True Blue Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 I saw this very mixed review of the jibbigo translator which also has a hefty app price of $25. http://kempton.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/ipad-app-review-jibbigo-english-to-chinese-speech-to-speech-translation-app/Basically, I'm looking for something that I can type in English and will output in Mandarin Chinese so I can communicate with my Chinese family. I recognize these things have limitations so I'm looking for one that can get the conversion accurate for simple things, not an involved discussion of astro-physics. e.g. my wife is having surgery so I'd like to be able to call to let them know ASAP that everything is ok when she gets to recoveryWhat software have you tried? and how well does it work? If you don't use software, how do you communicate without having to go through your spouse for every little word. If you tried a translator did your Chinese family react positively for your making the effort to try to communicate with them or negatively because they got irritated because the translation's voice sounded like a robot.Regards,True Blue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 For anything beyond basic travel phrases, these would be more for you own benefit in learning Mandarin. They are also useful for communicating in stores, such as in finding a specific item. Even so, the voice is disconcerting - like, "what the hell is THAT?" - whereas, with the text output, you can get them to focus on the translation, if not actually understand it. For an idea of what you're up against, try typing in some of your own English language text to Babelfish or the Google translator. Translate it first to simplified Chinese, then cut and paste and translate back to English. You will find that you have to chop up the sentences into shorter phrases that might convey your meaning. We have a Yishin 888 and a Besta CD-980 that will translate whole sentences. Pleco sells dictionary software that runs on Palm, Windows CE, or Apple devices, incorporating several of the best Chinese/English dictionaries, but no sentence translation. All have voice capability and are pretty much top of the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ExChinaExpat Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 (edited) Download Google Talk. Then, add google bots to translate. Google bots are very fast and efficient. There are google bots for several different languages, including simplified Chinese mandarin. After downloading, add the bots like you would a live friend. You type the message in English, and out comes the Chinese characters. There is no software that will do a perfect job translating Chinese. It's just not yet possible. However, google is about as efficient as need be to communicate. For English to Chinese (english to zhonghua) add: en2zh@bot.talk.google.com. For Chinese to English add: zh2en@bot.talk.google.com. I bought a hand-held translator a few months back that has a full keyboard. It will translate and speak both in English and Chinese. It cost 1300rmb. Very good. Ibook http://i54.tinypic.com/a0glf6.jpg Edited April 20, 2011 by JiangsuExpat (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fu Lai Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 (edited) I have a perfect condition Besta CD626 that we do not need. Anyone interested? Sentence Translation (Chinese-English & English-Chinese) with function grammar collection<Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary 6th edition><Cambridge Encyclopedia><Contemporary Chinese>150 volumes of terminology and technical term dictionaries / <English-Chinese- Japanese-Korean Dictionaries><Chinese Idiom> / <Animated Dictionary>65000 colors LCD / Touch Screen300MB memory space2 SD or MMC slot / Support USB 1.1 / MP3 playerhttp://besta.my/cms/files/image/products/cd626/CD626en.jpg Edited February 19, 2013 by Fu Lai (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Am4wag Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 About as easy as it gets.I like it way better than babel...... www.translate.google.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fu Lai Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 About as easy as it gets.I like it way better than babel...... www.translate.google.com Google and phone apps etc. don't come close to what this does but whatever. I just have this and it may be useful to someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachey Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 About as easy as it gets.I like it way better than babel...... www.translate.google.com This is what my wife uses on her iPhone, she is in grad school working on her MBA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fu Lai Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 I have seen the Iphone apps and many of the the others. They are good dictionaries but Besta is state of the art for a reason. Idioms, learning courses, voice (compare your pronunciation to the actual), etc. but you all know this. Anyone need a CD626? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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