Google debuts real-time translator for Android phones

The barriers of language are coming down, as Google focuses its considerable computing power on its mobile Android platform. On Wednesday, the California internet-giant began turning Android-powered smartphones into real-time interpreters with experimental software that lets the handsets translate conversations taking place in two different languages.

An in-the-works version of “Conversation Mode” was made available for public testing as the California-based internet giant updated a text translation feature it added to Android smartphones a year ago.

“In conversation mode, simply press the microphone for your language and start speaking,” product manager Awaneesh Verma said in a blog post.

“Google Translate will translate your speech and read the translation out loud. Your conversation partner can then respond in their language, and you’ll hear the translation spoken back to you.”

Tech blog Techshout explains further: “Basically, two people speaking different tongues can simply open Translate and speak into the phone’s microphone in turns. The app will read aloud the translated speech so that both users can speak their own language and hear the translated responses played out through the handset.

Conversation Mode only translates between English and Spanish for now, and factors such as regional dialects, background noise, or fast talking could vex translations, he warned.

“Even with these caveats, we’re excited about the future promise of this technology to be able to help people connect across languages,” Verma said.

“As Android devices have spread across the globe, we’ve seen Translate for Android used all over.”

The majority of people using Translate are outside the United States, with daily use of the feature taking place in more than 150 countries, according to the Google product manager. In addition to translating, the service will also transcribe it utilising speech to text in the language selected.

Translate supports 53 languages in text and Android devices handle voice recognition in 15 languages, Verma said. People with phones that are running Android 2.1 or more recent versions of the OS are able to download Google Translate through the Android Market.