen is not so good for you to write the letters with your finger. On the iPad you get a bigger surface for you to practice writing. Above this you can see the letter you need to draw and it also has arrows and numbers to show you where to start writing and in which direction. Once you get used to it, you can turn off the arrows. The app will automatically save your work but there is an option to either clear for one letter or for all the letters. When writing the letter, it is advisable to say aloud the Thai word for it. Luckily there is a button to press so that you can hear a native Thai speaker reading the letter. One feature missing here, that the iPhone app has, is an outline of each letter that will help guide you as you write on top of it. Would be nice to have this and also the option for it to be removed. The present price for Easy Thai Script is $1.99 (about 6o baht) and can be purchased now in iTunes.
COMPETITION: I liked this app so much that I asked the developer if I could have a spare promo code to give away to readers of my blog. To win is simple. All you have to do is tweet this:
I want to practice writing the Thai alphabet on the iPad - http://bit.ly/b7CJ44 /via @RichardBarrow
All names will be entered into a hat and the lucky winner will be picked tomorrow, 6th October 2010. But don't forget, I cannot send you the promo code by DM if you don't follow me!
AV Composite Cable for iPhone
With these cables plugged in between your iPhone or iPad and your TV, it is possible to watch movies and photo slideshows on the big screen. This is great when you want to share videos or pictures with a group of friends. I use it a lot when I am teaching Kindergarten students. I have downloaded quite a few videos from youtube which I can show to them on a TV by using these cables. You can also plug this into your computer at the same time via the USB cable which means you can both charge the device and also synch it. You can also connect the AV Composite Cables to your stereo if you want to listen to your music collection.
The first set I bought at MBK were white leads which weren't always reliable. Sometimes I had to jiggle the lead for the picture to show on the TV. Apple has an official set of cables but they want 1,890 baht compared to about 500 baht at MBK. Unfortunately, the cables that I had bought at MBK last year didn't work with the iPhone 4 or iPad. I didn't want to pay so much for the Apple cables so was happy to find a compromise, Capdase AV Composite Cable with USB, which cost only 800 baht. I bought it at a mobile phone engraving shop on the 5th floor of the Digital Gateway in Siam Square. I am sure you can also buy at MBK or Panthip Plaza.
Do you have a favourite accessory for the iPhone, iPod or iPad? Let us know what it is, how much it cost and where you bought it.
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การใช้ไอโฟนในประเทศไทย
On this blog I will be sharing with you tips and methods of using an iPhone and iPad in Thailand. I am not pretending to be an expert, but I hope that from my personal experience of using an iPhone for my work and pleasure you might gain some knowledge. As well as reviewing apps that I use, I will also post about accessories and also the latest news from around the world.
- Richard Barrow
Twitter: @RichardBarrow
Archives: @TwitterArchives
Contact: @Paknamweb.com
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