Phrasebook/Language apps

[patar]

Travelling in Asia soon and have no hope of learning Japanese, Korean or Chinese.

Just saw this http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/17/mantaphrase-avoids-the-spoken-word-instead-offers-practical-mobile-language-translation/

Looks ok but not sure. What other apps or tools do people use to communicate when travelling? Bonus for stuff available on iOS!

[conqueror]

honestly, i like simple lonely planet phrasebooks for most places - won't have shit like WUR 2 KOP VUZVUM JAWNS? but has all the basics and essentials that you'll need for getting around. i wouldn't trust a phone/tech, especially if you're going somewhere that isn't "first-world".

Edited October 20, 2012 by conqueror

[patar]

I'm travelling to cities in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. I've heard you can get data plans but I'm sure how expensive they are.

Just not sure how a phrasebook helps me if I can't pronounce Chinese (tones seem really hard to master).

Haven't been there before though so I might be completely off.