What was for many years a threat has now become a reality — a Russian law requiring mobile phone manufacturers to ship with preinstalled Russian-made apps (or allow them to be easily installed). It appears that Apple updated its onboarding…
As readers of this blog know, I’ve long advocated for Apple to abandon its use of flags on its global gateway. I first began saying so publicly in 2004. In 2010 I thought Apple was getting close to giving up…
Very cool (and overdue) announcement this morning from the Apple WWDC. The Apple Translate is on its way and is all about voice (and privacy). Here are the supported languages. This will be very interesting!
Four years ago, for the Web Globalization Report Card, I began noting (and rewarding) those websites that supported mobile devices. Even then one could easily see the virtual grounds shifting in favor of mobile devices. But at the time, only about 20% of the…
So I just spent an hour upgrading my iPhone to iOS 7. My first thought was: Boy, these icons are ugly. And there’s this strange mix of text-only buttons and visual buttons. Some of the apps feel like a step…
I love these new Apple advertisements: And… But one thing I couldn’t help but wonder while watching them: Where are the older folks? That is, where are the people of my demographic? Or my parents? If you look closely you’ll…
Apple provides a subtle, but global, welcome to new users of iOS 6. I just downloaded the OS today and captured a few screens to illustrate below: The only thing that changes is the language of the “slide to set…
Here’s a new article I’ve written for UX Magazine on the importance of aligning global and mobile strategies. Too often, companies develop mobile apps and mobile websites without considering localization requirements. Here are two previous articles I’ve written for UX Magazine: Select…
When it comes to tablets, Apple is far and away the leader. But later this year Microsoft is expected to unveil its Windows 8 tablet and, in doing so, will quickly take the lead. In languages, that is. That’s right.…
The 2012 Web Globalization Report Card is my first attempt at analyzing web globalization in a post-PC world. By post-PC world, I’m referring to a world in which the website adapts not only to the device (PC, tablet, smartphone) but also to…
Language negotiation is the process of detecting the language setting of a web browser and responding with the matching language, if available. Companies such as Google and Facebook have used language negotiation with great success over the years. In the…
In 2002, I launched this blog. It was the first blog devoted to web globalization. In fact, I don’t believe there were any blogs devoted to translation either at that point in time. So I really wasn’t sure where this…
I’m a little amazed by all the press that the Google Translate app for iPhone is getting today. From The Wall Street Journal to the LA Times, this app is getting noticed. And this app doesn’t even include the “Conversation…
I interrupt this blog for a brief tutorial on how to use FaceTime for a Mac-to-Mac video chat. Apple has made lots of noise about how iPhone 4 users can use FaceTime to have video chats with one another (provided…
The iPhone is a global success story. And one of the reasons for this success can be attributed to the device’s support for more than 30 languages. But with the iPhone 4 update, Apple continues to push ahead on the…