15
May
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[I/O 2013] Google Gives Developers A 'Better Distribution Experience' In Revised Play Store Console Coming 'This Summer'

Posted by in Applications, Development, News

Between Hangouts, the gorgeous new Maps, Play Music All Access, and everything else discussed in I/O's opening keynote this morning, several revisions to the Play Store developer's console were announced.

Perhaps the most interesting addition to the console will be an organized method for alpha and beta testing, and staged rollouts.  Basically, developers can select alpha and beta testers, receiving all feedback directly (instead of through reviews) and, when the time comes, roll out the app to certain percentages of the user base.

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The changes also include a major help in ensuring your apps make sense to international users – a full translation service by which developers can order specific translations, come back a week or so later, and download the translations directly from the console.

27
Mar
translatetiny

Google Translate Adds 51 Offline Language Packs, Lets You Tear Down The Language Barrier Without A Network Connection

Posted by in Applications, News

Google Translate has always been one of the unsung heroes of the free service space. On the one hand, it doesn't provide a perfect translation, so people are still hesitant to call it a true breakthrough. On the other hand, we use it all the time to translate web pages enough to get the gist and, when combined with speech-to-text and text-to-speech, you can use the Android app as the closest thing to a universal translator in your pocket the world has ever seen. Now, it's getting even better with offline language packs.

Starting today, you can download any of the 51 language packs available and have always-on access to translation between any combination of the ones you've chosen.

26
Mar
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Google Rolls Out Automated Translation Of User Reviews In The Play Store Developer Console

Posted by in Google, News

Recently, Google quietly began to test auto translation for app reviews in the developer console. Today, the company publicly announced that same feature and began rolling it out to all devs. Now, when they log in to their control panel, they can see the reviews in their preferred language, along with the original text. Neat.

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Of course, this still isn't a replacement for  native fluency, but it should aid developers in troubleshooting problems that users on the other side of the language barrier discover. This, coupled with replies to reviews, enables a high degree of communication between devs and users, which can only be a great thing.

20
Feb
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WordLens Gets A Huge 2.0 Update With A Holo UI, No More Flickering Issues, German Translation, And Bug Fixes Galore

Posted by in Applications, Apps/Games, News

WordLens is one of those borderline-magical apps that make me feel like I'm living in a scifi novel. The initial release was a little buggy, and the UI made it clear the app was a direct port from iOS. The 2.0 update just dropped, though, and it takes care of a lot of those issues.

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If you've never heard of WordLens, here's the deal: hold your phone up to a sign or some other thing with words on it, and WordLens uses your camera to translate those words to another language of your choosing in real time. The translations are overlaid on top of the live camera feed, which is kind of a wow moment (when it works).

12
Dec
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[New App] Voice, Text Translator Vocre Comes To Android, Signature 'Table-Top UI' In Tow

Posted by in Applications, News

Vocre, a voice and text translator that won audience choice in TechCrunch's Disrupt, came to Android today, bringing with it a promising challenger to Google's own Translate app and a "tabletop UI" meant specifically for extended conversations with those on either side of the language barrier.

As shown in the video above, Vocre's interface is exceedingly simple. Users need only select languages and genders, then record their message, check for accuracy, and let the app do the rest. Vocre, for those curious, uses Nuance services to translate your words as a text string, returning results (with pretty reliable accuracy) in the desired language.

10
Oct
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Microsoft Allegedly Planning Native Office Apps For Android For Release In March 2013

Posted by in Applications, News
Last Updated: October 15th, 2012

According to a Czech press release unearthed by The Verge, Microsoft may be readying native Office apps for Android. As of right now, the only programs that have mobile versions on the Play Store are OneNote and Lync. Otherwise known as "the ones very few people care about." If this report is to be believed, though, we may see native versions of the entire Office suite.

According to the Verge's translations, Microsoft said this:

"In addition to Windows, Office will be also available on other operating systems, Windows Phone, Windows RT, Mac OS, Android, iOS and Symbian"

Redmond, by way of the Czech Republic, also pointed out that there would be new versions of its Office Web Apps.

27
Jul
wordlens

Word Lens Knocks Language Pack Pricing Down To $2.99 To Celebrate The Olympic Games

Posted by in Applications, News

Word Lens, the sometimes jittery but generally impressive visual language translator, is getting in the Olympic spirit. For a limited time, the language packs—which are acquired via in-app purchases to unlock full translation support—are being offered for $2.99 per pack, which is $2 off the normal price of $4.99. Huzzah!

It comes at a particularly poignant time. As the Olympic games get underway and the world remembers there's more that the nations of earth do together than wage war and make gadgets, Word Lens can be helpful in breaking down the language barrier and acting as a catalyst for that type of international camaraderie.

30
Mar
translatetiny

Google Launches Translator Toolkit, Makes It Easier To Bridge The Language Gap In Your Apps

Posted by in Google, News

Google must be trying to warm my heart lately. After a video circulated of a legally blind man behind the wheel of Google's self-driving car made its rounds recently, Google now announces its Translator Toolkit. The new toolkit offers developers a suite of services for localizing their apps. This is the future we all dreamed of.

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The toolkit will allow developer to upload certain files from their apps to translate the text to another language. Of course, this will be about as good as Google's translations are already (read: okay, but not great). However, developers can then share their translations with local translators who can fine tune the results in the Translator Toolkit's WYSIWYG editor.