While we know Google is constantly improving all their products, they went far and beyond with their most recent to the Google Translate application. The new update brings Camera integration for translating images on the screen, instant translation while typing or writing, as well as dialect selection and various other fixes.
No need to buy another app for that
Many other companies want to charge for applications, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, Google knows how to make an excellent application and make it completely free. Word Lens was a nice application that allows users to translate images real time on the screen (while not always practical) let us see a glimpse into evolving technology; however, the pricey language packs that you have to pay for every one could make the translation process quite expensive. Google plans on changing that with this update which allows you to take a picture of text, then highlight it using your finger, import it into the translate box, and finally translate it to any language you please – all without paying a penny.
Here’s the full “What’s New” off the Play Store:
What’s in this version:
Use camera to take a picture and brush text to translate (available on Android 2.3 and above).
Get instant translation results as you type.
Choose dialect preference for speech input.
Japanese handwriting now recognizes multiple characters at once.
Added access network state permission to check network availability when sending requests.
While the instant translation is a cool feature (translate while you type) it’s not nearly as great as the full fledged camera integration that was just released. Competition is certainly a good thing and I for one cannot wait to see what more has to offer when it comes to translation tools, specifically some integration with Google Project Glass would be great. Until then we’ll have to be held over with updates as they come. If you want to grab the application for free, then check out the link below and grab it off the Play Store.
