The English Blog

Reuters Video: Teenage app millionaire

Got a tech idea and want to make a fortune before you're out of your teens? Just do it, is the advice of London schoolboy Nick D'Aloisio who's just sold his smartphone news app to Yahoo for a reported $30 million. Hayley Platt reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: He's just 17 and lives with his parents. But Nick D'Aloisio has just become a multimillionaire after selling his news app to Yahoo for a reported $30 million.
NICK D'ALOISIO, FOUNDER SUMMLY APP: "I didn't anticipate any of this happening. I think when we launched the product in November we had high hopes for user response but to get the industry and companies like Yahoo so interested has been awesome."
REPORTER: Summly edits news items making them user friendly for a mobile phone screen. Nick taught himself how to code at 12 and developed his first app aged just 15. It's attracted some pretty impressive investors, among them actor Ashton Kutcher, Yoko Ono and British broadcaster Stephen Fry. It's an investment that's paid off. But apart from a new pair of trainers, Nick says he more interested in business than money.
NICK D'ALOISIO: "It's been put in a trust fund and will be invested in due course, but, you know, beyond that side of things the thing that's really excited me about this deal is going to join Yahoo and working with Marissa Mayer the new CEO and the team over there. It's going to be really exciting."
REPORTER: Nick will become Yahoo's youngest employee.
NICK D'ALOISIO: "I've seen everything I've done with Summly and prior apps as like a hobby and I like maintaining that mindset because it means that I'm just very much focussed on the quality of the creative output."
REPORTER: Despite his pay packet Nick's not giving up on his studies. He'll combine school work with a job at Yahoo's London offices.

Related articles

How to make a tidy Summly like 17-year-old tech-whizz Nick D'Aloisio

Summly creator Nick D'Aloisio: I'll bank the Yahoo money for now

17-year-old Nick D'Aloisio developed app and sells it to Yahoo for $30 million (Photos)

Yahoo sale makes UK schoolboy millionaire

Summly: Yahoo! Buys Nick D'Aloisio's App

Reuters Video: The new pope has his own app

Tech savvy punters now have an app to track the latest news from the Vatican and the newly elected Pope Francis. Elly Park reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: While the age-old catholic church procedure of white smoke announced the election of a new pope, tech-savvy Catholics could follow the events at Vatican City in real time on their mobile devices. "The Pope App" released last month by the Pontifical Council on Social Communications allows users to keep tabs on the pope's latest activities. Peter Williams of the UK's Catholic Voices is a fan.
PETER WILLIAMS: "I hope it will build excitement simply because it will allow people to see what's going on with the papacy what the pope's saying, where he's going, what he's doing and also just to see what kind of things the papacy does. I think it's sort of an institution shrouded in mystery for many people, so perhaps this will allow them to see exactly what goes on."
REPORTER: In London, the first reactions to the app were mixed.
NICK ELLIOTT: "I think it's fantastic, I think it's a step forward, definitely.
ADAM SKEET: "Well at the end of the day, everyone is using apps and things to promote what they want these days, so I suppose it's a clever way to go forwards."
HELEN NICHOLSON: "I think it's sort of getting too modernized. They haven't updated their ideas and stuff yet, but they're willing to sort of use technology and stuff, so..."
REPORTER: This push towards modern technology was initiated by the previous pontiff who had his own twitter feed. And now it's up to freshly elected Pope Francis to expand the church's presence on social media.

Related articles

Reuters Video: Argentina's Bergoglio elected as new pope

Holy Smoke, There's a "Pope App"

Photo: Pope Francis pays bill at church-run residence in Rome, despite now effectively being in charge - @NBCNews

