Instant camera translation services?

Are you about to go on your travels to experience a whole different culture and way of life but just don’t know the first thing about the language? Have you taken a new job abroad in order to broaden your horizons but have only learnt how to say hello in the native language? Or are you a first generation foreign-born individual who is visiting your parent’s homeland but have never bothered to learn the language of your ancestors? Well you probably should have put some effort into learning these languages but there is some good news for those who don’t have the time or don’t have the patience, these special translation services are perfect for you.

Google have offered us a unique fast translation service for the last year in which all you have to do is take a picture using the camera on your phone of the quote or sentence written in the language you want translated from and then it is instantly translated into whatever language you wish. For example if you were over in China and wanted to order food from a restaurant but had no idea what it was because the menu is written fully in Mandarin. Don’t panic! just whip out your phone head over to Google translate, set your language pairs e.g. Mandarin to English and click the camera icon and just like that you get an English translation and as a result you avoid ordering those prawns you hate. It also works the other way around where you will receive a Mandarin translation from the written English.

Google’s live camera translation feature can be used offline also by downloading the offline translation pack which is around 42MB with Google’s latest update adding the language pairs of Japanese to English and English to Japanese to the growing list of instant image translations. Of course this is never going to replace professional translation services carried out by human translator, but it’s definitely more convenient and useful in certain situations. So if you are ever in Munich reading German directions for some reason, you know you have portable German translation services at your fingertips, Or if you are out in Rome and even though you don’t speak Italian you choose the Italian menu anyway because you know you have Italian translation services in your back pocket.

Image by: Rich DeMuro