Te Kete o Karaitiana Taiuru (Blog)

Smartphone in Maori language

2 Degrees yesterday announced  the release of an Android phone with Māori menus. They did not mention that they have in fact blocked the development of Māori language development with smart phones for those who do not use 2Degrees and their “one” mobile phone.

Android phones use an open source system to operate. Open Source means that the software is freely used and anyone can customise it for free. It is a small and relatively simple task to create new language files for the whole Android system so anyone who uses an Android phone can use the new language on their phone or computer. This file can then be offered freely to any Android user. Most Android users are able to change their language on their phone, and in fact most languages are already supported in Android.

There are many communities of developers in the world who are willing to assist in such language projects at no charge as they are passionate about developing technologies and under represented languages. The hard part is translating words that may not exist.

Aside from the menus being in Māori language, there appears to be no effort to include Māori language predictive txt’n and Māori language spell checking, the minimum one would expect for a smart phone in their language.

DISCLAIMER: This post is the personal opinion of Dr Karaitiana Taiuru and is not reflective of the opinions of any organisation that Dr Karaitiana Taiuru is a member of or associates with, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

8 responses to “Smartphone in Maori language”

  1. Maori initiatives in the Mobile phone industry | Karaitiana Taiuru

    […] X3 , while at the Te Huarahi Tika Trust annual general meeting in Auckland. While I am somewhat sceptical about the motivation, it is certainly a bonus for any Māori language speakers on 2Degrees who need […]

    Reply
  2. Maori initiatives in the Mobile phone industry | Karaitiana Taiuru

    […] X3 , while at the Te Huarahi Tika Trust annual general meeting in Auckland. While I am somewhat sceptical about the motivation, it is certainly a bonus for any Māori language speakers on 2Degrees who need […]

    Reply
  3. cia nicholls Avatar
    cia nicholls

    my comment is,when are we actually going to see these smart phones in te reo? I saw thisphone on tv about a week ago,but the lady who was promoting the phone never knew much about the phone,when they finally on the market for sale are thet going to cost a arm an a leg to purchase?

    Reply
  4. cia nicholls Avatar
    cia nicholls

    my comment is,when are we actually going to see these smart phones in te reo? I saw thisphone on tv about a week ago,but the lady who was promoting the phone never knew much about the phone,when they finally on the market for sale are thet going to cost a arm an a leg to purchase?

    Reply
  5. cia nicholls Avatar
    cia nicholls

    I would like to bring this to 2 degrees notice. While on a weekend in Hamilton we went to Chartwell to have a look around, we saw a 2 degrees shop, thought we’ll go have a look at the new smart phones in Te Reo Maori the young man who was the store manager spoke to my husband in length about the applications on the ph,he decided he will purchase one for me for xmas,not knowing he had done this of course till xmas day,Well to my suprise we couldnt acess Te Reo at all,went on line to see where the nearest 2 degree shop is low and behold nothing. My husband contacted customer care to see what we can do,after getting wrong information we found the 3 stores that sell 2 degrees mobile. To our amazment thats all they do,my question to 2 degrees why is it not known their is no clear communication to what they tell you on line and to wot they say to you in the store. We travelled 4 hours to Hamilton and 4 hours back to be told no Te Reo Maori phones are not out yet, i wish we were told that b4 we spent 8 hours on the roa.I am very disappointed with the service in Hamilton as he was the guy my husband dealt with.I am a 2 degree supporter and i would like some answers plz.

    Reply
  6. cia nicholls Avatar
    cia nicholls

    I would like to bring this to 2 degrees notice. While on a weekend in Hamilton we went to Chartwell to have a look around, we saw a 2 degrees shop, thought we’ll go have a look at the new smart phones in Te Reo Maori the young man who was the store manager spoke to my husband in length about the applications on the ph,he decided he will purchase one for me for xmas,not knowing he had done this of course till xmas day,Well to my suprise we couldnt acess Te Reo at all,went on line to see where the nearest 2 degree shop is low and behold nothing. My husband contacted customer care to see what we can do,after getting wrong information we found the 3 stores that sell 2 degrees mobile. To our amazment thats all they do,my question to 2 degrees why is it not known their is no clear communication to what they tell you on line and to wot they say to you in the store. We travelled 4 hours to Hamilton and 4 hours back to be told no Te Reo Maori phones are not out yet, i wish we were told that b4 we spent 8 hours on the roa.I am very disappointed with the service in Hamilton as he was the guy my husband dealt with.I am a 2 degree supporter and i would like some answers plz.

    Reply
  7. Maori initiatives in the Mobile phone industry, Karaitiana Taiuru « Making Maori Mobile

    […] X3 , while at the Te Huarahi Tika Trust annual general meeting in Auckland. While I am somewhat sceptical about the motivation, it is certainly a bonus for any Māori language speakers on 2Degrees who need […]

    Reply
  8. Maori initiatives in the Mobile phone industry, Karaitiana Taiuru « Making Maori Mobile

    […] X3 , while at the Te Huarahi Tika Trust annual general meeting in Auckland. While I am somewhat sceptical about the motivation, it is certainly a bonus for any Māori language speakers on 2Degrees who need […]

    Reply

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