Pope Francis: A Disappointment for Catholics Who Don't Like Being Catholic

New pope's Sunday surprises delight, startle

Reuters Video: Pope's resignation met with universal surprise

Catholics outside the Vatican and papal aides alike reacted with surprise Monday to Pope Benedict's announcement that he will step down from the papacy. Mana Rabiee reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: The announcement was a total surprise. Even his aides were caught off guard.  
POPE BENEDICT: "Dear Brothers, I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church."
REPORTER: Pope Benedict announced Monday he will resign from the Papacy because of deteriorating health, becoming the first pontiff since the Middle Ages to take such a step. Reaction outside the Vatican was disbelief.
SICILIAN TOURIST, SERGIO CALABRESE: "Obviously for us Catholics it has shocked us, it must be because of his health because if not it is inexplicable."
PORTUGUESE TOURIST, RICARDO RODRIGUEZ: "I am just really surprised. I hope the next pope can be better than this one and doing the best for the world and for the Catholics."
REPORTER: A Vatican spokesman was quick to embrace the Pope's right to make such a decision.
VATICAN SPOKESMAN FATHER FEDERICO LOMBARDI: "He says this with great freedom and clarity and we admire his totally (sic) freedom in renouncing to (sic) his service."
REPORTER: Now the important business of selecting a new Pope. Among the top candidates -- Canadian Marc Ouellet and Peter Turkson,from Ghana. If either man were elected, he would be the first non-European ever to lead the Roman Catholic Church.

Related articles

Pope Benedict XVI to 'resign' post

Pope Benedict XVI to resign, Vatican confirms

Pope Quits

Pope Benedict XVI to resign having 'no strength to continue'

Analysis: How the traditional Pope Benedict is redefining the papacy

Reuters Video: Touchnote's appy Christmas cards

UK startup firm Touchnote has launched a new application for Apple and Android devices that allows people to create personalized Christmas cards using a novel Facebook integration. Hayley Platt reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: It's a tradition which began in Britain in the 1840's. However in recent years many have chosen to send e cards instead. Now a new app which combines technology and printing could help reverse the declining trend. Mike and Linda Thomson are using Touchnote to send family abroad a photo card - made of real paper. Within seconds of taking a snap it's re-designed as a greeting card. The following day it's printed and sent on its way.
MIKE THOMSON, TOUCHNOTE CUSTOMER: "It shows that you care a bit more, it's just a bit more personable. It's something that family members will stick up on their firesides, put up on the wall and refer back to and appreciate rather than something that's stuck away on a laptop that they never see or never open."
REPORTER: A recent survey by Royal Mail showed that 80 percent of people prefer traditional cards to e cards. And 25 percent said they would be making a bigger effort to send them this Christmas. Touchnote hopes to sell a record number of cards this year - Raam Thakrar is its co-founder.
RAAM THAKRAR: "We communicate in a very digital way but the problem with that is there's a slight lack of substance to it. We don't have things that we can hold, we don't have things that last forever. What we're doing is bringing something back that does last forever."
REPORTER: Each greeting costs £1.49 and you don't even have to provide an address. Using Facebook, the App will notify your friends that you wish to send them a card and prompts them for their address. With more and more people complaining social media is isolating them rather than uniting them, Touchnote believes there'll be signficant demand for this new take on a time-honoured tradition.

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Touchnote Launches Cards: Holiday Greetings Made Easy

Reuters Video: Consumer in-store app-titude up

Multi-channel shopping is big this holiday season, with consumers using apps while in stores to get what they want- at the best price they can get. Bobbi Rebell reports.

