For all 900-series translators:

There is an effect that mimics speech to speech under very specific conditions. It's very useful, but it's not the same as speaking in and getting a translation out.

One incredibly impressive use for speech recognition is in the Language Teacher program, so let's look at that and then we'll move on to speech recognition and translation.

Speech Recognition in Language Teacher

The 900 series uses speech recognition in very clever, useful ways in its Language Teacher program.

For example, you are in Language Teacher learning words in the other language. It will show you the word and pronounce it. You then pronounce the word yourself. Language Teacher will grade your pronunciation, telling you things like, "Try again,' "Not quite," "Not bad," or "Excellent." You'll see a graphical comparison, as well. Way, way cool.

But that's not all. After you learn a few words, you'll be presented with an image. Above it will be the words you just learned. Now you have to pronounce the word that describes the image. And this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg in describing what the 900 series does with speech recognition.

Speech Recognition for Translating

You may have seen a demonstration like the one in this 8-minute video and gotten the impression that the device does "speech to speech" translation. That wasn't the message in that video. What it shows is the ability to look up phrases via voice input. The device was the iTravl, and the 900 series does the same thing.

In short, there is no such thing as a "voice to voice" or "speech to speech" translator on the market. The technology for such a thing in a pocket-sized device that doesn't run on a pair of car batteries or super-long extension cord just doesn't exist.

So, why are people talking into these devices in the videos and live demonstrations? Well, we have sold these devices to police officers, social workers, and others who have taken the time to become familiar with the phrasebook and have a fair idea of what's in it. They can just say the phrase they want and the device will pull up the translation.

It doesn't take long to have this ability, primarily because of how the phrases are organized. You can look through the corresponding phrasebook section before going out with a device in a particular situation (e.g. to the bank). Knowing the kind of phrases (e.g. "Where is the nearest bank?") will allow you to say the ones that are in the device.

To many people, this is "speech-to-speech translation." But, technically, it's not. It's using the audio phrasebook feature (provided by Ectaco pocket translators, such as the 900 series) to use pre-translated speech for specific situations. The kicker here is you have 14,000 phrases covering a wide range of typical situations.

The situations include  Basics, Traveling, Hotel, Local Transport, Sightseeing, Bank, Communication Means, In the Restaurant, Food/Drinks, Shopping, Repairs/Laundry, Sport/Leisure, Health/Drugstore, and Beauty Care.

If we're talking about being able to pull up canned phrases that fit specific situations, then, yes, there is "speech to speech translation." But it isn't simply talking into the device and then whatever you said gets translated.

Translation is a complex endeavor, and doing it on the fly in a portable machine is beyond current capabilities. There are many reasons for this, and to understand them you merely have to be present when a human interpreter goes back and forth between two parties. Now imagine that with a machine that can't make eye contact with people and two or three people talking at the same time.
 

Voice output for Text Translation

You don't have to study foreign language grammar, conjugate verbs or search for coherent words anymore. Now you can just type any sentence or full text in a handheld device and get its translation instantly. From English to Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish languages and back to English! (Those are the available languages with that feature).

Moreover, by pressing one button, you can hear the translated text pronounced aloud correctly in the targeted language (with the text to speech synthesized voice).  

Fact #1: You cannot simply speak free-form into a translator and have a translation come out. That's not how it works. You first navigate to the general category (easy to do), and then speak a phrase that is in that category.

Fact #2: Speech recognition is not appropriate for high noise environments, because the background noise will create problems. It works just fine in environments where the background noise doesn't require a person to speak loudly to be heard (meaning a non-earplug zone, if you're talking about a factory). If you can understand that before buying one of these devices, then you will be a very happy owner.

Yes, it sounds like we're underselling this feature. In a sense, we are. The point here is to let you know not to assume the device does on the fly translation or will always do a perfect job of speech-based lookup. It has to contend with all kinds of nuances, such as diction errors, background noise, varying rates of speech and pitch, accents, and other obstacles. It does this well, but not perfectly.

Counterclaim: "But I saw this demonstrated! A guy spoke into the device and got the translation out." No, what you saw was not speech to speech translation. What you saw was a use of the phrasebook lookup function. That person doing the demonstration knew exactly what phrases to say. As noted, this feature works well for many situations. But it is not a "free form" translation on the fly. Perspective: Before these electronic devices were available, people used paper pocket dictionaries  (successfully, for decades). These typically had a couple hundred words and a few dozen phrases. The electronic ones were doing 20,000 words and 2,000 phrases about a decade ago. The current generation of devices have, in many cases, over 1 million words in some language pairs (as with Spanish). They all have 14,000 phrases per language. So, a lot less gesturing and a lot more actual communication with a lot less frustration.

