Best Android apps for learning a language in 2018

Learning a new language doesn’t have to happen in a classroom.

A new year means new resolutions, and for some folks, that means sitting down and deciding to learn a new language. After all, in a world that is becoming increasingly multicultural, being multilingual is a handy skill. If you’ve been trying to figure out if there’s a good app that will let you learn while commuting or at home, then we’ve got good news for you.

We’ve collected the best language learning apps on Android for you right here!

• Rosetta Stone
• Duolingo
• Babbel

Learn languages: Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone is already well known as a great way to begin learning a new language, but you may not have realized that it was available on your phone. With access to 28 different languages, a slow and steady pace that is great for building up your confidence, and optional live tutoring, there is a reason that Rosetta Stone is king when it comes to language learning apps. Whether you’re aiming to learn for fun, or you want to become fluent, this is a great place to start. This program will let you learn how to speak, write, and read in a new language, with an emphasis on building confidence in pronunciation and the ability to sync progress across your desktop and mobile devices.

When it comes to language apps, Rosetta Stone may already be the first software you think of. There’s a good reason for that too. For years Rosetta Stone has dominated language learning on PC and its mobile version is just as solid. While getting access to the full program is a bit pricey, if you’re motivated to really learn a new language it’s worth the hit to your wallet in the long run.

Jill Duffy of PCMag gave it high marks for a foundation in a new language.

“Rosetta Stone is a wonderful, polished, and technically competent language-learning program, especially for beginners who are looking to build a foundation of knowledge on their own time.”

While Rosetta Stone does have it’s limitations, for those without a background in the language they’re trying to learn, this is the most solid all-around program. While it can be repetitive, that’s to make sure that your new vocabulary sticks in your brain. At higher levels, you’ll also be able to read to the program while it listens to your pronunciation. Additionally, it employs games like bingo to help your association between individual words and their meanings.

One of the biggest perks to Rosetta Stone is how they introduce everything. Immersion is the key to learning with Rosetta Stone, combined with deductive reasoning. At time you’ll need to guess a new word, but it’s made easier by giving you choices of other words that you’ve already learned.

Download: Rosetta Stone(Subscription required)

Duolingo

While price isn’t an option for some people, if you’re looking for the best way to begin learning a new language on a budget then Duolingo is definitely the best bet. This free app has access to over 20 different languages to learn from Vietnamese and Irish to Spanish and German. Unlike most other programs, Duolingo employs XP and leaderboards so that you can learn with your friends and turns language into a game to be played.

Each language is a little bit different, and the more popular languages do have access to far more module lessons. Each one starts out the same though. You’ll deal with the basics before moving on to phrases and language-specific lessons. The leaderboards will show you which friends on Facebook use the app and will let you compete against each other. By completing modules you’ll also earn EXP and Lingots which you can use to purchase extra modules. If you’re learning with friends, you can also start clubs which allows you to turn learning a language into a group activity.

Duolingo makes learning a language fun, and with its social aspects, it’s easy to learn a language with friends. Absolutely free, you never need to pay a penny in order to learn everything it has to offer. It even also allows people coming back to a language to test past the basics and jump right back into learning new content.

Download: Duolingo(Free)

Babbel

If you’re looking for a solid middle of the road option for learning a new language, then Babbel ought to be your go to. It offers a subscription for access to the full catalog, but it isn’t nearly as expensive as picking up a copy of Rosetta Stone. Each language is made up of a variety of courses from beginning vocabulary to grammar and writing in the language you are learning.

Each lesson must be downloaded to your phone, but they only take a moment or two and then you can properly jump in. Those lessons are also fairly short, making them easy to rock through when you’re sitting on the train during your commute. There are currently 14 languages in the Babbel arsenal, from Spanish to Brazilian Portuguese.

Babbel offers an affordable middle of the road option for learning a new language. There are 14 different languages available, with plenty of courses to get you working towards fluency in a new language. Each language must be downloaded as a different app, which can be a bit bulky if you download more than one at a time but this does make it easier to stick with a language once you get started.

Download: Babbel(Subscription required after free trial)

Questions?

Whether you’re looking for a free option that will let you learn in your free time, or you’re willing to go all in and pay for a subscription, you’ve got options when it comes to learning a new language. Unlike days past, you won’t need to head into a classroom because everything that you need is right on your phone! Is your favorite language learning app on our list? Is there another app that we ought to add? Let us know in the comments below!

Updated January 2018: We’ve updated this post with new features for the best language learning apps on Android!

South Korea to ban cryptocurrency trading amid fears of tax evasion

In a move that’s sent bitcoin spiralling, officials in South Korea have announced plans to ban cryptocurrency trading in the country. The plans come against a backdrop of concerns regarding tax evasion, as cryptocurrency trading in the country is highly speculative and similar to gambling. Many currencies, such as bitcoin and ethereum, are priced much higher in South Korea’s exchanges than elsewhere in the world. Industry data provider CoinMarketCap has even begun excluding some South Korean exchanges in its calculations “due to extreme divergence in prices from the rest of the world”.

