NEW YORK: The new Google Translate app can now be your guide when traveling to other countries. With a valuable feature, it can help in new ways even if you aren’t connected to the Internet.
Google has officially launched the new Translate app which should help travellers to navigate the local language. With the addition of Word Lens, a technology that can read signs in various languages and translate them to and from English, this app is now a must-have for travelers.
The app will allow users to use their camera to snap a photo of text and get a translation in 36 languages.
This instant translation currently works for translation from English to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, and will expand to more languages.
“When talking with someone in an unfamiliar language, conversations can… get… realllllllly… sloowwww. So, with the latest version, simply tap the mic and start speaking; then the app will automatically recognize which language is being spoken, so you can have a more fluid conversation. “For the rest of the conversation, you won’t need to tap the mic again-it’ll be ready as you need it,” Google Translate Product Lead Barak Turovsky wrote in a blog post Wednesday.
According to a report from Time, the Google Translate app would make a great companion for a trip abroad for activities like asking directions and ordering a meal.
The voice translation mode will automatically recognize changes between the two spoken languages as it hears them.
“Today’s updates take us one step closer to turning your phone into a universal translator and to a world where language is no longer a barrier to discovering information or connecting with each other,” continued Mr Turovsky.
The new features are available on iOS and Android. To download the latest version of Google Translate, go to Google Play or App Store.
Last month, a beta version of live translation tool from Microsoft’s Skype has been released, which translates speech instantly to both text and spoken translations.
‘Skype is now removing another barrier to make it possible for people to communicate irrespective of what language they speak,’ according to Microsoft’s Gurdeep Pall.