To do free-form speech to speech translation would require an entirely new design philosophy, plus computing power surpassing what you have on your desktop. You'd need to carry around an enormous battery (it would weigh more than your entire family) or a very, very long extension cord. Thus, all pocket devices use the table model described previously. They are far more capable than their paper predecessors, and people used those paper ones successfully for many decades.

The average American owns a passenger car that won't do the quarter mile in 10 seconds and can't hit 200 MPH. As much as we admire those supercars and would like the speed, the cars we have get us where we're going and are much better than walking when we need to go far. Plus, they cost about a tenth of what a super car costs to purchase and are far less of a headache and expense to own and maintain. The same logic applies to an electronic translation device.

Voice output

Most translation devices today have voice output. This feature is normally redundant for communication, because the other person is reading the translation on the screen anyhow. But proves useful in many situations.

Many people assume the presence of voice output with speech input means all you have to do is talk into the device and out comes a perfect translation. Then the other person talks into the device. But this assumption is wrong.

You can use voice output for purposes such as:

• When you want minimal distractions with the screen.
• When you don't want to hand the other person your device.
• When the sunlight or other conditions make the screen hard to read.
• You want to learn pronunciation (use the headset or earbuds).

Of course, you would not want to use the voice output when, for example,

• You want privacy.
• It's too noisy to hear clearly.
• You are both using the screen anyhow.

• Overview.
• Details.
• Translation tools.
• Speech recognition and voice.
• Language learning (you will be impressed),
• Answer to the #1 question about translators.
• Features this device does not have

You will find translator industry jargon defined in our glossary. The last thing we want is poor communication!

Mindconnection is an authorized factory dealer. We sell brand-new translators with a full one-year warranty. We don't try to pawn off stolen,  counterfeit, or broken merchandise as new. Get the real thing, get great service before and after the sale. Buy from Mindconnection.

• Comes complete. You don't need to buy anything extra to use it. But if you travel outside the USA, you need some means of using your USA-style plug in a local receptacle. That's why we offer the AC Travel Kit.
• Follows standards. The controls of the 900 are instantly familiar to anyone who uses digital devices. You don't have to learn a proprietary system.
• You will enjoy it for many years. Customers sometimes ask if our prices are low because something newer is coming out. No, our prices are low because, for example, we don't hype up products and our ultra low return rate reduces our overhead. You will be a happy 900-series translator owner for years to come, if you buy one today (or tomorrow, but today is better).
• Has electronic manual onboard. It's easy to access, well-organized, and easy to use. You don't have to drag a paper manual around. Actually, the 900-series is so intuitive you don't need a manual.

• The 900-series translator, at 5.1 x 3.5 x 0.73 in, is a bit bigger than an iPod (4.1 x 2.4 x 0.43 in). So, it's not teeny but it is smaller than some PDAs. It weighs only 7.5 ounces, which is much lighter than many PDAs. GPS devices, and other mobile devices.
• The software for a language set comes on an SD card. This card determines what you have. For example, a French 900 becomes a Russian 900 when you insert the Russian SD card. This opens many possibilities for the 900-series owner.

Click Image to Enlarge

Click Image to Enlarge

Visibility, ease of use

• Hi-resolution backlit color screen. Oddly enough, Ectaco engineers felt that being able to actually see what's on the screen without the use of an electron microscope might appeal to some customers (what crazy guys, huh?). This kind of screen is the best available today.
• Color-coded parts of speech. Allows you to quickly select the right word(s).

Graphics

The 900 uses graphics to make operation simple and efficient. Examples:

• Tap the battery indicator to toggle between a pictorial representation and a percentage display.
• Tap the language indicator, and you instantly switch between languages.
• Tap the keyboard icon, and a virtual keyboard opens (a standard function for mobile devices).

Power

• Auto Off function will shut off translator when idle (adjustable from 3 minutes to 15).
• Powered by rechargeable battery (included), which is charged by an AC adapter (included). The charge on your battery should last all day. The battery itself should last two to three years.

