Update: April 25, 2006
«©NCSX» Japanese citizens who don't speak a single lick of English and don't want to hire someone at $50/hour to provide translation services have a friend in Nintendo's Tabi Conversation Book DS. If they should ever visit an English speaking nation such as the USA or England, the Conversation Book offers point 'n click translation services on the fly. Upon powering up the software, the following main options appear on the lower screen from the top left and going right followed by a carriage return and resuming the process:Arriving in the USA
Airport to Hotel
Money & Tipping
At the Hotel
American English
Everyday Phrases
Daily Greetings When tapped, category subsets beneath each main option open up for a medley of invaluable phrases and queries for Japanese visitors. Four more main pages of sayings may be flipped through by tapping on the [PAGE] icon on the bottom of the screen. With the software, travelers will be able to point and tap to order food, purchase goods, inquire about the whereabouts of the lavatory, rent a car, and other basic questions when roaming the wilds of a foreign land. View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website. Simple Interface
Upon starting the software up, users may set the brightness of the screen as well as the presentation mode. Once in the actual software, the top screen of the NDS shows an animal from the host country on the left side of the screen while a bald-headed representation of the Japanese visitor appears on the right. On the touch screen, 10 boxes representing different situations are arranged neatly along with a "suitcase menu" icon that is located on the lower right corner of the screen. Each situation box contains the Japanese text as well as the target language below it to indicate what it's used for. When tapped, each box reveals a page or six of translated queries that may be activated and then shown on the top screen. If you're interacting with someone face to face, press the L-TRIGGER to flip the top NDS screen so that the orientation is right-side-up for him/her. Express Yourself
Along with automatic Japanese to English text translation, the software can also vocalize your question in a clear female voice. To activate a vocalized saying, tap on the box for it and then tap the "suitcase menu" icon on the lower-right corner which brings you to a screen with seven icon-based actions. Tap on the icon on the upper right corner which contains a megaphone image and the NDS will intonate the question or comment. NCS would have preferred a speak option directly on the language snippet selection screen since there's a little wedge of space that's blank. As it is, Nintendo added an extra two steps to access the ability to speak the desired phrase or question. The top NDS screen depicts the conversation as icons are tapped along with the two characters in various states of action. When the toilet icon is tapped, the bald-headed figure may be seen in an exaggerated state to depict the local emergency about to occur. NCS Product Notes
» The AMERICAN ENGLISH portion of the main selection screen contains some questionable phrases and foul language. Some examples: My God, he's hot! (Listen to the monotone intonation of the speech gal)
Ruben's on a roll.
Yeah, I wanna do that.
That ain't no good.
Sh_t! Another strikeout. (There's a separate button just for "Sh_t")
What the hell? Swing the bat.
F_ck! I can't believe it. (There's a separate button just for "F_ck")
Damn it! You loser! This document is ©NCSX 2006. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.
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