In a first for mobiles, a mobile for Welsh speakers has been designed and created. All of the nav bars and even the predictive text functionality are in Welsh. From September and only on the Orange 3G mobile network, the Samsung S5600 mobile will be available to buy with a contract or on its own.

An iPhone app or software application as they are identified as, has been developed by the National Eisteddfod for Welsh language students across the globe.

Leading academics as well as the head of computer science at Aberystwyth University, Professor Chris Price, have been involved in the design of the Welsh learning iPhone software application. Both were revealed at the eisteddfod in Bala, Gwynedd.

As well as key people from Orange and Samsung, the Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones was also present for the Welsh phone unveiling.

The Orange GSM network as predicted, dispatched the head of their retail unit, who subsequently quoted her press team and assured everyone that Orange were especially proud that they were the first network to introduce a product so advanced aimed directly at Welsh speaking customers.

Evidently Orange have a broader commitment of which this is a part, to provide Welsh speakers with more choice when it comes to mobile communications. The phone will have over 44,000 words stored within it.

Meanwhile, the Learn Welsh phrase book will available to download from Apple’s iTunes.

The phrase book application has the 12 internal divisions subdivided based on the Professors experience of learning Welsh. The segments include common phrases, food and drink, as well as traveling. The Professor has been an integral part of the application development process; even going so far as to tape the pronunciation of each word, to help learners.

An additional new feature is a practice mode, which offers learners the opportunity of testing themselves as they learn new words.

Many readers will know that the iPhone has a number of applications which can be downloaded, which assist the user in learning an additional language. These cover many another languages from French, to Italian, through to Irish and Tagalog. The Professor was certain that with the plethora of other language help applications available, that those learning Welsh should also have a similar chance, whilst they learn to cook on their Zanussi cookers in their student flats.

From Welsh to Irish; we have discovered that over 93% of those living in Northern Ireland currently own a mobile phone.

This is 4% larger than the average for the rest of the UK (89%) and up by 8% from the previous year (85%).

People in NI are more likely to use their mobile as their main means of telecommunication (52%) than any where else in the UK (38%). The research also found that 89% of households in NI now have some form of digital TV.