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Google Translate for iOS gains offline mode and Word Lens visual translation for Chinese

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Google Translate is getting a bevy of new features today that will make translating on mobile easier. While Android gets a new feature that will get rid of the need to manually copy and paste into the Translate app, iOS finally gets an offline mode. Additionally, the Word Lens instant visual translation feature now works on both Simplified and Traditional Chinese.


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Google rolling out major update to Google Translate iOS app with Word Lens and near-realtime conversation translation

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Google has announced that it will shortly be rolling out a new version of its Google Translate iOS app, with two significant enhancements.

First, it is replacing the existing camera-based text translation with the far slicker Word Lens system. Google acquired Word Lens back in May of last year with this upgrade in mind. If you haven’t ever tried it, this was the app that brought home to me the truth of the Arthur C Clarke saying that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

The near-instant augmented reality translation of signs and menus from any one of French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish–without needing an Internet connection–still makes me boggle every time I use it …


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Google acquires Word Lens app recently featured in Apple’s iPhone ad “Powerful”

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Screen Shot 2014-05-16 at 12.58.57 PM

Google just bought the company behind a smartphone app called Word Lens that visually translates text in real life scenarios right on your device using the camera and some behind-the-scenes intelligence.

With Word Lens, we’ve seen the beginnings of what’s possible when we harness the power of mobile devices to “see the world in your language.”

By joining Google, we can incorporate Quest Visual’s technology into Google Translate’s broad language coverage and translation capabilities in the future.

As a thank you to everybody who supported us on our journey, we’ve made both the app and the language packs free to download for a limited time while we transition to Google.

We’re looking forward to continuing our work at Google – stay tuned!

The kicker? Word Lens was recently featured rather prominently in Apple’s latest iPhone ad “Powerful” and even listed on Apple’s microsite promoting the film as an app to explore.
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Google Translate updated w/ iOS 7 keyboard, additional handwriting language support including Arabic & Hebrew

Alas, we’re one step closer to an App Store not filled with iOS 6 keyboards. Google released Translate 2.1 today, bringing support for the iOS 7 keyboard released last September to the iPhone and iPad.

The update also expands support for its new handwriting input method to a number of additional languages including Arabic, Esperanto, Gujarati, Hebrew, Javanese, Maltese, Maori, Marathi, Persian, Punjabi, Telugu, and Zulu.

Google first introduced its handwriting input method last September. Google Translate 2.1 is available now on the App Store.
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Google Translate for iOS adds new UI, handwriting input, & translations in 7 new languages

Google has updated its Google Translate app for iPhone and iPad today with a few new features that were previously only available to Android users. The app also receives a brand new UI that makes it fit more in with iOS 7 and the rest of Google’s apps.

Version 2.0.0 of Google Translate includes support for handwriting input, allowing users to write words using their finger for 49 different languages. The app also adds translations for seven additional languages, including: Bosnian, Cebuano, Hmong, Javanese, Khmer, Lao, Marathi.

The updated Google Translate app is available on the App Store now.

What’s New in Version 2.0.0

• Translation is now available for 7 new languages: Bosnian, Cebuano, Hmong, Javanese, Khmer, Lao, Marathi
• A sleek and modern user interface
• Handwriting input – write words with your finger to enter text for 49 languages

More 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro pictures surface: 2 Thunderbolt ports, HDMI, 2560×1600 resolution

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15″ Retina MacBook Pro above, 13″ Retina MacBook Pro below (note no speaker and port/keyboard alignment):

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Another visit to WeiPhone.com forum thread [Google translation] (via MacRumors) from last week yields some additional new pictures of the upcoming 13-inch MacBook Pro. You can see different placement of the side jacks as they relate to the keyboard and lack of speaker.

There’s nothing unexpected but it does seem to confirm a few things:

  • 2 Thunderbolt ports like 15-inch Retina and unlike 13-inch Pros
  • The Windows screens seem to confirm the 2560×1600 pixel display
  • HDMI port like Retina 15, unlike Pro 13.

We expect to see the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro at the October 23rd event with a base price in the $1599-1699 area. More pictures below:


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Google and Apple team up to save diabetic

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The iPhone is great in many ways, but perhaps one of the best cases is in a medical emergency. KVAL reported a 57-year-old Oregon man was suffering from a diabetic reaction while driving down a local highway. (Video link here.)

When two medical responders came to the scene and tried to assist the man, they ran into quite a language barrier. The man only spoke Chinese, but luckily, one of the responders knew to reach for his iPhone. He fired up Google Translate and was able to speak Chinese with the man to figure out his condition and give him the help he needed.

Cross posted on 9to5Google.com


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