Earlier this week, police and tax agencies raided the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges. A source at Coinone, a major exchange in South Korea, told CNBC that local police have been investigating the company since last year, adding that “they think what we do is gambling”.

“There are great concerns regarding virtual currencies and justice ministry is basically preparing a bill to ban cryptocurrency trading through exchanges,” said South Korea’s justice minister Park Sang-ki at a press conference. The proposed legislation will need a majority vote of all 297 members of the National Assembly in order to ban trading outright.

But according to Mun Chong-hyun, chief analyst at EST Security, the ban “will make trading difficult here, but not impossible”. Speaking to Reuters, he said, “Keen traders, especially hackers, will find it tough to cash out their gains from virtual coin investments in Korea but they can go overseas, for example Japan”.

Nonetheless, the announcement triggered a massive selloff of cryptocurrency on both local and offshore exchanges, with the local price of bitcoin dropping as much as 21 percent. Despite the drop, it still trades at around a 30 percent premium compared to other countries, highlighting the disparity of prices in the country.

Via: CNBC

Source: Reuters

Engadget Today | The darkness after the storm

Technology and innovation are amazing. It’s why we do what we do here at Engadget every day. But it’s all for naught if the electricity goes. There was no reminder of this more timely or apt than a huge power failure at CES on Wednesday. Exhibitors got angry, attendees got confused and companies got spicy on Twitter (oh, brands!). That didn’t stop us checking out the best of the rest so far though. Enjoy.

Chinese Smartphone Makers Plan for Mini LED Supply as Apple Expected to Control Majority of OLED Production This Year

Apple’s domination of the OLED supply chain is one of the reasons why three Chinese smartphone makers are seeking out alternative display technology in future handsets, according to a report today by DigiTimes.

Huawei, Oppo, and Xiaomi are planning to adopt mini LED-backlit panels in smartphones launched later in 2018. The three companies believe that Apple “may extend use of AMOLED panels” to iPhones coming in 2018 and occupy even more of Samsung Display’s production of the OLED displays.

Apple’s entry in smartphone OLED displays began with the manufacturing of the iPhone X last year and is expected to increase in 2018 with the second-generation iPhone X and 6.5-inch “iPhone X Plus,” which should lead Apple to significantly increase OLED display orders thanks to the larger size. The company has also implemented OLED displays into the Apple Watch.

Instead of attempting to fight for OLED display supply against Apple, the China-based smartphone makers are turning towards mini LED this year. The companies have reportedly asked Taiwan-based suppliers to begin producing mini LED backlighting in June 2018 in anticipation of products that would debut in the second half of 2018. Industry sources noted that technological advances in mini LED product designs have the potential to cut production costs, further boosting the smartphone makers’ readiness to adopt the technology.

Besides Samsung Display, a report earlier in the month suggested that Apple will add LG Display to its OLED supply chain to help build 6.5-inch panels for the iPhone X Plus. Samsung was the sole OLED supplier for the iPhone X in 2017, and it’s predicted that the company will increase supply of OLED panels to Apple with between 180 and 200 million OLED displays in 2018 (for the 5.8-inch device), up from an estimated 50 million in 2017.

Related Roundup: iPhone XTags: digitimes.com, OLEDBuyer’s Guide: iPhone X (Buy Now)
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Dolby’s plan for 2018 includes Atmos and Vision in more places

It’s no surprise that many companies are touting Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in products announced at CES. You’re making a safe bet if you assume that’s an annual occurrence. However, there’s always something unique about the devices that carry Dolby’s visual and audio tech, and this year is no different. Here’s a quick rundown of what was announced in Vegas and what Dolby has in store for 2018.

For the first time, Dolby Vision is available in a PC — thanks to Lenovo’s Thinkpad X1 Carbon and X1 Yoga. Windows 10 already includes support for Dolby Atmos, so the new Thinkpad now completes the pair. Speaking of Atmos, a number of companies rolled out audio gear that featured the tech, including Sony. Sony typically announces new Atmos home theater gear at CES and this year one of those was the HT‑Z9F soundbar.

During our time at the Dolby Showroom, we listened watched sports, movies and a TV show with Atmos simulated surround sound just from the soundbar. You definitely still get the same effect of spacial audio, but with only one speaker. What’s more, those devices that offer Dolby Atmos are now way more affordable. In fact, one of Sony’s new models will retail for $600. You used to have to spend $1,000 or more to get your hands on Atmos gear in the not-too-distant past.

