http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20004210
- An app offering real-time translations is to allow people in Japan to speak to foreigners over the phone with both parties using their native tongue.
- …will initially convert Japanese to English, Mandarin and Korean, with other languages to follow.
- potential to let companies avoid having to use specially trained multilingual staff, helping them cut costs. They could also aid tourism.
- …France’s Alcatel-Lucent which is developing a rival product, WeTalk.
- Google already has a Translate app that can translate 17 spoken languages, allowing face-to-face conversations with a foreigner, but it is not yet designed to work with telephone calls.
20121022A1_BbcNewsPhoneCallTranslatorAppToBeOfferedByNttDocomo