http://www.gizmag.com/google-tv-conversation-mode-ifa-keynote/16286/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=1b6e7256cf-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email
"Conversations mode" is set to launch in the next few months and it's a showstopper.
The scenario demonstrated goes like this. You're an English speaker in Germany and you want to buy a pair of shoes. Neither you or the shoe salesman have any knowledge of each others' language. Using the smartphone app you can speak into the handset in English and have a spoken translation in seconds. The reply is conversely translated and it becomes possible to have a workable conversation in which you quickly establish the size color and price of the shoes you want to buy.
Again, the notion has been with us for some time and it's easy to see the huge benefits this offers – for starters you won't go shopping for purple sneakers and end up with snakeskin boots.
Its effectiveness comes down to two things – speed and accuracy. Google's demo showed both, although it wasn't without its problems – it took three goes for the German - English translation of "what color" to come through correctly, but it seems well on its way to being very workable. Anyone who has used Google Translate over the last few years will have noticed improvements in the accuracy of the results which bodes well for the shift to the smartphone arena – the percentage of hilarious results are likely to drop (but we're sure there will still be a few laughs).
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