iphone Translation Apps

Transcription

1 1 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM 15 Mobile Translation Apps for the International Businessperson September 13, 2010 by Sarah Kessler 62 The International Business Series is brought to you by UPS. Discover the new logistics. It levels playing fields and lets you act locally or globally. It s for the individual entrepreneur, the small business, or the large company. Put the new logistics to work for you. One of the best ways to enrich your traveling experiences while doing business abroad is to learn the local languages of the countries you visit. Unfortunately, most people don t have time to put in the years of study this feat requires before their next business trip. In this case, it s still nice to be able to ask where the bathroom is, read a menu, and decode street signs with enough proficiency to not get lost. Furthermore, locals will probably admire your will to try, which can definitely be at least a small business advantage. Here are 15 apps for iphone, BlackBerry and Android that will help you navigate another language even if you don t have time to learn it. iphone Translation Apps 1. Lonely Planet Phrasebooks

2 2 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM If you don t know how to say where is the bathroom? in the local language, chances are that you don t have the pronunciation down, either. The Lonely Planet Phrasebooks apps are similar to their hard copy counterparts, but they have the added advantage of speaking critical phrases in the proper accent. For $0.99, each language app comes with 630 spoken phrases organized by activity. 2. ilingual

3 3 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM Why go through the trouble of learning another language when you can fake it with this free app from Emirates? Take a picture of your mouth, choose a male or female voice, and select from 400 phrases. The mouth (your mouth) will move and speak the words you ve selected. Hold the phone up to your mouth, and NOBODY WILL NOTICE. The app is available in French, German, or Arabic. 3. World Nomads Language Guides

4 4 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM The free World Nomads Language Guides each contain about 230 spoken phrases for one of 25 available languages. This is enough to get you by, but not enough to really get around. The $1.99 plus version comes with 550 phrases. Both come with a conversational language lesson podcast. 4. Babelshot

5 5 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM Not being able to read signs and menus in other languages can create a lot of this will be funny when we look back on it some day moments. These can be avoided with the $4.99 purchase of Babelshot, which translates snapshots of text that you take using your phone. 5. Jibbigo

6 6 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM The $24.99 Jibbigo is very expensive for an iphone app, but it s much cheaper than a human translator, which is pretty much how it functions. Let s say you speak English and you are conversing with someone who speaks Spanish. After you speak English, your phone will translate what you say into Spanish. Likewise, your friend s Spanish phrases will be translated to English. The app doesn t need a data connection to function, so you can use it anywhere without fear of data charges. Reuters actually field tested this app in Japan, and, despite the severe awkwardness of asking someone to speak to your phone, it worked pretty well. 6. Coolgorilla Talking Phrasebooks

7 7 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM The biggest advantage of Coolgorilla s phrasebook over some of the other options is the search bar. Instead of browsing through Travel > Basics > Taxi, you can simply type Taxi to find its translation. The apps come with about 500 useful words and phrases that are spoken by professional voice-over artists. Each app is $0.99. BlackBerry Translation Apps 7. Navita Translator

8 8 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM Navita Translator works like an Internet translation service. In fact, you can choose Google Translator, Google Dictionary, or Bing Translator as a source for your translation. Unfortunately, this means you ll need to connect to the Internet in order to use the app. For a free download, though, it s functional. 8. Translator Instead of copying and pasting s into an Internet translator, use Translator to add a translation option to the option menu in your inbox. The app is free and the translation isn t perfect, but you ll be able to conveniently get the gist

9 9 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM of your international ProTranslateLite As with most free translation apps, ProTranslateLite needs a data connection and doesn t provide perfect transcriptions. But its interface makes it slightly easier to use than other versions. Buttons to select languages, translate, copy, , SMS, and tweet are all conveniently located on the same screen. 10. Babelphone

10 10 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM This free app contains more than 200 practical phrases. The text and spoken translation are both provided, which is helpful if, for instance, you have no idea how to pronounce Chinese characters. Babelphone only has Spanish and Chinese versions. Android Translation Apps 11. Talk to Me Classic

11 11 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM This app s voice is not robotic, but if you want it to accurately translate what you re saying, you will need to make your voice robotic. Still, it does a pretty good job for being completely free. You ll need to install three additional downloads, but being able to translate text-to-speech, text-to-text, or speech-to-speech with one app makes it worth it. 12. Google Translate

12 12 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM This app is just like the Google Translate website, but for your phone. Use this free app as a translator or select the rich dictionary option to get in-depth definitions. The app saves all of your searches in a history section in case you come across the same word later. You ll need to download a separate free extension in order to use the text-to-voice option. 13. Translate

13 13 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM Translate is a lot like Google Translate (it uses Google s data), but with a different interface and a random word feature for learning new words. If for some reason you don t want to use Google s app, this is a pretty equivalent alternative. 14. Trippo Mondo Voice Translator

14 14 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM Aside from having a fun name, this app is useful for translating words in about 30 supported languages. It will also speak the translation if you want. 15. SlavoEd Dictionaries

15 15 of 21 4/29/2012 6:06 PM Unfortunately, downloading an entire dictionary to your phone is going to take up a lot of memory. But the good news is, you ll be able to reference all the words you need without any data connection. The app also comes with audio pronunciations, a search-by-voice feature, and learning tools like Word of the Day and Flash Cards. The apps range from $10 to $14 depending on language. If you ve done business in another country and found an app that helped you navigate the local language, share it in the comments below. Series supported by UPS The International Business Series is brought to you by UPS. Discover the new logistics. It levels playing fields and lets you act locally or globally. It s for the individual entrepreneur, the small business, or the large company. Put the new logistics to work for you. More Mobile Resources from Mashable:

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