We've already seen the idea of data-to-voice translation passed around, but NEC's latest software is far beyond the drawing board. Reportedly, the firm has developed a system that can understand around 50,000 Japanese words and translate them to English text on the mobile's display in just a second or two. The software was made compact enough to "operate on a small microchip mounted in a cellphone," and was designed especially to help users convert common travel phrases. Notably, it would be technically possible to make the English translation vocal, but according to NEC spokesman Mitsumasa Fukumoto, the firm isn't looking into that possibility at the moment. No word on when we'd see this technology hit the masses, nor if any other language combinations were in the works, but this would certainly make touring English-speaking locales a lot less strenuous for Japanese speakers.

[Via Physorg]

While it's not like we expect e-dictionaries to hop on the fast track of upgrades or anything, it's been way too long since Sharp's flagship Papyrus received any attention, but the day has finally come for a successor to take over. The PW-TC920 picks right up with a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 resolution touchscreen, QWERTY keyboard, handwriting recognition pad, SD flash card slot, internal handwriting translation ability, and is offered in both red and black color schemes. The real kicker, however, is the 1Seg TV tuner that allows you to kick back and enjoy a television show in between study sessions, and the headphone out jack ensures that the crowd around you won't become annoyed with your antics. Unfortunately, there's no word yet surrounding a future price or release date, but hey, school's out for the most of us anyway, right?

[Via Electronista]

Back when we were students, the only things our dictionaries could do were weigh down our backpacks and act as a home base during kickball. It's no secret that, like everything else, the Japanese have had better study aid options. Now not one, but three manufacturers announced new additions to their respective mega-dictionary handhelds: Seiko in conjunction with Franklin, and Canon. First up is Seiko's and Franklin's SII by Franklin DB-J990 which defies category conventions and opts for a slider design reminiscent of the Vaio UX rather than the usual clamshell. In addition to MP3 audio playback and support for common eBook formats, RSS, Word, and Powerpoint, it contains ten dictionaries, including The Princeton Review's "Cracking the TOEIC" test preparation, and boasts full PC connectivity, allowing users to access and manipulate all the information on their handheld from their computer (for instance, annotating words you're having difficulty with). Not to be outdone, Canon is offering a pair of dictionaries which also have MP3 playback: the Wordtank V300 ($471) and the Wordtank M300 ($386). Both devices have 38 reference guides in five subject areas, some with text-to-speech ensuring proper pronunciations. There is also a built-in voice recorder, so you can compare your articulation against the device's. The only differing factor between the two Wordtanks are in screen size and battery life: the V300 donning a 4.9-inch screen with 80 hours to the charge, versus the M300's 3.78-inch screen and 107 hours of life. Both Wordtanks should be available in Japan come February 2, and the DB-J990, which will retail for $295, will also be available in next month. For those not turned off by the usual not-for-the-U.S. disclaimer, you can peep pics of Canon's devices are after the break.

[Via Akihabara News]

Read - SII by Franklin DB-J990
Read - Canon Wordtank M300
Read - Canon Wordtank V300

As international jet-setters, we're always looking for tools that make it a little easier to hit on women discuss the latest gadgets with our foreign friends and colleagues. Usually we employ an electronic, translating dictionary for this task, but we always end up sounding like idiots as we futilely attempt to pronounce those crazy words they use in other languages. Well luckily for us, Franklin has just introduced a pocket translator that will put an end to our pathetic gibberish, as the new TGA-490 is actually able to speak aloud over 450,000 words and 12,000 phrases. What's more, you can forget about the old school machine-speak from back in the OK Computer days -- Franklin's device spits out human-sounding words recorded by real humans. All your favorite languages are supported here -- including Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean -- and you can translate back and forth among any of them, not just with English. Other nice touches include an MP3 player (of course), currency converter, world clock, alarm, and the ever-present voice recorder. No word yet on price or release, but when you begin to notice an uptick in the quality of our foreign-sourced posts, you'll know that the 490 has indeed hit store shelves.

While we English speaking folk may prefer our pocket translators to start in English and convert to some other foreign tongue, Casio's latest rendition helps those fluent in Japanese order tickets to the Space Needle, haggle at the Chevrolet dealership, and of course, pick up the correct ingredients for warm apple pie. Aimed at middle / high school students, the XD-SW4800 lineup of handheld dictionaries reportedly house the denotation and correct pronunciation for over "85,000 languages," which ironically enough, probably translates to "85,000 words" when not read through a broken translator. Nevertheless, these handy gizmos come in a variety of colors, and aside from supporting keyboard input, it can recognize stylus-written characters and toss back definitions while pronouncing the word to you via headphones. If America isn't your final destination, it also comes with five other major languages on CD that can be loaded on the 50MB of internal space or on your SD card if necessary, and while these things won't last forever, the approximate 60 to 130 hours of battery life should be more than enough to get you acclimated. So while you're waiting for your passport to show up, make sure you pick up Casio's latest travel necessity -- if you can manage the admittedly steep ¥47,250 ($394) to ¥52,500 ($437) price points, that is.

[Via Impress]

For those hopeless Americans (and Brits) who've found themselves perusing the spectacular isles of CEATEC without a clue of what's being said, Sharp is coming to the rescue. Unless you've had access to babelfish-enabled posters giving the decrypted skinny on all the new gear, you may get the feeling that your communication skills aren't exactly up to speed. Sharp's currently unnamed voice-to-voice translator allows for speech recognition and convenient audio translation so you can actually hear what you're supposed to say. The device sports a PDA-like enclosure, monochrome touchscreen, "music playback" functionality, "90 percent" accuracy (read: good enough to order food and a discounted Xbox 360), and a built-in robotic vocalist that belts out phrases in whatever language you command. The LCD also shows you sentences in both native and foreign tongue, but the prototype on display apparently only converts Japanese and English. While we aren't certain if this gizmo will hit shelves after its stint at CEATEC, it would sure make Ken Kutaragi's mind numbing keynotes a bit easier to understand in the future.