In our experience, about the only thing
Google Goggles is good for is telling you that your can of Coke looks like someone's face, but the company's just-released version 1.1 sounds like it might be on a whole new level of awesomeness. Basically, Goggles can now recognize text within the "region of interest" that you specify on the screen then give you the option to translate it to any language of your choosing. Between this and Google's already quite good Translate app, Android devices are getting dangerously close to letting monoglots (thanks for the great word, Google) travel safely and effectively in foreign lands. Other improvements in Goggles 1.1 include better barcode and image recognition (thank goodness), an improved UI, and the ability to initiate identification from your gallery, so it sounds like a must-download if you've got a phone running
Android 1.6 or better. It's available now.
posted May 6th 2010 11:43AM
Google is usually pretty good at supporting and building upon their existing software to make it better and more useful. Things like Android, Gmail and Google voice just keep getting better with time. Keep up the good work Google.
@Proverb
Would come in handy if you see a sign like this in german...
"Sie sind dabei, auf eine Landmine Schritt"
@who said what That would be handy.
@JimJam707
Gave it a go...
"you are about to step on a landmine"
I love my Desire!
@Proverb
Except when they decide it isn't useful, like Google Notebook.
I just wish they would still update it.
@Proverb Google Voice is cool, but I still can't set the number of rings before giving up which seems to me to be an obvious feature. This is important because when I have my work number set as one of the phones to ring, my work voice mail picks up before GV gives up and GV thinks somebody answered. Unfortunately there's no way for me to set a number of rings to answer on my work voicemail and there is nothing I can do about that. GV ought to let me set the number of rings before giving up, and I should be able to set different numbers of rings for different numbers, but hell, I'll just take one global setting. It'd be better then nothing.
@Proverb The Nokia N900 has had this for a while. It's an app called phototranslator http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adPdZzMlm3M
It better be able to translate to Huttese
Or the Goggles have failed me for the last time
@Lord Vader dude you make me laugh on every post you make. Thanks.
THE GOGGLES!! THEY DO SOMETHING!!
@zeal well done.
@zeal
Yup, wait till they block UV rays too.
@zeal
That was awesome.
Oh, my god. Can it do braille?
@Khalid Shahin That would be
Awesome
@Khalid Shahin
Can't read your comment.
Oh boy, I crack me up.
@Khalid Shahin
Imagine if it could do Braille, Morse Code and ASL (American Sign Language).
@Khalid Shahin is that for the blind? Wouldn't they be better off just reading the braille themselves? Maybe you're just curious what those things say on ATMs, though. I suspect they aren' t too exciting.
@crunc - the braille sign on ATMs in a drive-through SHOULD say, "You're standing in the drive-through!"
Just gave it a try on Le Monde...flipping bloody marvellous.
@Tes Don't have an Android phone but does it work with a lot of text ? Seems like it messes up sometimes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90SeBaJokiw
@JudgeDredd: They should allow you to take the picture then crop out the desired area.
That leaves my Sprint Hero out. SPRINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ಠ_ಠ
@One Love
I have been rooted and running a Fresh rom for a couple of months. In anticipation and holding out for the EVO, but feeling left out, I just installed the new, stable 2.0d Fresh rom and the FIRST thing I searched for and installed was Google Goggles. Do it, my friend - it's worth it.
@One Love
Root.
@One Love
Yep, rooting is the way to go. There's even any autorooter, and as long as you make a Nandroid backup before flashing any roms, it's pretty hard to mess up your phone.
Thanks, I will try this weekend (...but I shouldn't have to)
not very accurate just tried it there...keeps picking up I as / etc
How about stylized kanji?
Omelet DU fromage!
@TheAmazingWJV
Omelet DU fromage?
Omelet DU fromage.
Omelet DU fromage!
@TheAmazingWJV
Dexter, is that you?
@RogueGenius
Omelet DU fromage! :)
HTC Hero, UPDATE TO 2.1 ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is neat, but this is only useful if you have a data plan in said foreign country.
Buying prepaid minutes for many places is easy for just talk and text. Is it the same for data?
@thebuilder
+ public wifi hotspots
I see Google having some of the best apps available on a smartphone - question is whether they'll allow other devices to share the technology or not
I like this idea, but I will say it is not original. http://verticalgambit.wordpress.com/2009/09/25/translator-app/
@VerticalGambit : Except… this isn't “an idea” but a functioning implementation. There is a big difference ;)
@Picklesworth touche lol
I will say that it is literally the exact same thing as I imagined in my post 9 months ago. Kinda spooky.
this is so freaky. I am in Jakarta this week and just this morning I was using the google translator on my Desire'd Nexus One to translate some Bahasa to English and while i was typing in the text, I was thinking that they need to support Goggles to OCR the text and pass it off to the translator...... :-|
I guess all the Google haters are right. Google indeed is tracking all my thoughts......
gotta think some more...
- free wifi calling over google voice
- kindle app (i know its amazon's fault, but google can lean on them... hush I am thinking!)
- apps2SD (out of the box)
- better voice control for navigation (hate that I have to select OK after it successfully recognizes my voice - need a more unified handsfree experience so I can text when driving! )
overall though, all fanboyisms aside (i am an equal opportunity gadget lover - N1, HD2, 3GS), I am happy that Google is pushing the envelope in adding useful features.
I hope Google will bring Googles (1.1) to the iPhone, as it sounds pretty cool.
@crunc lol given how apple has been treating google lately they'll likely say if google does make it an app to submit to them, that this app duplicates a function already on the iphone... or in according to steve the way they do it sux or they blew it somewhere along the way (I'm not an apple hater but it seems to me like Mr. Jobs bashes every new product regardless of whether it is good or not, the hell happened to friendly comp)
meh, still pretty useless to me. learn to read chinese or japanese. then we'll talk.
There's one big problem with this: It would be most useful when abroad, but international roaming data charges are so obscene that you're probably better off sticking with a bilingual dictionary. Boo.
Android:
Getting better every day
Google Goggles sees:
Face of Jesus on soda can.
I love my HTC Incredible :) I was so sick of my 3G!
Why is there no option to *speak* the OCR result or the subsequent translation? Text-to-speech is available on Android.