Society

Israeli gadget seeks to help English learning

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-06-16 17:23

JERUSALEM - Technology developed by an Israeli company will assist hundreds of thousands of Chinese school children learn English beginning in the coming year.

Infinite Memory, which develops silicon-based media storage products, announced Thursday that it has signed an exclusive partnership with XGL (Jiangsu Xinguanglian Technology), one of China's largest optical media vendors.

The Chinese partner will distribute the Israeli firm's One-Time-Programmable (OTP) flash memory card that is designed for use with MP3 media players.

The memory cards, which contain the complete English instruction materials taught during an academic year, are slated to gradually replace the analog cassette players currently used in Chinese public schools.

"We're proud that a market leader like XGL chose our technology as their next-generation platform," Chief Executive Officer Ramy Langer told Xinhua.

You Xiaohu, general-manager of XGL, said the Israeli firm was selected over several other leading competitors for the competitive cost it offered. The project's Chinese representatives insisted on security features that ensure protection of the copyrighted content against piracy, malware, viruses and fraud.

Infinite Memory was founded in 2007. The company's official website says its goal is to "lead the move to silicon-based storage media".

Aside from language instruction products, the company's OTP technology is applied in translation tools, on-the-job training devices, smart toys and museum handsets.

Langer would not provide details on the terms of the deal, estimated to be worth tens of millions of US dollars.