Then there are the TVs. Dolby Vision has been available on pricey sets for a while, but it’s begun popping up on more affordable displays as well. New TVs from TCL and Hisense are a couple options that shouldn’t completely break the bank when they’re available later this year. The models we saw during our time with Dolby look quite impressive, even positioned close to an LG OLED TV.

Dolby also touted more supported content for 2018. From live sports to movies and streaming, expect the Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos stamp to appear more places you watch stuff. And while Atmos has already popped up on Xbox with a few supported titles (like Gears of War 4 and Assassin’s Creed), the company says that it expects most big-name games to be supported in 2018. It’s always good news when you’re moving through battle zones and the audio realistically reacts to your position.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

The latest ASUS gaming tower adds more than just flashy lights

ASUS didn’t have many brand new computers to show off at CES 2018, since it seemed to focus on unveiling unconventional routers instead. But it did release a new gaming tower via its Republic of Gamers sub-brand, which features a few updates. The ROG Strix GL 12 now comes with an overclockable eighth-generation Intel Core i7 CPU, NVIDIA GTX 1080 graphics and an easily swappable SSD tray that ASUS says is “eSports-ready”.

I’m not an eSports player myself, but during my time with the GL 12, I found it easy to pull out and insert the 2.5-inch SSD tray, which sits under a magnetic cover on the front of the tower. I don’t know why eSports players would want to switch out SSDs quickly, since it doesn’t seem like an integral part of competitive gaming, but if they need to they definitely can.

If you want to make more in-depth upgrades to your system, you can remove the GL 12’s transparent side panel, which has been reorganized to look neater. ASUS said it moved the motherboard 1mm over to the middle, creating a little gap with which to hide cables. It seems to have worked — I didn’t notice many wires hanging around inside the tower.

I played a bit of Overwatch on the GL 12, and even though I typically died within seconds of the enemy reaching my team, I at least did so without lag and respawned almost instantly. The graphics card also kept up with my frantic exploration of the Overwatch arena.

There are few better ways to show your team spirit than to beam your colors from all your gaming hardware. You could use ASUS’ Aura Sync technology before to display the same color lights across ROG laptops — now, you can do so on the tower as well. Go team!

The GL 12 will be available in Q2, although prices haven’t been announced yet. If you’re looking to truly up your team spirit at your next gaming house party, or perform some high-speed SSD swapping, you won’t have to wait too much longer.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

Telegram targeted by fake apps that serve malware and ads

Make sure you check an app’s name before you download it: Telegram, for instance, had an evil twin on Google Play named “Teligram.” According to Symantec, which discovered its existence, its profile and description on the store mirrored the authentic app’s, with the only difference being the slightly altered logo. It was also branded as “New version updated” in an effort to fool users into thinking it’s the new version of Telegram. And it probably could’ve fooled people, too, since it actually works as a messaging platform.

Teligram (with the “i”) served ads within the chat list and also showed full-screen advertisements. While it didn’t seem to have malicious content, it’s still good to know that Google Play has already pulled it down. Symantec has discovered another fake Telegram app that can install malware into your system, though. That one was built using the real app’s open source code and is being distributed on third-party platforms with the same package name (org.telegram.messenger). Once you install it, a hacker can add a backdoor or an ad clicker to your system. Thankfully, it’s easy to avoid it: simply don’t install apps from sketchy websites.

Apps on Google Play like Teligram are more deceptive, and it’s definitely not the first time Symantec has spotted an impostor on the official store. Just a while ago, the security firm also found a phony Uber app that can steal your log-in credentials. It even deep links to a URL in the real application to look legit.

Intel reveals possible slowdowns from ‘Meltdown’ processor fix

Your personal computers will be less than 10 percent slower after you install the Spectre/Meltdown fix, Intel has revealed in a blog post. Intel has come to that conclusion after assessing the performance changes in computers using 6th, 7th and 8th Generation Intel core processors with Windows 10. Systems equipped with 8th generation (Kaby Lake, Coffee Lake) chips and SSDs will be the least affected, with the expected impact being less than 6 percent. Devices using the 7th Gen Kaby Lake-H mobile processors will be around 7 percent slower, while the performance impact on systems with the 6th Gen Skylake-S platform is approximately 8 percent.

Depending on how you use your computer, you may not even notice a difference. Based on Intel’s benchmark results, though, you will notice some slowdown if use browse the web and use applications, and it’s safe to say that most people do. Obviously, if you use your computer for heavy applications, the slowdown will be more noticeable. As Intel explained:

“In certain cases, some users may see a more noticeable impact. For instance, users who use web applications that involve complex JavaScript operations may see a somewhat higher impact (up to 10 percent based on our initial measurements).”

