Intelligent cell phones designed to help foreigners overcome the
language barrier in daily life were made available for rent on
Sunday in 94 hotels in Beijing at a cost of US$5 per day.
"The cell phone acts as a guide and translator for English
speakers," said Chen Xinxiang, chairman of the Capital Information
Development Company Ltd., developer of the cell phone.
The cell phone provides four types of services: city
information, voice assistance, emergency hotline and tips on living
in Beijing.
Visitors have access to assistance including maps, introductions
to places, addresses and telephone numbers of hotels, scenic spots,
shopping malls, and hospitals. The translation feature is
particularly helpful when taking a taxi or ordering a meal. The
user inputs the English name of a place or food, and the phone does
an audio translation.
Other useful information includes find tips on where to buy
cheap goods and how to use chopsticks.
Users can also call an emergency hotline for around-the-clock
translations if they come across a problem they cannot tackle on
their own.
This cell phone service is only available in Beijing.
(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2006)