Android: Google Translate for Android just picked up the ability to snapshot and understand 16 additional languages, just by using your camera. Plus, you can now build a phrasebook of useful terms and phrases for quick reference.
Google Translate for Android now supports a variety of new (mostly European) languages, including Bulgarian, Catalan, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Croatian, Hungarian, Indonesian, Icelandic, Lithuanian, Latvian, Norwegian, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian and Swedish. Just take a snapshot of a sign, menu or document with any of those languages, rub your finger over the area you’d like to translate, and the app will return the text or phrase in your native language.
The new phrasebook lets you to save phrases or translations you want handy for quick reference, like “Where is the restroom”, “I’m lost, where is the closest train station”, or “Help, where is [my country’s] consulate?” Alternatively, you can use the app to help you memorise those common phrases so you don’t need to pull out your phone to ask simple questions like where the closest bathroom is.
The last time Google Translate for Android updated, it added features but was lagging behind the full 64 languages the web app supports. This update brings it closer, but if you still can’t use your camera to translate, just type in what you see to get a translation. Keep in mind though that Google Translate needs a data connection to work, which can be tricky when you’re travelling. Hit the link below to grab the updated app or to read more about today’s update.
Google Translate (free) [Google Play via Google Translate Blog and TechCrunch]
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