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Word Lens Becomes Part of the Latest Google Translate App
Motorola Scout 5000: collar & walkie talkie for pets
SONICable lets you cut charge times in half for any gadget

Word Lens Becomes Part of the Latest Google Translate App

Posted: 14 Jan 2015 07:57 AM PST

Even though the search giant has bought Quest Visual, the makers of the Word Lens instantaneous translation app, last May, the functionality has only been integrated into the Google Translate app now.

You don’t have to visit a foreign country to know how important it is to speak more than just English. Sure, you can impress the locals by showing that you have learned a few of their words, but speaking foreign languages has become much more than just that. As a Czech proverb says, “You live a new life for every new language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once.” Google means to play a major role in our lives by making sure you don’t get lost in translation while traveling or even while working, in case you’re part of a multicultural company. The latest update to the Google Translate app, which should be out today, integrates Word Lens and conversation translation tools, so that you can communicate and understand foreign words more easily.

Google Translate already had a rudimentary way of translating text captured with a mobile device’s camera, but the new update enables us to do that in real time. Before, you had to take a picture and highlight the words (by swiping your finger across them) you didn’t understand, so the new way of doing it is much more convenient, not to mention time-saving.

There are some limitations, at the moment, but those will go away in time, as the Word Lens functionality will be expanded to include more languages. For the time being, the supported languages for this feature are English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Supposing you need to translate some text (think of street signs, not novels) in real time, all you need to do is get the text onscreen, and the translation will be performed automatically.

Given that Microsoft has rolled out Skype Translator just a few days ago, you’d think that these two companies are competing against each other at diminishing language barriers for their users. In fact, they’re addressing the same problem from different angles, and Google plans to also get involved in translating conversations. The latest update of their app even includes the technology that allows people who don’t speak each other’s language to carry out a conversation. We really are living in the future, aren’t we?

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Motorola Scout 5000: collar & walkie talkie for pets

Posted: 14 Jan 2015 06:00 AM PST

Pet trackers aren’t exactly a new invention, but Motorola has gone the extra mile with the Scout 5000, allowing owners to do quite more.

As of now, most pet trackers are just a collar that provides a GPS location so owners know where their dog is exactly, or at least where its collar is at. Yet, if owners want a bit more information, the Motorola Scout 5000 from Binatone provides exactly that in the form of a video feed users can check live at any time. If you had been curious about how your pets spent their day, this is exactly what you had been looking for.

The Motorola Scout 5000 is a collar device featuring Wi-Fi connectivity, a camera capable of 720p video, and the obligatory GPS trackers for $200 USD. It is definitely meant for bigger dogs (or even humans, if your kids don’t mind, although we would) but we’re sure it’s a matter of time until smaller versions roll along. The collar will alert owners via a smartphone app of the beloved puppy’s whereabouts, and even allow the owners to talk to their pets if they miss them.

Via CNET

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SONICable lets you cut charge times in half for any gadget

Posted: 14 Jan 2015 04:00 AM PST

Gadgets keep getting better and more powerful, but our batteries seem to last less and less with each upgrade. And being that the foreseeable future this is going to remain this way, SONICable aims to at least cut the charge times.

If you use your phone as much as statistics say most of us do you’re very aware of the cruel reality of having to recharge it during the day. Aware of this, the SONICable team came up with an idea that is rather different from portable chargers and battery extenders: a cable that allows your gadgets to charge twice as fast thanks to some clever design decisions such asusing dual sided USB connectors with Aluminium tip.

The SONICable not only performs better than any other cable, but it’s also more durable and stronger than its competitors, according to the creators, and comes with either a Lightning connector for iPhone or micro USB for Android.

The way SONICable works is by using a switch that allows it to change modes. When it’s off, it’s just a regular USB cable, and performs all of the same taks, but once it’s on, it loses sync capabilities and uses all that spare power to charge your gadgets in a much, much faster way. Users interested in it might want to check their Indiegogo page and pledge their support.

Via Geeky Gadgets

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