Filed under: Portable AudioUsing a regular iPod loaded up with a bunch of Arabic and Kurdish phrases, a company called Vcom3D has created a makeshift language translator that 160 troops in Iraq are already using. The iPod features different "playlists" for different scenarios, with relevant phrases included on MP3s. The contents of the MP3s include on-screen Arabic and English text forms, with a phonetic version of the Arabic phrases also included. The package comes with a sturdy armband case, with a speaker attached further up the arm for one hand operation. Sounds like a cheap and practical approach to the problem of communication in Baghdad and beyond.
