Google Goggles turns translator

Those of us not lucky/smart enough to read foreign languages have, until now, been fairly poorly served by technical replacements to the trusty travel phrase book.

There are, of course, plenty of standalone handheld devices which are simply electronic phrase books with keypads, some of them offering text-to-speech features. An existing Google phone app attempts to translate spoken words, though looks to be a little fiddly. And for those with more than $2,500 to spare, NEC has a pair of spectacles which hears speech, translates it, and projects subtitles straight into your eyes.

But now Google has a solution which might deal with the problem of printed text in a foreign language. It comes in the latest edition of Google Goggles, the company’s package of search tools which work from images taken with a cameraphone: for example, a snapshot of a wine label can give reviews and suggested dinner choices to partner it.

Version 1.1 of the Android app can now analyze a picture of a block of text, such as a restaurant menu, then translate it between English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Users can also use the “region of interest” button on their phone to select a particular phrase or section of text in the picture. Google developers are also working on a version which can cope with non-Latin lettering such as Russian, Chinese or Arabic.

It certainly sounds like a great idea. The only drawback is that users are at the mercy of not one, but two technologies which can have unpredictable results: optical character recognition and automated translation.

What must-have features should every mobile phone have? What features would you easily give up?

Even though there are hundreds of mobile phone models out there, there is a single thing they all need to do, and do well, place phone calls. As surprising as it may seem, even though I run a blog that’s occasionally gadget-oriented, my mobile (or more specifically, my wife’s mobile) is somewhat limited feature-wise. I’ve been having a hard time justifying paying $80+ per month just to have access to the web a few times per month, even though it would be really useful from time to time. But apart from placing phone calls and having basic web access, I wouldn’t really need a phone for anything else. Themes and text messages are optional as far as I’m concerned. A integrated camera? No thanks, I prefer taking my trusty PowerShot SD780IS digital camera with me.

But what about you, dear readers? what must-have features do you think every mobile phone should have? What features would you easily give up? Please let us know in the comments section below!



Restore Joss Whedon (Ignore Stephen Baldwin)

You may have heard that someone thinks Stephen Baldwin has been given such a raw deal that he deserves his own personal charity: Restore Stephen Baldwin (which, apparently, is entirely serious, though Baldwin himself had nothing to do with setting it up). Of course, as all science fiction geeks know, if there’s anyone who’s been persecuted by Hollywood it’s the long-suffering and oft-canceled Joss Whedon.

(Warning: Strong language and Serenity spoilers!)

Okay, so maybe Whedon isn’t in such bad shape, considering he’s got that Avengers gig coming up and all.  I’m sure he’s not eating Ramen.  (Or worse, eating whatever creepy crawlies Baldwin had to deal with when he was on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!)

By the way, in case you didn’t want to type it in,
www.restorejosswhedonandhissmokinghotasskickingchicks.org redirects to the video creator’s YouTube page.

Hyping the cellphone, 1909 style

Most geeks will know of Nikola Tesla: an electrical engineer, he was pretty much the godfather of alternating current and one of the major reasons electricity became a commercially viable power source. He also demonstrated the idea that electricity could be transmitted wirelessly, a theory that today is looking ever closer to practical use.

But now it’s transpired that Tesla was perhaps more of a visionary than anyone realized. The editor of Popular Mechanics, Seth Porges, has recently drawn attention to a 1909 interview by the New York Times in which Tesla predicted the cellphone, texting and picture messaging.

Said Tesla: “It will soon be possible to transmit wireless messages all over the world so simple that any individual can carry and operate his own apparatus.”

Of course, Tesla’s prediction of “soon” may have been a little ambitious, and even in 2010 his suggestion that the mobile device would be “not bigger than a watch” is pushing it a little for most people’s budgets.

But he was on the money with what were effectively predictions of e-mail (“It will soon be possible for a business man in New York to dictate instructions and have them appear instantly in type in London or elsewhere.”) and multimedia messaging (“In the same way [as speech and music] any kind of picture, drawing or print can be transferred from one place to another.”)

To be fair, Tesla wasn’t entirely accurate throughout the interview: he also believed ocean liners would travel at high speed across the Atlantic but be controlled wirelessly from the shore.

But he did make a statement which remains true today: “What will be accomplished in the future baffles one’s comprehension.”

OMG: Star Wars Voices Now Available for TomTom GPS Devices

I never felt like I really needed a GPS before… but after hearing about this, I’m not so sure anymore.

Starting this month, TomTom will be releasing one downloadable Star Wars voice pack per month for their GPS devices, starting right now with Lord Vader’s voice. Each pack will be priced at $13… uh? What? You think that’s expensive? I find your lack of faith… (*forcechoke*) disturbing.

If Vader’s voice isn’t to your liking, C-3PO’s will be available in June, Yoda in July, and Han Solo in August.

Hit the jump to hear Lord Vader’s recording session.

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