The tech titan has confirmed the Spectre/Meltdown vulnerability’s existence late last year, admitting that its latest chips have security holes remote attackers could exploit. A few days ago, Intel admitted that the fix for the flaw will slow down PCs, but it has changed its wording a few times when it comes to discussing the patch’s performance impact. These numbers will give you a more concrete idea of how much you’ll be affected.

In addition to releasing its benchmark results for PCs, Intel said it plans to share initial data on its assessment of server platforms these next few days. It also insisted that it has yet to receive any information that the Spectre/Meltdown flaw has been used to obtain customer data, but it’s probably for the best to install the fix when you get it anyway.

Via: Bloomberg

Source: Intel

CES 2018: SYNC 3-Enabled Ford Vehicles Gaining Waze Support Through iOS AppLink

This week at CES, Ford provided new details about a partnership with navigation app Waze, which will bring Waze’s GPS directions onto the touch screen of SYNC 3 vehicles when connected via USB to an iPhone. Powered by Ford AppLink, the feature will let users operate Waze “completely through a vehicle’s touch screen,” as well as allow for voice control.

As long as the Ford vehicle includes a SYNC 3 infotainment system, users will be able to plug their iPhone into the USB port while running Waze to see the app projected onto the dashboard’s touch screen system. Afterwards, all of Waze’s features will be accessible, including crowdsourced navigation updates, liking and disliking user-created warnings, adding a new hazard report, carpool lane navigation, and Talk to Waze voice commands.

“Our goal is to bring a human-centered approach to technology in the vehicle, making it as easy as possible for people to integrate the tools that matter most to them,” said Don Butler, Ford executive director, Connected Vehicle and Services. “With the flexibility of our SYNC 3 software and AppLink, customers can easily use Waze to get all the traffic and navigation help they need – on a big screen and without having to fiddle around with their phones while driving.”

The partnership was previously announced at Mobile World Congress last year, and Waze product lead for in-car applications, Jens Baron, mentioned that the company has been working on optimizing the Waze experience on an infotainment system since that time. Using Ford’s AppLink SmartDeviceLink (SDL) on iOS, Baron explained that users will “get the most updated version from Waze,” and it will be the same as driving with Waze on a smartphone.

Ford explained that the Waze integration will launch in the coming weeks and will be supported on any 2018 model year Ford vehicle that has SYNC 3 version 3.0 or greater. Other vehicles with SYNC 3 will also be able to get Waze via an over-the-air update or update via USB. In addition to Waze, Ford said that other SYNC AppLink integrations will be coming soon, like iHeartRadio.

Ford began expanding its CarPlay support in mid 2016 when it announced its SYNC 3 infotainment system — which features CarPlay and Android Auto — would be available across its entire 2017 lineup of cars, SUVs, light trucks, and electric vehicles in the United States. Then in 2017, Ford released a SYNC 3 software update that added CarPlay and Android Auto support to its older 2016 model year vehicles, allowing more users to access Apple apps like Maps, Phone, Music, Messages, and more on their dashboard.

Tags: Ford SYNC, Waze, CES 2018
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This A.I. eavesdrops on emergency calls to warn of possible cardiac arrests

When you phone 911, you’re patched through to a trained human who is able to properly triage your phone call. Soon, you could also find yourself being listened to by a robot, however, who is tuning in to very different verbal information from the human emergency dispatcher.

Developed by Danish startup Corti, this emergency call-listening artificial intelligence is designed to listen to the caller for signs that they may be about to go into cardiac arrest. When it makes such a diagnosis, it then alerts the human dispatcher so that they can take the proper steps.

“Corti is meant to be a digital co-pilot for medical personnel,” Andreas Cleve, CEO of Corti, told Digital Trends. “Like a human doctor, Corti analyzes everything a patient says and shares in real time — from journal data, symptom descriptions, voice data, acoustic data, language data, their dialect, questions, and even their breathing patterns. Corti then outputs diagnostic advice to the medical personnel, to help them diagnose patients faster. This can be especially powerful in an emergency use case where mistakes can be fatal.”

As the company’s Chief Technology Officer Lars Maaloe told us, the technology framework uses deep learning neural networks trained on years of historical emergency calls. While it hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed, the team is currently working on this. A paper describing the work is likely to published later in 2018.

“Today the technology is being used in Copenhagen EMS, who have spearheaded the application of machine learning in the prehospital space worldwide,” Cleve said. “At Copenhagen EMS, our technology is able to give emergency call takers diagnostic advice in natural language, and it’s integrated directly into the software they are already using. Our goal is to make it easier for medical personnel to do their jobs, not complicate it further with fancier technology. We are extremely skeptical of the idea of rushing to replace trained medical personnel with A.I., since from both ethical and professional perspective we prefer human contact when it comes to our health. Personally, I simply can’t see myself preferring a bot over a medically trained human agent. But the setup where humans are amplified by A.I.? That to us is a far more powerful scenario in healthcare.”

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