POV: PixTalk

* “POV” (Point of View) is a new feature that we’re testing out *

Space Lama’s rating: 8.0
IAR’s rating: 6.5

If you’ve ever been in a place where you can’t understand a word the locals are saying, then you probably know the pain of trying to pantomime whatever it is that you’re after… a memory card for your camera, a safety pin for that broken bra strap, a doctor to take a look at your massive head wound… and that’s what PixTalk is all about. It basically a collection of photos that are grouped and categorized for quick reference while you’re on the road, just in case the person you’re trying to “talk” to isn’t getting your drift.

Space Lama’s summary:

What PixTalk does:

PixTalk is the photo communication tool that could overcome language barriers especially for travelers.

PixTalk carefully selected 100 pictures that could almost tell everything needed when traveling. What the users have to do is just pointing at the pictures and showing!

What this app does right:

The sentence “One picture is worth a thousand words.” presents the core value as well as the most interesting point for PixTalk.  In stead of using translator apps to get imprecise messages, communications could be easier and more convenient by using PixTalk!

Moreover, in an effort to differentiate with other photo communication apps, PixTalk has the unique “2 photos mode” to make combination of the photo language.  It also has pen tool feature to circle and paint the items needed.

Where this app needs to improve:

PixTalk will be richer with more pictures.  In addition, we are also looking for the solutions to let users find their desired pictured easier.

Features and improvements planned for the future:

For PixTalk v1.1, we will fix several bugs including,

- takes less time (0.5 second) to hide and show the color wheel.
- in edit mode, the pen or hand icon in the bottom tool bar is highlighted according to the status.
- draw lines every 5-move-points, instead of 10 to reduce lag in drawing.
- more tries to disable scrolling when pen is selected, since scrolling in action over-rides the setting.

We are also planning to provide more pictures and add a “favorite” category to let users save their most frequent using picture in the near future.

IAR’s take:

This is pretty rare, but I think Space Lama is selling itself a little short in saying that PixTalk features 100 photos! It features around 100 photos alright, but each of those photos contains a whole bunch of items… I counted 22 items alone in the photo that shows winter clothes, so the total number of items included is probably well into the hundreds.

I like the concept of using photos to get your message across and PixTalk does a pretty decent job of providing the tools to do just that. At first I didn’t quite get the “2 photos mode”, but after playing around with it I suppose it makes sense. The only problem is that most of the photos depict nouns, as in tangible objects, and I know this probably sounds a little nuts but if you’re going to string photos together to convey an idea you might want to be able to choose from some verbs or other concepts as well. What kinds of verbs and concepts? Umm… what if your child is lost? Or your child will die if he eats a peanut? Or maybe “hurry up” because you’re about to miss your flight? Language is a pretty broad thing so there are a million ideas you may want to convey depending on your situation.

PixTalk also includes a drawing pad so you can free-form your thoughts with a very basic pen tool on a blank sheet of “paper” or on any other photo in the collection. Including this feature is a great idea and it’s functional enough, but even though the app is already on version 1.1 (see Features and Improvements above) the pen tool still lags and seems to draw a lot slower than your finger. And I know this isn’t really a drawing app, but some other tools such as undo and pen thickness would also help.

I like that you can zoom in on all of the photos and, even though Space Lama is planning to improve the way photos are navigated I think that’s already pretty good. It’s basically a three-tiered screen with top-level categories at the bottom (personal items, transportation, dining, accommodations, places, miscellaneous, and smileys) and, when you tap on something, the photos you want will appear right above that. Tap a photo and it appears in the big area at the top of the screen.

The addition of a favorites section sounds useful, but the thing I’d like to see most is the ability to add your own photos to the collection. I guess you could just use your camera roll if you want to show someone a pic of your dog, but if you’re going to be using this app to help you communicate then throwing in some photos of your own seems like a natural progression.

Space Lama is right in that it needs more photos but it’s off to a very good start, and even though it won’t do all the talking for you it could come in handy if you’re really having a hard time communicating with people you come across in your travels. If PixTalk can save you 5 minutes of aggravation in a foreign country, it’ll be worth the $1.99 price tag.

iTunes Link – PixTalk
Space Lama website
Version 1.1
Tested on iPhone 3G OS3.1.2

* POV is sponsored by the developer