Free Translator - Review

By: Free Translator Version # : 1 Date Released: 10/15/2008 Type: Travel  Price: $0.00 Our Rating User Rating: Average: Select ratingPoorOkayGoodGreatAwesome Your rating: None Average: 2.8 (5 votes)   Get App From App Store

This application is a good example of a developer taking time to create a nice front-end interface for a web application. In this case, the web application is Google's Translation service. Free translator, this application, gives a nice, simple, easy to use iPhone and iPod Touch interface that takes advantage of the power of Google’s servers.

Using the application is simple.

You first select a  source language, that is the language that you’re going to be writing in, from a list of more than 20 different languages. You then select a target language from one of the remaining languages on the list. The app then opens a window that looks like a familiar text message window into which you type the message to be translated. You then have the option to either "Clear" the message and start over or "Translate" and within seconds your text has been translated into the target language you selected a few moments prior.

The application then invites you to send an e-mail if you so choose.

This is an incredibly convenient way to send an e-mail in a language other than your native tongue from your iPhone or iPod touch. Of course Google’s automated servers, while quite impressive, are not going to be as precise or nuanced as you would be if you knew the language.  Then again, if you did, you wouldn't be needing this after the first place. Moreover, it appears that when going from a language such as English, which goes from left to right, to language such as Hebrew, which goes right to left, the sentence order is reversed so that the first sentence is at the bottom of the page and the next sentence above it. Despite these caveats, however, it certainly is a convenient, albeit  imperfect, way to communicate.

There is, of course, a downside to this. Because it takes advantage of Google’s translation service, this app requires an active data connection. To my mind that’s a small price to pay for the convenience of this application which I wholeheartedly recommend.

Quick Take

Value:  Very high as a free download that is easy to use
Would I Buy Again:   absolutely
Learning Curve:  zero
Who is it for:   anyone who needs to send an e-mail in anything other than his or her native tongue
What I like:   free, easy-to-use, works quite well
What I Don’t:    what would really be amazing would be if such power were able to actually be resident on the device itself

Final Statement:  this is a great application for anyone who needs to translate pieces of text.