Learn Languages with Rosetta Stone

Download a new language into your brain.

We live in a commuter's world, but our smartphones have yet to catch up. Without cell service or Wi-Fi in the subway or on airplanes -- although that may change -- we're forced to interact with our (generally unpleasant) surroundings. Or maybe not. See also: 10 Better Alternatives to Your iPhone's Native Apps Now those precious minutes underground can be put to good use.

“You push a button, and the world’s yours. You know how they talk about the world getting smaller? Well, it’s thanks to these that it is. Everywhere now is our…

Rosetta Stone: Let's get to what the app does has. Every language's curriculum is broken into five levels. Each level has four units and each unit can take anywhere from six to ten hours to complete. Right from the first slide, you are required to parrot what the digital teacher says, with no context to go on aside from the images displayed. And in case you're wondering, there's a speech precision setting, so you decide whether the program's a hard-ass or a softy. Idea Flight: At the core, Idea Flight...

If you've used Rosetta Stone in the last year or two, you already know how their new app works—an idea that was likely planned from the get-go. First and foremost, know that the Rosetta Stone iPad application (officially called, TOTALe Companion HD) is almost a standalone version of the software, but it's not quite there yet. Although it's got 20 of Rosetta's usually-covered languages, four are missing—Arabic, Hebrew, Farsi and… Irish? Did not see that last one coming. The other element missing...