Translation Errors

There are many times we make mistakes in life, but can we afford to make mistakes in our working lives? They’re bound to happen but can we put a stop to them? Is it simply our concentration and lack of proof reading that causes so many mistakes that can easily be avoided?

Numerous times errors have occurred frequently in marketing and advertising campaigns. Many translation errors are even found in the Bible when it has been translated into different languages around the world.

Products that are successful when launched such as Coca Cola, Pepsi, Bacardi and many others find that when their hugely successful ad campaigns are translated for a different market overseas they take on a whole new meaning. Such as Pepsi Cola, when they translated their successful ‘Pepsi gives you zest for life’ to the Chinese market it translated into ‘Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave.’ An easy thing to avoid, but a harder thing to spot, that is before the adverts are put up on a 20 foot billboard.

Dictate2us offers great, affordable translation, without the errors!

Social Networking

In a world dominated by social networks, it’s not uncommon to be given a Twitter or Facebook name rather than a phone number when meeting someone for the first time.

From a business point of view, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn provide a brilliant way to expand contacts. It’s clear that social media sites are playing a more important role within business development – and this shows no sign of slowing down.

Social media sites are giving companies the opportunity to seek out, connect with and potentially strike up a working relationship with other organisations. This is something I’m sure is very warmly welcomed in the current economic climate.

Social networking for purely personal use is a thing of the past. Being able to connect directly with customers provides incentive enough for businesses to build an online ‘social’ presence.

With the much anticipated launch of Google + business pages, it’s now probably easier for a business development manager to contact someone through Twitter rather than picking up the phone!

IPHONE 4S – THE WAITING GAME

Frustrating probably isn’t the word, but it certainly comes close. It’s been a week since I first tried to get my hands on an iPhone 4S. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my BlackBerry, but after three years, I’m ready for a change!

However, despite obsessively checking my server’s online stock checker, there’s been no joy on the iPhone 4S front. So what’s going on? Has Apple seriously underestimated sales or are the service providers simply unorganised?

With the mass of iPhone users all over the world, it seems rather impossible that Apple could have miscalculated sales so badly. As I struggle to get my hands on the 4S, it seems increasingly likely that it’s the mobile phone providers who are in fact at fault. Despite the fact that we’ve already been here with the 3G and 3GS releases, it seems they have been oblivious to demand.

Whatever the case, both parties should have been more prepared. Doesn’t it make more sense to have too many iPhones that will no doubt sell out in a matter of days, rather than have plenty of irate customers who could take their services elsewhere?

For now, I’ll have to continue my wait. However, if iPhone can’t deliver, maybe it’s best sticking with my trusty BlackBerry. We’ll wait and see…

BlackBerry Torch vs iPhone 4S

It’s easy to say that the BlackBerry is the smartphone of the business world, while the iPhone is the smartphone of the application world. But which handset come out on top? We pit two of the latest product launches together – BlackBerry Torch vs. iPhone 4S – to see which comes out in the battle of the smartphones.

Appearance

Probably one of the biggest differences with the two phones is their appearance. The iPhone appears much slimmer and much sleeker than the BlackBerry.

The Torch is slightly bulky. However, thanks to the added feature of the QWERTY keyboard, it is much more user-friendly. Overall, the iPhone, with its 3.5 inch screen, is pretty much perfect and appears slightly more sophisticated than the BlackBerry.

Operating systems

While BlackBerry flaunts the impressive OS 6.0, a much improved operating system compared to previous BlackBerry OS versions, the iPhone’s iOS 5 system (which has recently been upgraded), is more successful in the operating stakes.

The iPhone 4S allows users to download any of the 500,000+ apps available on the App Store, whereas BlackBerry App World doesn’t offer quite as many options.

Camera

The BlackBerry Torch offers an impressive 5-megapixel camera complete with LED flash. However, the iPhone boasts a remarkable 8-megapixel camera. What’s more, the iPhone races ahead with another camera designed specifically for FaceTime video calling, which is located on the front of the phone.

Features

The iPhone 4S exhibits Siri – a voice recognition application that works on both input and output speech. This for many wins the race against BlackBerry. Even though Siri is still in its beta stages, it has by far surpassed expectations many have had for the app.

