Google updated the Google Translate iOS app today adding iPad support. It’s the same set of features as the iPhone version, but the iPad is a great place for a free translator. Technophiles are reading more on tablets lately, and a free Google Translate app is a boon for a more literate, global wired society.
Google Translate has been available on the iPhone since the mobile Web version launched in 2008. The native app released last year added the voice-to-text feature as well as the spoken translations from Google’s voice synthesizer. As one should expect, the translations are never perfect, but they’re great for getting the gist.
The iPad UI is the slightest bit strange. When you paste text into the box, it scoots up, so the language choice buttons go away. You have to pull it down from a very thin tab to get it back (or hit cancel and start over). There’s also no ‘Translate’ button, only ‘Go’ on the keyboard. There’s plenty of room for that under the voice-to-text button, so let this be a humble, simple feature request.
But that’s all very nitpicky. I have no right to complain about an app that will translate text into 64 different languages, many of which it will read aloud to you, for free. The future rocks.
Download Google Translate for iOS from the App Store.
Do you know of any other good translator apps?
