Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.questvisual.wordlens.demo
App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/word-lens/id383463868
Back in 2010, a company called Quest Visual debuted a little app called Word Lens. It scarcely seemed possible, but the app translated a number of different languages in real time using just the smartphone's camera. When traveling in a foreign country, Word Lens users would simply hold the phone up to a sign and the camera would immediately translate it.
Currently, users can translate between English and Portuguese, German, Italian, French, Russian, and Spanish.
It's easy to see why Google would want to own it -- its stated mission is to make all the world's information searchable in any language -- and Google Translate generally does this quite well, at least for web pages.
With Word Lens, iPhone users can translate the world. Apple even featured the app in its recent "Powerful" television ad for the iPhone 5s, and it's obvious why.
Even better, it doesn't require a connection to the internet, which is another benefit for business travelers.
The app itself is free to download from the App Store for both the iPhone and iPad, and I couldn't recommend it more highly. The translations are available via an in-app purchase, though they are currently free. It's also available on the Google Play Store for Android users.
Source: www.techrepublic.com/article/google-picks-up-incredible-visual-translation-app-word-lens-and-makes-it-free
App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/word-lens/id383463868
Back in 2010, a company called Quest Visual debuted a little app called Word Lens. It scarcely seemed possible, but the app translated a number of different languages in real time using just the smartphone's camera. When traveling in a foreign country, Word Lens users would simply hold the phone up to a sign and the camera would immediately translate it.
Currently, users can translate between English and Portuguese, German, Italian, French, Russian, and Spanish.
It's easy to see why Google would want to own it -- its stated mission is to make all the world's information searchable in any language -- and Google Translate generally does this quite well, at least for web pages.
With Word Lens, iPhone users can translate the world. Apple even featured the app in its recent "Powerful" television ad for the iPhone 5s, and it's obvious why.
Even better, it doesn't require a connection to the internet, which is another benefit for business travelers.
The app itself is free to download from the App Store for both the iPhone and iPad, and I couldn't recommend it more highly. The translations are available via an in-app purchase, though they are currently free. It's also available on the Google Play Store for Android users.
Source: www.techrepublic.com/article/google-picks-up-incredible-visual-translation-app-word-lens-and-makes-it-free
