Tap That App: Waygo - Translation Made Easy
By Matthew Bossons
Tap That App is a monthly segment where we feature an app our editors think is cool.
Have you ever stared at a bill for 10 minutes, completely perplexed as to its meaning? Is it the gas? Electricity? Water? Is it even a bill? Translation apps are essential when living in a foreign land, helping the linguistically challenged expat get day-to-day chores done. While there are no shortage of options available for tablets, smart phones and computers, one jumped out at us as being particularly revolutionary: Waygo.
Available from both the Apple and Google Play stores, Waygo allows you to translate Chinese, Japanese and Korean into English by simply pointing your phone’s camera at the characters you wish to convert – no need to look up pinyin anymore.
The app requires no Internet connection to function (perfect for the data-deprived, Wi-Fi-wandering tourist) and takes up a reasonable 76.22 megabytes of phone storage, compared to 96.88 megabytes for QQ Music or 373 megabytes for iQiyi.
Based on our experimentation with the application, it is highly accurate – and fast. The only notable downside is that users only get 10 free translations per day, unless they upgrade to receive unlimited assistance for USD6.99.
Whether you’re in Los Angeles nosily deciphering someone’s tattoo or in a pesky Hainan restaurant where menus are written only in Chinese and Russian, Waygo gives you the tools to decode characters with a wave of the hand. (It hasn’t yet mastered Russian though – you’re on your own there.)
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