Mango Languages iPhone/iPad App Now Available

Now you can take Mango Languages with you wherever you go, thanks to the release of the Mango Mobile Library Edition app for iPhone and iPad. This new app includes all of the languages that are available through Mango, and also has many features of the Internet version of Mango, including grammar and cultural notes, interactive phonetic spellings, and semantic color mapping.

To use  this new app, you will need a valid Troy Public Library card. You will also need to set up a Mango account, which you can do by visiting our Mango Languages site here. You device also needs to be running iOS4 or greater.

The Mango Mobile Library Edition app can be downloaded here through the iTunes App store.  For more information about this new app, visit this site.

Microsoft Unveils Windows Phone 7 Update, Calling it Mango

Earlier today, Microsoft held a press event, announcing some of the newest features that will be found in the latest edition of their mobile phone operating system, Windows Phone 7. This update to the operating system is code-named Mango.

Andy Lee, president of Microsoft's mobile division, took the stage today and announced some of the new features that will be found in Mango.


To start off, Twitter and LinkedIn will now be integrated into Windows Phone 7. Also, the homescreen will be updated slightly, so that notifications are pushed more.

Call history will be sorted by person, and you will be able to see all of the calls, texts, IMs, and visual voicemail (another new feature in Mango) all in one "list". Related to this, a new feature in Mango will be the ability to group friends into groups. Groups will show all of those friend's activity, be it calls, texting, or even social networking activity. One can also communicate with all of the members in a group.

Although the long awaited copy and paste has finally come in an update a while ago, Mango will also add predictive text while typing. These are both important features that seem standard on any phone. However, predictive text can either save you time, or become an extremely annoying part of texting.

The new "threads" feature allows users to carry on a conversation from Facebook to texting, etc.

Andy Lee, President of Microsoft's mobile devision

Also regarding communication, Mango will allow users to keep email inboxes separate or combined, or even both. For example, one might keep his work email separate from his personal email, but he/she could combine two separate personal inboxes, and have work and personal inboxes. Some new security features have also been added for enterprise email.

Voice activated technologies will also be integrated into Mango. Microsoft showed how one could have text messages read to them while in the car, one could also respond just using his/her voice.

Microsoft is also bringing smarter apps, along with the ability to run multiple apps at once. Another improvement that will come with Mango is faster web browsing. Bing, Microsoft's search engine, will be integrated into Windows Phone 7, and will provide a slightly "smarter" search. For example, searching for the name of a movie will bring you directly to showtimes.

Mango will be released in the fall as a free update, and, unlike the previous update, will just require users to plug their phones into their computers. Mango will first appear on Microsoft/Nokia devices, but will soon be available on other phones. Mango will also be available on a few new devices that will support 4G.

Overall, Mango seems like an exciting update. If, unlike the previous update, everything goes as planned, this should give consumers more of a reason to buy a Windows Phone. Even with great hardware and a great OS, the problem still remains: With only 18,000 apps available (compared to over 300,000 for the iPhone), the devices are still not compelling. Although Windows Phone 7 is not going to outsell the iPhone anytime soon, Mango is a good step in that direction. A little help from app developers, and Windows Phone 7 might find itself on top.

More New Languages Available from Mango

If your New Year's resolution was to learn a new language, you now have more languages available to you through our language learning eResource, Mango Languages.

Mango has added several new languages to their offerings, including Cantonese Chinese, Croatian, Danish, ESL Mandarian Chinese, Finnish, Haitian Creole, Irish, Levantine Arabic, Norwegian, and Urdu. You can start learning these languages today by visiting our Language Learning eResource page here.

Mango Languages Releases Mango Complete 2.0

If you use Mango Languages, an online language learning program offered through the Troy Public Library, you will notice some changes have recently been made. In addition to Mango Complete and Mango Basic, Mango Languages now offers a new program called Mango Complete 2.0.

Mango Complete 2.0 builds on the look and design of their popular Mango Basic series, but combines it with the more in-depth lessons offered in their Complete 1.0 series. Using Mango Complete 2.0, you will learn basic introductions, how to make purchases, how to ask for directions, and much more. Mango Complete 2.0 continues to use a flashcard system to introduce you to new words and phrases, and also features quizzes to help you test your learning. Additionally, Mango Complete 2.0 also features grammar and cultural notes to give you greater understanding about the language you are studying.

With the launch of Mango Complete 2.0, the menus for Mango Languages have changed. After logging onto Mango, you will be presented with a screen showing various languages that you can learn. After clicking on a language, you will see what programs are available. At this time, not every language offers Mango Complete 2.0. Current languages that have Mango Complete 2.0 are Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, and Turkish. It is also available for several ESL courses, including Chinese (Mandarin), Chinese (Cantonese), Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Keep in mind, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Mango is currently working on developing Mango Complete 2.0 for many more languages.

If you've never tried out Mango Languages, now is a great time to start. To access Mango Languages, you will need a Troy Public Library card. Go to our website and click eResources on the left under Library Links. Click on Language Learning, then Mango Languages.Try it out and let us know what you think.

Mango Basic Language Learning Program Now Available at Troy

If you use Mango Languages, an online language learning program offered through the Troy Public Library, you will notice something different when you login. Now, instead of a screen showing various languages, you have a choice: Mango Complete or Mango Basic.

Mango Complete is Mango's standard language learning program. It features courses in 9 foreign languages and ESL support for 3 languages. Each course contains 100 lessons.

Mango Basic is new product designed for people who need basic-level language skills in a short amount of time. It includes lessons for 22 foreign languages and ESL courses for 14. This includes languages that are in Mango Complete, such as French, German, and Japanese, as well as new languages like Arabic, Hindi, and Korean. It uses the same flash card style as Mango Complete.

Each language lesson in Mango Basic is divided into 2 sections. Section 1 teaches greetings, gratitude, and goodbyes, while section 2 discusses how to ask if someone speaks English. In addition to basic words and grammar, cultural information is also covered.

To access Mango Languages, you will need a Troy Public Library card. Go to our website and click eResources on the left under Library Links. Click on Language Learning, then Mango Languages.Try it out and let us know what you think.

For more information about Mango Basic, see this blog post.