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Bing’s iOS apps get a facelift, translate extension now available on iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

Microsoft's mobile Bing apps for the iPhone and iPad are getting a major makeover today, with the translate extension that debuted in the iPhone app two months ago at last available on iPads.

On the iPhone, you can now tap anywhere underneath the search box to check out Bing's image of the day in uncluttered full-screen view. You can also swipe from the left to see yesterday’s image of the day.

Another handy addition: weather information, trending news and images of the day zoom to full screen smoothly when swiping from the bottom of Bing's Home screen.

Certify your English proficiency using Duolingo Test Center for iOS

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 30, 2018

The language certification industry commands some surprisingly insane fees so how about fair language certification for all?

Your prayers have been heard: the free learning platform Duolingo on Friday released an iOS app which allows anyone to certify their English proficiency right on their iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

Not only can Duolingo Test Center certify your language skills right on an iOS device, but does so at a significant lower price, too.

And because there's no need to travel long distances to examination facilities available only in select major cities, you can get certified in the comfort of your home, in under half an hour.

Slated keyboard for iOS 8 translates text in real time

Cody Lee ∙ November 6, 2014

The folks at Gist have added a new third party iOS 8 keyboard for your consideration, called Slated. Admittedly, this area is starting to become crowded, but unlike the other offerings that aim to add colors or new input methods to your keyboard, it has a more serious task.

Slated has the ability to translate what you type into more than 80 languages, in real time. Simply pick a language, start typing, and watch the evolving translation appear below the text entry field. It also translates backwards, so you can participate in complete conversations.

Microsoft starts signing up early adopters for Skype Translator early preview

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 3, 2014

Windows giant Microsoft, which owns the popular VoIP platform Skype, on Monday announced it's started taking sign-ups for an early preview of Skype Translator, an awesome real-time voice translation feature coming to Skype that was shown off at Recode’s Code Conference back in May 2014.

The Redmond headquartered software giant said that it's started accepting submissions for a Skype Translator Early Preview, which will be released later this year, via a sign-up page.

Microsoft updates Bing Search app with translation widget in Safari and Notification Center

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 23, 2014

First demoed at WWDC 2014 back in June, Microsoft's Bing translation widget and custom actions for Safari and the Notification Center in iOS 8 is now available by way of an update to the free Bing Search app for the iPhone and iPod touch devices. Available free of charge in the App Store, the new Bing Search 5.0.1 also contains bug fixes.

As shown on the screenshots top of post, enabling the Bing Search Translation action in Safari requires that you bring up the Share sheet in Safari.

Yelp app updated with new Bing Translator feature for foreign reviews

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 18, 2018

Yelp announced a new feature for its mobile app this week called 'automated review translation.' The feature will allow users to translate foreign language reviews with the tap of a button, making it the perfect companion for folks traveling abroad.

Reviews are translated using Microsoft's 'Bing Translator' tech, and can be done one at a time, or as a group. Yelp says that the feature works for all 15 of its officially supported languages, which includes German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, and French...

Sonico launches iTranslate for Mac with voice output, dictionaries, 80+ languages and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 10, 2014

German developer Sonico Mobile makes some fairly nice translation apps for the iPhone. Their excellent iTranslate app, available free for the iPhone and iPad, allows you to translate words and text into over 80 languages.

It supports voice input and output for most language pairs, which works much better than you'd think in terms of dialects, gender, speaking rate and other variables affecting translation accuracy.

Sonico is now bringing that same experience to your Mac with the launch of the native iTranslate for Mac app, a free download from the Mac App Store. With over 80 languages supported out of the box and features like voice output, fast text input, romanization and built-in dictionaries, Sonico's software enables the App Store's most popular translator tool on your Mac...

Microsoft demos real-time voice translation feature for Skype

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 2, 2017

Last night at Recode's inaugural Code Conference, Microsoft announced a new real-time voice translation feature for its Skype VoIP service. The company says it's currently in beta form, but it plans to eventually roll it out to all devices.

The goal of the feature is to allow users to hold a conversation with someone speaking a foreign language, with Skype providing near-instant voice translations for both parties. And judging by the initial demonstration, it works fairly well...

Google buys visual translation app Word Lens

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2018

Google has just purchased Quest Visual for an undisclosed price. The startup is behind the innovative Word Lens application which Apple recently highlighted in its 'Powerful' Phone 5s ad. The deal was confirmed in the startup's blog post.

The team has decided to make both the Word Lens app and the additional language packs free to download for a limited time, "while we transition to Google". If you haven't tried out Word Lens yet, you should do so right now, while it's still available.

The remarkable software taps Quest Visual's technology to detect text in a live video feed coming from your iPhone's camera. It then replaces foreign language words and sentences with an appropriate translation - matching fonts and graphics, in real time!

Metaphrase: a quick way to translate text in iOS

Jeff Benjamin ∙ March 18, 2014

Metaphrase is a recently released tweak that lets you translate text on the fly within any application in iOS. The release, which works as an add-on to Ryan Petrich's popular ActionMenu tweak, lets you select text from the copy and paste menu to easily translate words from one language to another.

There are dozens of languages available to use in Metaphrase, and you can choose to have it translate words and phrases using the system language established in iOS' settings. For a video look into how Metaphrase works, check out our full walkthrough inside.

Google Translate updated with iOS 7 keyboard, support for more languages

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 24, 2016

Google posted an update for its popular Translate iOS client today, bringing the app to version 2.1. The update includes various UI improvements, including the new iOS 7 keyboard and status bar, as well as support for new languages.

The new keyboard is great, as it brings the app in line with other iOS 7 apps, and the same goes for the transparent status bar. And as for the additional handwriting languages support, it includes Arabic, Hebrew, Maltese, and more...

Facebook acquires speech recognition firm Mobile Technologies

Cody Lee ∙ Updated January 23, 2018

Facebook has announced this afternoon that it has acquired Mobile Technologies, a private company that develops speech recognition and machine translation technology. The move reiterates the social network's commitment to its mobile strategy.

Honestly, I hadn't heard of the company before today. But some quick digging shows that Mobile Technologies is behind the popular Jibbigo translation app, which the developers claim is the "world’s first" online/offline speech-to-speech translator...