Worldictionary – Instant Translation & Search – Review
By App Type: Uncategorized
Our rating: 
By: Penpower Technology Ltd.
Version #: 2.1.0
Date Released: 2011-04-08
Developer:
Price: 4.99
User Rating:
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I’ve reviewed language translation programs for the iPhone before. The trick with them is the OCR technology in using the iPhone camera doesn’t quite translate perfectly on the fly, but it’s getting better.
Unlike Word Lens, the previous program I reviewed, Worldictionary doesn’t keep it’s word database locally. A network connection of some sort is required for translation. This could be an issue if you travel internationally a lot and don’t have an iPhone that works globally. You would need a WiFi connection to translate.
On the other hand, Worldictionary includes many, many more languages for the same price. Even languages with non-Western alphabets like Chinese and Hebrew are included.
In testing, the program seemed to work by throwing words with similar spellings into the real-time translator on the screen’s lower right and allows you to select the word you’re actually looking at. From there, it gives the definition and uses in a sentence in the target language. Keep in mind that any stylized letters will not translate. However, the app does include the capability of typing in the word you want to translate (which can also be done with the free app Google Translate).
The app can also snap a picture of a word or sign for later translation and has access to sites such as Google, Wikipedia and YouTube for research. As a note, the app only works on the iPhone and not the iPad or iPod touch. The more sophisticated camera of the iPhone has a superior auto-focus which the app requires to work.
The app has several other features all of which are covered in the excellent help section. Overall, it’s worth the five dollar investment if trapped in a strange land.
Quick Take
Value:High.
Would I Buy Again:Most likely.
Learning Curve:Low to medium.
Who Is It For:World travellers and those that want to increase their foreign vocabulary.
What I Like:Simple to use. Good functionality for the price.
What I Don't Like:Requires network connection. Translation mechanism could use some work.
Final Statement:For those that travel, this app could very well be indespensible.
1. The instant “View and Translate” feature allows you to get instant translation simply by pointing your iPhone’s camera at a word you want to look up.
2. Worldictionary recognizes and translates between 21 languages, ranging from: Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, French, Germany, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Norwegian, Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Czech, Slovak, and Romanian. No need to type any words to look it up!
3. To proceed with looking up additional words or knowing more about the usage of particular words, you can first snap a picture of the text and then point the word you want to look up in focus one by one.
4. Optionally, you can select an image from your iPhone to get the translation immediately without typing words in.
5. Worldictionary automatically saves your search records. You can even build your own word database to increase translation efficiency.
6. Additionally provides anti-shake function to get better image quality.
Please Note: Network connection is required.
7. Provide Google/Wikipedia/YouTube Search
8. Provide the translation of two adjacent words
What's new
V2.1.0 update:
- Provide the translation of two adjacent words
- Predict words as you type.
- Add Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Czech, Slovak, and Romanian language recognition.
- Fixed bug
V2.0.0 update:
- Provide Google/Wikipedia/YouTube Search
- Enhance the Japanese translation.
- Add Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Norwegian language recognition.
- Add Japanese and Korean UI and Manual
- Fixed bug
