iPhone News Updated

Apple includes Cherokee language in iPods

Nine-year-old Lauren Hummingbird wants a cell phone for Christmas - and not just any old phone, but an iPhone. Such a request normally would be met with skepticism by her father, Cherokee Nation employee Jamie Hummingbird.

He could dismiss the obvious reasons a kid might want an iPhone, except for this — he’s a proud Cherokee and buying his daughter the phone just might help keep the tribe’s language alive.

Nearly two centuries after a blacksmith named Sequoyah converted Cherokee into its own unique written form, the tribe has worked with Apple to develop Cherokee language software for the iPhone, iPod and — soon — the iPad. Computers used by students — including Lauren — at the tribe’s language immersion school already allow them to type using Cherokee characters.

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Father’s app lets disabled son ’speak’ thru iPad

A young North Carolina boy with a severe disability got his Christmas present early: the ability to communicate, thanks to his father.

Paul Pauca, a professor at Wake Forest University, worked with his students this year to designed a computer app for the iPhone and other devices that will allow his son, Victor, to communicate.

Victor, who has a rare disease called Pitt Hopkins Syndrome, can now point to pictures on the iPhone or iPad that play recorded messages indicating what he wants to do.

Software for people with disabilities has surged with the popularity of smart phones and tablet computers. Apple Inc. now has a section of its App Store devoted to the software.

[Thanks: http://www.komonews.com]