Ultralingua
Q. How long have you been developing for the iPhone/iPod platform?
Since the summer of 2008 – we were the first bilingual dictionary apps in the App Store when it launched!
Q. Describe your app(s)?
We have 23 apps in the App Store, all of which are used for dictionary lookup, language translation, and verb conjugation. Because they don’t require an internet connection and are available in a variety of languages, they can be used by anyone.
Q. Who is/are your app(s) for?
Our apps are great for people who love languages – especially language students, professional translators, and international travelers. Ultralingua translation dictionaries are popular because the entries have a lot of depth, and because they come with a verb conjugation tool. Our verb conjugator helps language learners master tough things like irregular verbs and tenses, and can even serve as a complete reference for native speakers.
We also recently launched a free app for the Haitian earthquake relief effort. It helps English and Haitian Creole speakers communicate, with a translation dictionary, audio phrasebook, and anthropological reference guide. 80% of the population of Haiti speaks Creole, and many relief workers are struggling with the language barrier. This app puts the power of language directly at the fingertips of the relief workers, so they don’t need to rely on the presence of a human translator. http://bit.ly/aJOZjx
What did you do before developing for the iPhone/iPod platform?
We started with a French-English dictionary for Mac in 1997, and from there added more bilingual dictionaries for Mac. We soon had apps for Windows, Windows Mobile, Palm, and the web, but our iPhone and Mac apps have always been the most popular.
Q. Do you have any cool future projects in the pipeline? Provide as much detail about the project you are willing to discuss.
We are always working on adding languages to our list, and we have a couple big ones coming soon. Also, because our iPad apps are so new, we are looking forward to hearing from our users about what they would like to see next. We believe strongly in customer-driven development, and although we can’t make every user request a reality, we do our best to improve our apps using input from our customers.
Q. Anything you want iPhone users to think about or realize when it comes to apps?
Although we carefully monitor our reviews in the App Store, we can’t actually respond to users questions or concerns there. It’s tricky, because we really want to be able to talk with our users about their ideas and answer their questions. We try to encourage people to email support or connect with us on twitter instead. http://twitter.com/ultralingua
Q. Are you looking for employees, partners, funding or anything that will help grow your company in the future?
We are always looking for brilliant people to join our team, and are actually looking to fill a few positions right now. If you live in the Minneapolis area and love language, you should email us at business (at) ultralingua (dot) com
10. What iPhone/iPod tip would you like to give our iPhone users?
It’s simple to turn on international keyboards, and they can make using apps like ours a lot easier. From your home screen, just visit: Settings > General settings > Keyboard > International keyboards. Special characters (like accented letters) are easy to use, too, just tap and hold a letter on the keyboard to see alternatives.
Q. What are your favorite iPhone apps besides your own?
We can’t get enough of cat piano around the office – the occasional musical “meow” has been known to make an appearance during staff meetings.
For more on Ultralingua:
UltraLingua
http://bit.ly/bIvDEQ (full list of Ultralingua apps)
Some other iPhone posts you may enjoy:
Tags: Apps, developer, ipad, iPhone, language, showcase, ultraligua
