Waraby is an Arabic search mobile app that I'm releasing today. I've built it more than six months ago for my personal use and I've been very pleased with it. I called it “Waraby” which comes from blending “Web” and “Araby”.
Why
Typing in Arabic -- or really, any non-latin language -- is challenging because it wasn’t part of the early PC design. In addition to that, many PCs come with no Arabic pre-installed and no character annotations on the keyboard. This lead to a generation of computer and internet users using English characters to express Arabic words and meanings. This is often referred to as transliteration or more commonly “Arabezy” or “Arabish” (comes from the blending of Arabic and English words).
One of the fundamental activities we do online is Search, and for Arabic speakers used to transliteration Yamli is a lifesaver. It works by converting your transliterated English words into Arabic so you can use the language you’re used to in day-to-day chat and messaging to search for Arabic content on the Web. However, Yamli isn’t mobile optimized and frankly, it’s a pain to use on the phone.
Here is how Waraby makes Arabic mobile search delightful:
Simple
It’s a full screen App with a wide textarea that auto scrolls down when focused to give enough room for suggestions.
Responsive
Suggestions are neatly aligned under the word being typed with the highest confidence result at the top. Furthermore, hitting search will open the Arabic-based Google search for the best results.
Attention to Detail
If you hit back while on the search result you can go back to Waraby with your latest search query waiting for you.
It handles long queries gracefully.
Finally, If you decide to visit the app and start using it, don’t forget to add it to your home screen.