Google Translate to get live translations with Word Lens purchase

Google has purchased the live translation app Word Lens and will be integrating its technology into Google Translate. Word Lens is an app that uses your phone’s camera to scan and translate words in real-time.

Google Translate has the ability to translate photographed text but the feature is slow. By integrating Word Lens’ technology, Translate will be able to translate written text quickly. This can make international travel less intimidating.

Below is the official statement from Word Lens about the acquisition:

“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 statement implies that development for Word Lens will stop. This makes sense if Google is planning on integrating the app’s technology into its own Translate app.

If you haven’t tried Word Lens, you can download the app for free. Language packs are also free for a limited time while the company transitions to Google. The app currently supports Russian, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, and English.

Download Word Lens: Android | iOS

Source: Word Lens

Via: Android Police

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