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With the iPhone expected to be fully (minus songs in iTunes) supported by three major mobile providers in Israel either this month or in October 2009, we have decided to start localizing our some of our iPhone apps into Hebrew. We are obviously going to focus on the Jewish apps first and then move on to our other apps.
The other day, we submitted a revision of the Shabbat Shalom iPhone app with Hebrew localized files. If and when Apple approves this version, those who are running their iPhone in the Hebrew language (settings > General > International > Language > עברית) will be able to see the app in a new light.
As you can see above, the icon changes - well, not the icon, but the text under the icon is in Hebrew not English. Also, when you open the app, the screens are mostly in Hebrew. Here is a side by side:
Even the RustyBrick credit info at the bottom, add screens, location management screens are translated. The only things that are not are the location services lookup information. You still need to enter in the location in English, because we use either Yahoo Maps API or Google Maps API to find the longitude and latitude of the location, and I believe the APIs require English currently. When they support Hebrew, that can be Hebrew as well.
Here are more screen shots:
We are now working on localizing our most popular paid Jewish app, the iPhone Siddur. We expect it to be ready for the launch of the iPhone in Israel. Like with Shabbat Shalom, the Siddur has certain English data sources that do not support Hebrew (such as GoDaven.com's database). Ultimately, we hope to convert the whole app, but for the most part, the app will be very Hebrew localized.
If all this goes well, we might localize our apps to other languages - maybe French.
Barry Schwartz is the CEO of RustyBrick, a New York Web service firm specializing in customized online technology that helps companies decrease costs and increase sales. Barry is also the founder of the Search Engine Roundtable and the News Editor of Search Engine Land. He is well known & respected for his expertise in the search marketing industry. Barry graduated from the City University of New York and lives with his family in the NYC region.
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