Olympics swag? Free Mandarin iPhone app from Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet is giving away free Mandarin audio-phrasebook applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. The promotion is meant, of course, to coincide with the forthcoming Beijing Olympics, though you don’t have to prove you’ve got a ticket to China to cash in on this freebie.

But if you are making it to Beijing, this tool should help. The Audio Phrasebook includes over 600 phrases to help free up your tied-up tongue as you scoot about town. Looking for some grub? Just tap the category “Eating Out,” then find the phrase you’re seeking. Tap again to see the translation and to hear it through iPhone speakers. The audio element should prove key for most English speakers unfamiliar with the complexities of Mandarin.

To get the free download, go to this Lonely Planet page. Act now –- it’s being given away for an unbeknown “limited time.” If you want to purchase it after the offer is over, or want to snatch up one of the other translation apps currently available, they retail for $9.99 and can be purchased from the Apple App Store on your iPhone or iPod touch or via iTunes.com.

The other applications for English speakers looking for linguistic help are for the following languages: Cantonese, Czech, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese.

— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Lonely Planet]

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This entry was posted on Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 9:00 am by Susan Derby and is filed under Asia, Business Travel, China, Deals, News, Tips & Advice, Travel Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.