Google announced a serious update to their Google Translate app for both iOS and Android. The iOS app adds a lot more functionality, while the Android app has many improvements to functionality.
(1) Instant Translation via Camera Lens: Just point your Google Translate App camera at a sign and Google will, in real time, translate the sign. Google said this works for translation from English to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. They hope to bring it to many more languages in the future.
Here is an animated GIF in it in action:
(2) Real-Time Conversations Translation: It is brand new for iOS users, but now upgraded and easier for Android users. Just talk your language, it will translate to another language and listen back in that other language and translate back to your language. Google said, "starting today, simply tap the mic to start speaking in a selected language, then tap the mic again, and the Google Translate app will automatically recognize which of the two languages are being spoken, letting you have a more fluid conversation."
Very exciting and very cool!
Forum discussion at Google+.