TRANSCRIPT
BOBBI REBELL, REUTERS REPORTER: From bricks and mortar to click and order, the lines are blurring as the nations top retailers' in-store apps finally catch on with consumers. According to Nielsen, 40 percent of mobile shoppers use lists on their smartphone while shopping. 39 percent use mobile coupons. 63 percent check prices and 26 percent use them to pay. Forrester Research's Julie Ask:
JULIE ASK, ANALYST, FORRESTER RESEARCH: "The first thing that the retailers are chasing is the influence of the in store purchase because that's the bigger opportunity. The internet influences the majority of sales in a retail environment. and so having the opportunity to engage with that consumer at the point or at the moment that they are making a decision has phenomenal potential for the retailer."  
REPORTER: Target, Apple, J.C. Penney and Wal-Mart are all using apps to leverage the in-store experience. Wal-Mart's mobile head Gibu Thomas:
GIBU THOMAS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF MOBILE AND DIGITAL, WAL-MART STORES: "We found within 2 weeks of launching this experience over 60% of our customers were opting in to use store mode which is really encouraging, and since then the numbers have been going up. The second piece that we found was that over 12 percent of online sales through our apps happen when a customer is in store mode. "
REPORTER: That store mode immediately senses when customers enter a Wal-Mart. It puts aisle locators on their mobile shopping lists, prompts them to look at roll backs and local ads, and allows them to check prices. At Wal-Mart, it's all about capturing the sale using the app while the customer is in the store. So let's say I want buy some Furbys. The good news is there's one on the shelf but I want to buy some more. I can take the one that I found I can scan it. The app recognizes it and searches for whether its available on line and, if it is, I can then buy it and have it delivered to the store to pick up later. Wal-Mart customer, Oviae Campanioni, used the price match feature.
OVIAE CAMPANIONI, WAL-MART SHOPPER: "I went on my smartphone and I went to the Wal-Mart app, I went to the register and I got price compare and I paid cheaper than I thought I was going to pay and that's why I'm happy. "
REPORTER: J.C. Penney has iPads with their app for customers to use while they are shopping. At Target, consumers can scan and buy an item in the store on their mobile phone and have it shipped free. At Apple no registers needed to pay—just the app. So let's say I need to pick up a new power cord for my iPhone 5. All I do is pick it up off the shelf. The app from the Apple store already knows that I'm in the store. I don't need to find any customer service helpers because I can use the easy pay feature to just scan the device and I'm good to go. While the apps are a hit with consumers, its still too early to tell how much impact all the clicking will have on retailers' bottom lines.

Apple - Introducing iPad mini

For those who missed Wednesday's keynote.

COMMENT
Pity Apple has disabled 'Comments'.

Reuters Video: iPad mini joins tablet turf war

Apple introduces a smaller, cheaper version of its popular iPad, the iPad mini, hoping to fend off creeping competition in the tablet market. Jeanne Yurman reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Apple is launching a smaller, cheaper iPad - the iPad mini. It clocks in at 7.9 inches-a screen that's almost two less than the existing iPad and half the weight. All at a starting price of $329. But analysts say that price, while $70 less than the current iPad, is too high. Apple's stock sold off with fears that its first foray into the smaller tablet market won't be able to compete with rivals Google and Amazon, which sell their tablets in the one to two hundred dollar range. Maggie Reardon, CNET Networks:
MAGGIE REARDON, SENIOR WRITER, CNET NETWORKS: "When you're above the $300 price point you're not really comparing apples to apples anymore. And I think if this is a product that people are going to buy for their kids or they're going to get as gifts for people or something you know that they just want to be able to toss in a bag and take on the subway or on a trip, this, I think, is a little too expensive."
REPORTER: The "mini" is apt to appeal to Apple lovers who have been asking for a gadget somewhere in size between an iPad and an iPod Touch or to those who are willing to pay up for the "mini's" flashier design and more expensive materials. But if Apple cannot successfully upsell the "mini", Ryan Block of gdgt.com, says pricing may change.
RYAN BLOCK, CO-FOUNDER, GDGT.COM: "I wouldn't be too surprised if the iPad mini undergoes a price drop at some point in the next year to year and a half."
REPORTER: Another market where the "mini" may make inroads is education.
RYAN BLOCK, CO-FOUNDER, GDGT.COM: "With the new version of iBooks that they released today you'll be able to update your textbooks over the air the same way you update an app and I think that that's just an amazing move forward for the digital textbook market."
REPORTER: Apple also announced upgraded MacBook computers and a next generation iPad 4 that took some by surprise after it released a new iPad only six months ago. The "mini" comes just in time for the holiday shopping season with Apple taking orders starting Friday. The months ahead will tell whether the tablet goliath is able to compete in this smaller, growing market.

• Watch the full keynote here.

