As Arthur Dent learned, when in a hostile area, there are few things more useful than a small yellow fish in your ear to understand the natives. The American military, however, are making do with the iPhone.
As the New Zealand Herald reports, US soldiers in the Overseas Contingency Operation have taken to using the iPhone and iPod as part of their essential equipment.
Given that Arabic is one of the few languages that started off as a spoken language before it was written down, an Arabic to American translator will help. The Iraqi Constitution and a primer on Arabic Culture will also help soldiers from showing their soles to others.
The American military has noticed this trend and is starting to develop its own apps. One that could be of great help is a face scanner that checks detainees against known terror suspects, or even missing children.
The only real problem with this development is with the iPhone’s battery life; the souq may become quite crowded with GIs looking for places to recharge.
Source: The Register
Published: May 12, 2009 01:54 pm