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Monitor Japanese news with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

by Erica Sadun Mar 11th 2011 at 10:25AM

If you have loved ones, friends, or colleagues affected by the Japanese earthquake, you may want to install the free NHK WORLD TV Live application on your iOS device and take your news on-the-go.

NHK WORLD TV offers English-language updates (you will hear other languages as well) around the clock, produced by Japan's single public broadcasting service.

According to the application write-up, broadcast quality will depend on the way you connect to data service, automatically adjusting to Wi-Fi and 3G connections. When we tested the application this morning, it did take a little while for the streaming to get started. Please be patient with the application. Thanks to Alan for the tip.

If you are an English speaker currently in Japan, James Van Dyne from Sugoi Software in Japan has generated free coupon codes for stranded travelers who need a Japanese/English dictionary. We ask that you respect the situation that these codes have been offered under. If you are not a traveler in Japan, please do not redeem them -- there are a limited number and Sugoi cannot generate more.



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If you have loved ones, friends, or colleagues affected by the Japanese earthquake, you may want to install the free NHK WORLD TV Live...
 

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Jenny

Actually a phrase book would have been more helpful than a dictionary. If you're in Tokyo or Yokohama, you'd be hard pressed to find someone that wouldn't or couldn't speak English.

March 11 2011 at 11:33 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
L. Wolfe

and on reflection, I'm sure it had genuine intentions...*

Oxford dictionaries that are based*

March 11 2011 at 8:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
James Van Dyne

@Wolfe

It could be a lack of sleep from a hotel lobby room floor, but I'm hurt that someone would think this was for anything other than generosity. I saw a lot of confused looking people around me (stuck in Shinagawa) and thought I maybe I could help lower their confusion. If even a little. I tweeted about it, but not much response, so I appealed to tuaw to help me spread the word. Nothing more. Nothing less.

James

March 11 2011 at 1:50 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to James Van Dyne's comment
L. Wolfe

Hi James,
It was a very nice thought and I'm sure it had genuine intentions. I just don't understand why you wouldn't advertise "Kotoba!" since everyone can use it and there's no code limits since it's free. That was one point that confused me. My other point was my general dislike about people charging for dictionaries that are freely available, unless they add a reasonable amount of extra iOS eccentric features. The same happens with the various Oxford dictionaries that based on specific subjects yet with these, I'm pretty sure they're unlicensed.

Anyway, good luck in Japan. I'd love to live there one day. The most important thing is your safety and everybody else's safety so I wish you the best. My points are petty in light of the current circumstances there.

March 11 2011 at 8:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
L. Wolfe

Not sure if this is publicity or generosity. The reason is that this dictionary seems to be built upon freely available community dictionaries. There are other far superior apps built using these dictionaries too, such as "Kotoba!" (Free) and "Midori" (Not free but has a dedicated iPad app). Nice idea but horribly overpriced when you consider that the developer is just rebranding something freely available, with little added compared to other apps.

March 11 2011 at 12:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
breakingart

Today has been a truly scary day here in Japan.

March 11 2011 at 11:25 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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