ALSO SEE
• Apple unveils iPad mini (Los Angeles Times)
• Apple unveils the iPad you can hold in one hand (Mail Online)
• iPad mini: Apple launches smaller tablet (The Guardian)
• iPad Mini Highlights Apple Announcements at Event (Newsy video)
• Apple's latest iPad is a small wonder... but critics wonder if it's worth £269 (Mail Online)

Reuters Video: U2 producer creates new iPad 'Scape'

Celebrated music producer Brian Eno explains why his newest release 'Scape', which comes in the form of an iPad app, will change the way people make and listen to music. Matt Cowan reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Brian Eno is one of the world's most sought after music producers. He's helped to craft some of the most successful and influential albums of modern times with acts such as U2, Coldplay, Talking Heads and David Bowie. But his newest release Scape - which comes in the form of an app for the iPad goes beyond anything he's done before.
BRIAN ENO: "In the Scape app, there are two things inside it, one is an album that we made using the app itself, so someone could just listen to this as an album but it wouldn't be the same as a normal album because it doesn't play the same time each time you listen to it. On the other hand, there is the capacity to use the same technology we use to make your own version of an album. That could be quite different than what we made. It might be quite similar too."
REPORTER: The Scape app is the latest result of a collaboration that started with the videogame Spore. That title by the creator of The Sims, Will Wright put game players in charge of creating their own worlds, beginning with the origins of life. The game needed a soundtrack that could evolve along with the world in the game. It was then that Eno was first introduced to Peter Chilvers, a musician and software engineer. In the app, listeners are presented with a visual palette. Each shape, or background represents a sound, some with additional and unpredictable characteristics.
PETER CHILVERS: "And there's quite a large range of sounds here. In fact there's such a large range of sounds we had to make them unlock very slowly. We borrowed an idea that games had been using for a very long-time in fact. Computer games typically if they've got a lot of features they will drip feed these to you, so you'll get one level at a time, one new weapon if it's that kind of game. We found that was very useful in Scape because initially it was just overwhelming."
BRIAN ENO: "Instead of it being a piece of architecture, it's like a packet of seeds. So you're a gardener rather than an architect. Your planting something and seeing how it grows rather than trying to completely constrain it and know every detail of it."
REPORTER: Exactly what Scape will sound like in the hands of listeners is impossible to predict, but of course that's precisely the point. Matt Cowan, Reuters.

ALSO SEE
• Scape: the Brian Eno album that you create (The Telegraph)
• Brian Eno and Peter Chilvers talk Scape, iPad apps and generative music (The Guardian)

Reuters Video: "Augmented Reality" app brings dinosaurs to life

A technology called ''Augmented Reality,'' (AR) stationed on iPads throughout the Royal Ontario Museum's dinosaur exhibition, allows visitors to virtually flesh out the dinosaur bones on display. Museum visitors see what the dinosaurs may have looked like with skin on and how they would have moved and behaved. Jillian Kitchener reports.

ALSO SEE
• Dinosaurs roar to life with museum’s augmented reality app (Globe and Mail)

EM Normandie Business Words App Now Free

I'm pleased to announce that the Business Words iOS app I created for learning business vocabulary is now available for free in Apple's App Store. So don't delay, download it today!

DESCRIPTION
Business Words is ‘hangman’ type game aimed at students or professionals who have a good level of English but wish to improve their vocabulary in the field of business and management. Business Words is also a useful resource for anyone preparing for a professional exam such as the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication). The game uses a database of 2,000 words and is similar to the game of hangman. Players have to find the missing word in a sentence relating to a specific business topic by guessing individual letters. Each game lasts 10 minutes, and the aim is to score a maximum number of points. The words and sentences are organized into 12 topic areas: Economy, Law, Industry, Trade, Marketing, Human Resources, Banking, Travel, Retailing, Finance, Communication, and Technology. There is also a ‘Mixed Bag’ featuring words from all categories. Translations of all words are given in French. The author of Business Words is Jeffrey Hill, who teaches English at the Ecole de Management de Normandie in France.

VERDICT
A totally awesome 5-star app (even if I do say so myself!).

COMMENT
This app was released in July 2011 when it cost €1.59. It's now being offered free for a limited period of time as part of the EM Normandie's admissions campaign.

