When we start cautiously flirting with the idea of traveling again — at least in areas where Covid-19 case no added value– a young man’s enjoyment turns to the thought of visiting foreign lands, where he does not speak a native language. My recent review of Ambassador Interpreter revealed an option to go where you don’t have the language, but requiring each speaker to wear a special Bluetooth headset makes it a bit awkward, especially if you’re just trying to figure out what’s in the dish. soup.
Pocketalk Plus is about the size of a phone.
Photo: PocketalkPocketalk Plus offers the same concept — real-time, voice-based, two-way translation — but in a simplified package. Instead of wearing a headset and a telephone intermediary, each person simply spoke directly into a device the size of a small cell phone. In fact, for all intents and purposes, Pocketalk Plus To be a cell phone, just one with a completely different purpose.
The rectangular device — measuring 5 x 2.5 inches and weighing 4.4 ounces — offers a color touchscreen, volume controls on the side, and an “action” button at the bottom of the plastic case. The system includes Wi-Fi and universal mobile radio that allows it to connect to the internet in more than 130 countries. This is important because Pocketalk relies on the cloud to do its translations; it has no real intelligence of its own. Also, it’s important to note that the included SIM card is only valid for two years after activation. There’s also a camera on the back that you can use to take a picture of the text and return the printed translation. Charging occurs via the USB-C port.
Using the device for chats is simple: select two languages and hold the button to talk. Release the button and the system quickly converts what you said into another language, displaying a translation of both text on the screen, and playing the translation aloud. When the other side is ready to respond, simply touch the icon on the screen to flip the translation direction around and repeat the process. It does give the conversation a bit of a pause, but with a little practice it will become quite natural. In any case, it defeats the mere effort and mime to try to convey information.
The self-contained nature of the system makes it easier to use than Ambassador, although I have found that Pocketalk sometimes gets confused as to who is talking, reverses the direction of translations or, for example, translates Spanish to Spanish — even when the interface indicates otherwise. There is also a beta feature that is said to let you translate between two languages without having to press a button, but it is clearly not ready for official time and sometimes does not work during testing. mine. The unresponsive touchscreen (800 x 480 pixels) and low-res camera are both old, and while the device claims 192 hours of battery life, I was only able to manage about two-thirds of that.
The good news is that Pocketalk Plus works great when things are going well, and it supports an incredible amount of languages — currently 61 in audio and text and 21 in text only, including some surprising choices like Marathi, Sundanese and Esperanto. Through software updates, this number continues to expand, along with other upgrades. If you’re packing for a trip to two or more foreign countries, putting it in your pocket seems like a no-brainer.
It can translate voice chats, as well as text photos.
Photo: PocketalkThat is, of course, unless you just use a mobile app on your phone to do the job. More and more apps can translate voice to limited speech, but they will cost you an annual subscription fee of around $40 per year. In addition, you will need to arrange international cellular service to use them. None of the apps available seem to have the same range of language support as Pocketalk offers, but they should be fine for two weeks in mainstream Asia.
Given the alternatives, the $299 price tag for the Pocketalk Plus is in great demand—and after two years, you’ll have to earn an extra $50 per year to renew the SIM card. It’s a tough economic proposition, especially as application-based translators improve, although the Pocketalk device’s convenience, simplicity, and language breadth are certainly big pluses.
I guess talking isn’t cheap.
