Hanashite Hon'yaku - A Free Android Application For Japanese Speakers
In addition to its many features, NTT DOCOMO's Hanashite Hon'yaku phone translation app allows speakers of both Japanese and English to carry on a phone conversation. By translating what is being said, the app is able to provide the correct words and phrases a speaker needs to express themselves. It will also translate spoken Japanese to the languages that people use most often in everyday life, such as Chinese, English, and Korean.
NTT Docomo, Japan's largest telecom company, recently announced the release of a new Android app that uses cloud computing for real-time translation. The Hanashite Hon'yaku app automatically translates a caller's sense of speech and reads out the translated passage after a 'cooling off period'. The app works with both parties on the call and is sensitive to translation errors. It is also a cost-effective solution for companies that don't want to hire multilingual people.
The translation app uses cloud-based servers and has been available since 2013. The system supports voice-to-voice conversations, face-to-face communication, and text-to-voice. The app is free for Android users, and DOCOMO has worked with the company to improve its translation capabilities. The app has already been downloaded more than 6.6 million times. It has become a convenient tool for Japanese speakers, and it can be downloaded on any smartphone that runs AndroidTM 4.3 or higher.