NTT DoCoMo preps automatic translation from Japanese through Android, leaves no one an island
Japan's unique language makes calls to other countries a challenge: locals often don't have much choice but to brush up on someone else's language or hope there's a Japanese speaker on the other end of the line. If all goes well with NTT DoCoMo's planned Hanashite Hon'yaku automatic translation service, international calls will be as comfortable as phoning a store in Nagano. As long as a subscriber has at least an Android 2.2 phone or tablet on the carrier's moperaU or sp-mode plans, the service will automatically convert spoken Japanese to another language, and reverse the process for the reply, whether it's through an outbound phone call or an in-person conversation. The service will bridge cultures starting from November 1st, when it will translate from Japanese to Chinese, English or Korean. Indonesian, Thai and five European languages are coming later that month. If you're not that patient, NTT DoCoMo will provide a holdover on October 11th through Utsushite Hon'yaku, a free Word Lens-like augmented reality translator for Android 2.3 that can convert text to or from Japanese with a glance through a phone camera.
After holding out all these years, I finally caved in and got a cell phone about a month ago. I have to admit, it was invaluable on my recent trip to Hawaii. Made extensive use of the phone, camera, map app, and google; without it I would have floundered. On the long flight home, I used it to listen to music for part of the time. (Most of the flight I was using my Kindle reader, another tech device that I have grown to utilize a lot) Being a techno primitive, I still don't know or make use of a lot of what the cell phone is capable of doing, and even with those aspects of the phone I do use, I still screw up or am lost at times, but I have to acknowledge its viability in today's world.
Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Posts: 46182 Location: Los Skandolous, California Country:
Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 3:38 am Post subject:
shin2 wrote:
After holding out all these years, I finally caved in and got a cell phone about a month ago. I have to admit, it was invaluable on my recent trip to Hawaii. Made extensive use of the phone, camera, map app, and google; without it I would have floundered. On the long flight home, I used it to listen to music for part of the time. (Most of the flight I was using my Kindle reader, another tech device that I have grown to utilize a lot) Being a techno primitive, I still don't know or make use of a lot of what the cell phone is capable of doing, and even with those aspects of the phone I do use, I still screw up or am lost at times, but I have to acknowledge its viability in today's world.
I agree with you regarding a cellphone's usefulness while traveling. On my recent trip last spring I rented a mobile WiFi hotspot while in Japan, so as not to worry about ridiculous international roaming and data rates while using my cellphone, and it too saved my bacon. Using Google Maps to navigate the notoriously difficult Japanese address system was a life saver. Moreover, being able to access the internet for directions navigating the vast Tokyo subway system was also highly useful and helped me enjoy my trip much more because I didn't have to worry about heading in the wrong direction or taking the wrong route. Taking photographs and a few videos made my phone an indispensable piece of tech for me. Although I had a point and shoot camera with me I rarely used it.
The one lesson I learned using my cellphone while traveling was that I used my phone so much to help navigate, access info on the web, text messaging, and talking for free using VOIP applications like Skype and Vonage that I quickly depleted my battery. So for the future I believe I'll buy a small portable battery that holds enough energy to allow me to charge my cellphone while on the go.
Joined: 20 Jul 2004 Posts: 12782 Location: USA Country:
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 4:20 am Post subject:
I can't believe it. I actually took a pic of my dwarf sized hand covered with the iPhone and now I cant find it in my photo file. Its a nightmare. _________________
Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 12122 Location: It was fun while it lasted. Country:
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 6:35 am Post subject:
I always leave my cellphone at home, that way I don't have to worry about losing it. Anyway, I was walking around today and this guy comes up to me and aska, "Can I borrow your phone? I need to make a all." When I told him I didn't have my phone on me, he looked at me like I just told him there's no Santa Claus.
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