Introducing iPad English

Among other things, the iPad is a wonderful tool for language learners. I've already posted several articles about iOS apps for learning English on The English Blog, but having recently become the proud owner of a new iPad (I had an iPod Touch before), I thought it would be fun to start another blog where I could talk exclusively about ways in which teachers and learners of English can use Apple's magical device. So, if you've got an iPad, or are thinking of getting one, head on over to iPad English (www.ipadenglish.net) and join the conversation.

Newsy Video: Apple Hits 25 Billion App Downloads

Apple reached its goal of 25 billion application downloads on Friday. Read transcript >>

ALSO SEE
• Apple's App Store: 25 billion downloads (CNET)

Reuters Video: Phone app stops driver texting

A new cell phone application limits distracted driving by prohibiting the ability to text or e-mail when the device is traveling more than 15 miles per hour. It can also track the mobile user's location using GPS. Tara Cleary reports.

TRANSCRIPT
REPORTER: Twenty-year-old Zack Kaufman is an inexperienced driver. His mother Rita Kaufman wants to ensure his safety. So she installed an app on his cell phone which prevents Zack from texting or e-mailing when his device moves faster than 15 miles per hour. And it also tracks his whereabouts. Zack wasn't wild about the idea.
ZACK KAUFMAN: "Initially I was thinking, 'Well why don't you really trust me so much?' But then I began to understand that as a child, as a new driver, I know that it tends to be a huge temptation just to look at your phone, even for just a second."
REPORTER: The National Transportation Safety Board reports a substantial increase in texting-related accidents in the last decade. They recommended in 2011 that all U.S. states ban the use of mobile devices while operating a vehicle. And NTSB chairwoman, Deborah Hersman says some drivers are traveling great distances without watching the road.
DEBORAH HERSMAN, CHAIRWOMAN, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: "We know the people on average, when they're texting behind the wheel are looking down and not paying attention to the road for about the length of a football field."
REPORTER: And most drivers agree that blocking texting and e-mailing while driving would improve safety.
DRIVER ROB LO: "I think it would, definitely. There's a lot of phone-related accidents, right?"
FEMALE DRIVER: "The fact that I'm a mother and I have kids, I think that's a great idea. None of them have their license yet, but they're close to it."
REPORTER: And Rita Kaufman says Zack's phone app helps her sleep at night.
RITA KAUFMAN: "For me it's the peace of mind and my peace of mind and knowing that he's safe, it overrides any other issue that I have as a parent." Tara Cleary, Reuters.

COMMENT
I wish someone would invent an app which prevents students from using their mobile phones during lessons!

Kigo TOEIC Practice Test App

The Kigo TOEIC® Reading and Listening Practice Test iPhone app has a complete TOEIC Listening and Reading test, as well as hints and tips on how to improve your Improve your TOEIC score. There are two modes:
• Practice Test mode trains you to complete the TOEIC Listening and Reading test within the real time limit – improve your reading speed and learn how to answer questions quickly for TOEIC success.
• Review and Help mode gives expert guidance on every question, teaching you how to tackle TOEIC questions.

COMMENT
As far as I know, this is the only app which offers a full TOEIC test. But what I really like about this well-designed app is that you get far more than just the practice test—the Tips and FAQs and Review and Help sections are excellent. For just £1.99 you can't go wrong.

UCL Interactive Grammar App

UCL (University College London) have developed a grammar app for the iPhone 3 and 4, iPod Touch, and iPad: the interactive Grammar of English.

iGE comes in two versions:

• iGE Lite is free. It has a complete glossary, and three units of course material covering word classes, nouns and determiners.
• The complete iGE is on sale for £4.99 ($6.99 or €5.49).

iGE is suitable for anyone wishing to learn English or improve their English and contains:

• A comprehensive course in grammar
• A complete grammatical glossary
• Interactive exercises and quizzes to test yourself

COMMENT
There aren't many good grammar apps out there (see here for a review), and the iGE looks like it could fill a gap in the market. My advice would be to download the free 'lite' version to see if you find it useful. You can always buy the complete app after.