Whether you are traveling for business or taking a personal vacation, language barriers can be an issue. If you are looking for a simple mobile solution for being able to translate speech and text on the go then this one will certainly help you if you're in another country.

One of the things we look for of course, with an application of this nature is usability. If I'm out of town, I don't want to be fidgeting or going through unnecessary clicks or menus. I'm happy to report that the interface, while uncomplicated, doesn't have a steep learning curve and gets the job done when you need it to. The layout allows users to not only translate from over fifty languages, either by inputting text, speaking the phrase, or scanning an image, but lets them choose which search engine to use. 

A benefit of the speech to text capability is that, in addition to recording yourself, you may record others as well including short phrases that may be difficult to understand. I find the software is able to recognize most words and patterns without any difficulty even with my New York accent. One of the features I find valuable is how you can export the speech files to your music folder as an mp3.

In the space provided, users can input their text, choose from one of the search engines shown, and then see the result displayed in the box below. Once it is shown, you can tap on dictionary and it will provide a definition using an online search or provide further context. For example, in my video above I had it translate "Hi, how are you." By tapping on that option, relevant searches the web (with sourcing) or exact definitions with uses and syllables are shown including proper pronunciation. Also, results can be shared or bookmarked for vewing later by tapping on the option in the overflow menu.

In addition, for those wishing to understand text (i.e. Magazines, newspapers, signs, etc.), for an in-app purchase of $2.99 USD there is an OCR function which scans images and translates into your native language. However you only receive one hundred counts, or scans for that purhcase. It also allows for scanned images from your existing media library to be used as well.

If you don't want the hassle of carrying around a phrase book be sure to give this a try. It is free to download and available for all BlackBerry 10 handsets. 

More information/download Translator for BlackBerry 10

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