Google has just announced an update for its Google Translate for Android application, which now offers a wider range of users the possibility to use their devices to talk with people of other language.
The application has been packed with a new, experimental feature earlier this year, namely Conversation Mode, and this is the aspect that Google has just improved on its application.
In Conversation Mode, the application will translate between languages. Initially available with support for English and Spanish alone, the app now offers support for 12 new languages.
The list includes Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Russian and Turkish.
“To use Conversation Mode, speak into your phone’s microphone, and the Translate app will translate what you’ve said and read the translation out loud,” Jeff Chin, product manager, Google, explains in a blog post.
“The person you’re speaking with can then reply in their language, and Conversation Mode will translate what they said and read it back to you.”
At the moment, the technology is only in its incipient phases, and is still affected by factors like background noise and regional accents.
However, Google is confident that it will see improvements as people use it more often. “We wanted to get this early version out to help start the conversation no matter where you are in the world,” Jeff Chin continues.
At the same time, Google Translate 2.2 for Android arrives with some new features that should enhance the user experience.
“For example, if you wanted to say 'Where is the train?' but Google Translate recognizes your speech as 'Where is the rain?', you can now correct the text before you translate it. You can also add unrecognized words to your personal dictionary,” Chin continues.
Users will also be able to see the translated text in full screen courtesy of a magnifying glass icon, so that can be easily shown to others. Not to mention that the application was enhanced to fit the larger screens that Android-based tablet PCs arrive on the market with.
“While we work to expand full Conversation Mode to even more languages, Google Translate for Android still supports text translation among 63 languages, voice input in 17 of those languages, and text-to-speech in 24 of them,” Chin also notes.
The new Google Translate 2.2 for Android is available for download for free from the Android Market here. You can learn more on it byhaving a look at the video embedded below.
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