Bing Translator has been available for Windows Phone for quite a some time now. The app, akin to Google Translator, allows users to translate text to and from about 40 different supported languages. The app has now arrived on Windows 8 and Windows RT. Its simple UI aside, the app boasts plentiful features that make translation a breeze. You can manually enter text for translation, use the app’s camera translation feature to see translation of printed foreign text in augmented reality and quickly translate text from other Windows Store apps using the Share menu. It’s not just the best translator app, but one of the best apps to hit the Windows Store. Read on for further details.
The user interface of Bing Translator isn’t something to write home about. It’s simple, intuitive and it just works. The app can accept input through keyboard and a webcam (or the front-facing camera on your Windows 8/RT tablet). Users can switch the input method on the fly.
Note that the app might not necessarily support the webcam on your laptop. It apparently has a minimum quality requirement that the webcams of certain older laptops might not fulfill.
The text input method works much like that of an instant messaging app. You type the text in your language and Bing Translator replies with the translation in an output language of your choice. You can instantly swap the target language by tapping/clicking the small swap button to its left.
Tapping a language brings up a menu from where you can change both the input and output languages. The input language can be selected from the left while the output is on the right. The app provides you with more than 40 major languages to choose from.
One of the most useful features of the app is its ability to download language packs so you may use translation on the go, even without internet access. This feature can prove to be quite handy for Windows RT and laptop users who often have to travel around. Tourists, for instance, who need snappier translations on the go or are in areas without an internet connection.
As is the case with all other Windows Store apps, Bing Translator can be snapped to the left or right of the screen with Windows’ Snap feature to be used for tasks that may require quick and constant translation.
For translating text from other Windows Store apps, simply select Bing Translator from the share menu. The following screenshot shows a tweet from the official Twitter app being translated from English to French.
Bing Translator is available at the Windows Store for free. It supports Windows RT and both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 8.
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