Google Translate Review

Cost/Platforms: Free for Apple and Android devices. A free translator in your pocket.

Overall Rating:
Multiplatform:
Lots of function for nothing:
Fun and easy to use:
Solves a travel need or challenge:

A free translator in your pocket

Why we like it – This app lets you push a button and speak a query. From there, it will either display the translated phrase in more than 50 languages, or, for 23 of the world’s most popular languages, the app will actually speak the translation back to you. With a new Android-only feature, for English-Spanish conversations, users speak into the phone in their native tongue, and the device speaks the translation.

Google Translate is good for vacations where you’ll only occasionally need a translator and situations requiring only a simple translation. (More expensive apps exist for critical, and more continuous, translation needs.) It’s also fun to play around with and a good language tool for kids.


Improvements we’d like to see – The app’s computerized voice is sometimes hard to understand, but the big drawback is the app’s reliance on a network connection. If you’re in a foreign land without an inexpensive data plan, each translation could prove costly.

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