Google Goggles, the search giant’s alarmingly intelligent Android app, has just got smarter. Google demonstrated Google Googles translation features back at MWC 2010 in February but back then it was restricted to German and English. It’s now learned a whole heap of new languages.
The updated Google Goggles app uses optical character recognition tech to scan text in a photo and offer up a translation. You simply open up Google Googles, point your phone at the word or phrase you want to translate and select the region you’re interested in. Goggles will chunter away and fire out the phrase in the language of your choosing.
After flicking through the same big stack of dictionaries it uses for Google Translate, Google has added support for English, French, Italian, German and Spanish to Google Googles. Slightly trickier non-latin languages including Chinese, Hindi and Arabic are promised soon which will come in handy if you’re lost in downtown Shangai or just baffled by the takeaway menu.
As well as perking up Google Goggles translation smarts, Google has overhauled the user interface and added improved barcode recognition. There’s also a beefed up database of artwork, products and logos so Google Goggles will recognise more objects.
Google Goggles is in the Android Market now and will work on any phone with Android 1.6 or over.
Out now | £free | Google Goggles
