Tech Pocketalk to launch phone-based instant translation in 75 languages

Pocketalk, known for its mobile translation devices, plans to launch a smartphone-based service in February that can translate Japanese into up to 75 languages, including English and Chinese. This will allow tour guides to communicate with groups speaking multiple languages simultaneously. The surge in foreign tourists has intensified labour shortages in the industry, limiting business opportunities. Pocketalk's new service aims to ease language barriers, enabling travel agencies to run more tours without expanding their staff.

Tour guides will use the service through a dedicated site accessed from their smartphones, while the tourists they are guiding join through a QR code or other link from their smartphones. When the guide speaks into the smartphone, the words are translated into the desired language and played on the visitors' phones. The service can also handle text.

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However, it doesn't come cheap: voice input supports 10 languages, including Japanese and English. The output side supports 52 languages for voice and 75 languages for text. The service will cost 99,000 yen ($662) per month per account.

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