An additional new feature of the iPhone 4S is the introduction of iMessage. Similar to BlackBerry’s BBM, iMessage allows users to send and receive free messages between iPhone users. The downfall with iMessage is that it doesn’t yet have as many features included as BlackBerry does. iMessage, unlike BBM, can be used across multiple Apple devices such as iPhone, iPad, and iPod. Another advantage of iMessage is there’s no need to add contacts as iPhone automatically adds existing iPhone users within your contact list. This differs to BlackBerry, where individual ‘BB Pins’ have to be added to the device.

Verdict

Overall, iPhone comes out on top of the Smartphones and Apple’s ability to continuously reinvent itself has once again won over the technological world. While BlackBerry is still one of the leading smartphones, it doesn’t yet come close to the iPhone’s range of available apps. However, as BlackBerry is a business phone, it doesn’t necessarily need successful apps to exist alongside the iPhone. The race is still wide open, but for the time being, the iPhone 4S is firmly in the lead.

iPhone 4S Review

There isn’t anything noticeably different about the iPhone 4S. To the naked eye it looks identical to the previous release of the iPhone 4. However, after doing my research and trying it for myself, it’s pretty clear to me, and to all those who have purchased the iPhone 4S, that it blows other smartphones out of the water.

Complete with the most up-to-date version of iOS 5, the phone is noticeably faster than its predecessor. What’s more, the camera now boasts eight megapixels, which has the potential to make digital cameras a thing of the past.

For me, the biggest surprise with the iPhone 4S is the quality of Siri. Essentially, Siri is your own personal assistant – but better. It is an app that’s at your beck and call 24/7 and one that, despite my previous reservations, works wonderfully well.

Unlike current voice recognition apps, Siri works much better than any app on the market at the moment. Problems with Siri are mainly centred on the fact that the app doesn’t work so well outside of the US. For example, UK users will not yet be able to use the app to navigate around or find restaurants etc – a major setback for many users.

This hitch is caused by the fact that Apple has, as of yet, failed to secure a UK ‘look-up’ partner. However, as we saw when we launched the d2u Transcriber app for the iPhone, Apple is a market leader for good reason. It’s only a matter of time before these issues get ironed out and people are queuing up for an iPhone 4S of their own.

THANKS STEVE

“We don’t get a chance to do that many things, and everyone should be really excellent.  Because this is our life. Life is brief, and then you die, you know? And we’ve all chosen to do this with our lives. So it better be damn good. It better be worth it.” – Steve Jobs

Last week came the tragic news of Steve Jobs’ death. The fact that it was Apple’s gadgets that were used to disseminate this information proves just how influential his innovations have become and really highlighted his legacy.

Founded in 1976, Apple has become one of the largest computer corporations in the world. It’s safe to say that Jobs had a vision to alter the face of technology forever and many would argue that he did, with industry-changing technology like the Macintosh computer, the iPod and iPad.

As a company firmly grounded in technology, it would be impossible for us at dictate2us not to pay homage to a man who has shaped consumer tech trends over past 35 years.

Many of us have Steve Jobs to thank for providing the inspiration that we all need from time to time. He taught us that it’s okay to be ‘the round peg in the square hole’; that it’s alright to be ‘the crazy one’ and ‘see things differently’. Steve Jobs wanted to make ‘a ding in the universe’ and that he did.

But his legacy isn’t just Apple. Steve Jobs created a platform for those who wanted to think outside of the box. Without Steve there would be no d2u iPhone app, without Steve there would be no d2u. So thank you Steve!

BlackBerry Blackout

BlackBerry users encountered almost 3 days without service this week. As a BlackBerry user, I was massively inconvenienced and it made me think: ‘Are we unable to function without our smartphones?’ For some, it felt as if the world was ending – topics such as #myblackberry and #BB were trending throughout the day on Twitter and business-users were outraged.

In a world where technology reigns supreme, it’s really no surprise that so many customers were put out. Some people refuse to get to grips with technology. However, for this generation and most certainly for generations to come, it’s next to impossible to imagine a world without it.

Where would we be if we couldn’t listen to our personal music on the way to work, let our friends know we’re running late or check our emails late at night?

In a world where many are quick to dismiss technological advances, maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to do so. After all, we now hold in our hands the key to our future – simple pieces of plastic that allow us to download an application that can instantly transcribe any speech into text, at the touch of a button.

This week’s events showed us, or those of us with BlackBerrys, what it was like to not be able to access even the most basic technology.

While the Blackberry system was down, we received hundreds of direct requests to urgently transcribe messages and emails – all of which were turned round. From 99p per audio minute and a delivery time of as little as 60 minutes, d2u can get you back on the technological track when all else seems to fail.