Android version of Google Translate app adds new languages

Google announced on Thursday that it is expanding the number of languages supported by the Android version of its Google Translate app. Handwriting recognition can now translate Hindi and Thai. Both languages use non-Roman characters which means that a QWERTY keyboard is useless and heightens the importance of the app being able to translate written words from the two languages.

Also being updated to support more languages is the app's camera input. This feature allows you to snap a picture of something with words written on it in a foreign language and have the app translate it. The new languages that are supported using your phone's camera include Afrikaans, Greek, Hebrew and Serbian.

Currently, the Google Translate app supports the translation of more than 70 languages. You can directly translate speech, handwriting and photographed texts. The app allows you to hear translations said out loud and a dictionary setting lets you translate a single word. A single phrase that you might need to repeat often can be saved for future use. Google Translate is a free app in the Google Play Store. While a version of the app is also available for iOS users, it did not receive Thursday's update.

source: Google Translate (Android|iOS) via AndroidCentral