Battery life

• Over the years, we have tested Ectaco translators extensively and found they have consistently long run times.
• One test consists of leaving the iTravl (a different device with a smaller battery than the one in the 900) play the 3 hour, 8 second Paris Versailles audio book with screen set to 80% and Power Off set to Never. After six hours, the iTravl still hasn't drained the battery.
• The people making battery complaints on various forums failed to properly charge the battery.
• We have yet to find a "bad battery" issue that isn't corrected by proper charging.

Battery charging info

• The iTravl battery (as noted above) is a 900 mAH battery with a 300mA charger. Battery charging isn't linear, so it's not 3 hours (3 x 300mAH) to charge it up. It takes about 6 hours.
• The 900 series is a 1700 mAH battery with a 400 mA charger. Battery charging isn't linear, so you don't divide 1700 by 4 to get 4.25 hours to charge it up. It takes about 6.5 hours.

Answer: Such a device does not exist. Our sticking to the facts on this issue causes us sometimes to lose sales to a competitor that is selling the same device but is apparently not very familiar with it. Maybe about the time the Enterprise makes its first stop at Planet Vulcan, such functionality will exist in a pocket sized device, and it won't cost more than, say, a median home in Boston.

Just to provide the electric power for the required processor resources means you'd need to haul around a battery that weighs more than your entire family, or you'd need a very, very long extension cord. For a more detailed answer, click here.

Why, then, are there so many claims that such a device exists? Because of a feature called speech recognition. This does allow you to speak into the device and get a translation, but you have to speak an exact phrase that is already in the device. An apple isn't an orange, even if they have some similarities.

A: "Fast and accurate" is relative. For machine translators, the 900 is fast and accurate. Compared to Star Trek or television science fiction, it's not. It's fast, because you are using a touchscreen. It's accurate when using the dictionary or phrasebook, because that is a matter of matching items in a table and that's not computed but pre-programmed. When using the Full Text Translation (type your own sentences) feature, you get transliteration with some rules of syntax applied. The other person understands you, but may chuckle at the exact rendering.

2. For "general communication," do you feel your translator is indeed user friendly, and simple to use/master?

A: If you are familiar with digital devices, yes. The typical device user can use it immediately, without touching the manual. It's a touchscreen device. You tap on "Translate" (seems obvious) and then "Phrasebook" to get to the phrasebook. But if you don't know an icon from a stylus, then you will have to learn some basics. We have a free tutorial article to help you do just that.

3. I wouldn't want to pay hundreds of dollars for a device that was difficult and time consuming to use, and had a big learning curve. What's the learning curve on this?

A: We wouldn't want you to pay a single penny for such a device. To device users, the 900 has zero learning curve until you get off the beaten path a bit to use some of the unusual functions (such as preprogramming it with your own special voice phrases). Even then, it's intuitive enough that things aren't hard to figure out.

If a cell phone isn't a challenge, then neither will this be. If you're not a gadget person or you panic when you see something that has a screen, then you should stick with a paper pocket dictionary.

4. Does your translator use rechargeable batteries?

A: All touchscreen devices use rechargeable batteries.

5. How long could one expect the batteries to last, during continuous use, on average?

A: The battery is sized to last for a normal day of use, on the theory it will be charged at night. So, off and on use throughout the day, and it should last all day. But that's like a cell phone or anything else in that regard. The battery used in this device does accept partial charges (as does the one in a cell phone).

6. Will it do my taxes for me?

A: No. Sorry about that.

Mindconnection is an authorized factory dealer. We sell brand-new translators with a full one-year warranty. We don't try to pawn off stolen,  counterfeit, or broken merchandise as new. Get the real thing, get great service before and after the sale. Buy from Mindconnection.

What makes it "Deluxe?"

How scanning works

• Word or line at at time. It's a pen scanner. What activates the scanning is the pressure of the tip against the surface being scanned. Set the pen down to start the scan, lift it to stop the scan. This means you scan a word or line at a time.
• Not in real time. Scanning is one operation. OCR is the next operation. Then translation. These have to happen in that sequence, which means it takes a few seconds to get a translation.
• Displays to screen. The iTravl Deluxe is specially modified at the hardware level and the firmware level to work with the scanning pen that is specially modified for the iTravl Deluxe. It's not a PC peripheral. The point of the scanning feature is to optically get text input to the iTravl device and translate that text.