Multilingual communication is an important and highly desirable skill in the modern world. This is a result of our increased mobility, as we travel and explore the world more, may it be for leisure or business purposes.
And while we can communicate in English most of the time, it’s not always enough. This is quite a serious problem, as the language barriers can make us feel less safe and secure when we are abroad.
So, what solution can provide this sense of security? We can of course download an app on our phone (such as Google Translate), but it comes with some drawbacks.
Contrary to popular belief, a standalone voice translator is a much better solution. If you’re interested in the details, we’ve compared a pocket translator device and a translation app here.
To brief it up, standalone voice translators win in terms of the ease of use and cost. Such devices provide free Internet for translations (with or without a data limit, like Vasco Electronics’ translators).
In comparison, mobile apps need mobile data transfer, which can be very expensive abroad. Regular apps also provide much lower translation accuracy. With less popular languages, they first translate into English and only then into the target language, which significantly reduces the quality of the service.
To get a better grasp on that, let’s take a look at the most popular voice translators on the market. But even before we get started, there are a few important things you should know before buying a speech translator.
The first important thing is that a cheaper price may still result in more costs. For example, the price of some devices may not include taxes and customs duties. When these are added, the actual cost of such a device can increase significantly.
What’s more, if you choose a suspiciously cheap device, there’s always a risk that it will be far from your expectations. For this reason, we highly encourage you to read the product descriptions and reviews carefully, so you can be sure you order a proven device.
Still, buying an electronic translator is an investment for years. Why is that? Many translators have a SIM card with free Internet for translations. As a result, they do not generate additional usage costs, which regular mobile apps do.
Interested in this topic? Check our article about 5 things you MUST know before buying an electronic translator.
And now, without further ado, let’s see our picks for best translators of 2022!
There are many companies on the market that produce voice translators, and each has its own and unique advantages. However, we’ve managed to pick the few that are able to come out ahead of the competition.
Below we’ll take a look at devices by Vasco Electronics, Pocketalk and Jarvisen.
Why them? Because the quality of their products is backed up by wining many design awards and the presence at world’s largest technology trade shows (such as GITEX in Dubai and CES in Las Vegas). Apart from the devices’ quality, we believe it raises their credibility, so you can choose among manufacturers that are trustworthy.
Now, let’s get to it!
Vasco Electronics is one of the leading translators’ manufacturers on the market. They have been in business since 2008, constantly developing their translation solutions. Right now, their devices allow you not only to translate voice, but also translate a picture, text and multilingual chats.
As we reviewed their devices over the years, it’s clear that their products are always upgraded specifically per customer reviews and feedback. This is definitely a good sign and a promise that each upcoming voice translator is going to be even better.
What’s also important, Vasco Electronics appears at the world’s most important technology trade shows (e.g. GITEX Dubai, or CES in Las Vegas) regularly, and their devices win many prestigious awards (but more about that later).
It’s no coincidence, that their Vasco Translator M3 language translator and Vasco Mini 2 translator are one of the most popular speech interpreters on the market.
What makes them special among the competition is that they offer free and unlimited Internet for translations FOREVER (without any limits or package renewals).
Above all, the Vasco Translator M3 provides instant voice & voice to text translations in 70+ languages, which means you can communicate with more than 90% of the Earth’s population. It’s also superfast, as it translates in less than 0.5 seconds.
You can do even more with Vasco’s device:
What’s more, the Vasco translates with 96% accuracy. This is thanks to the 10 translation engines that support the operation of this device.
How do they work? Each language pair is translated by the engine that provides the best result of all. In comparison: phone translation apps have only one translation engine, so a lot of translations can be of low quality.
What’s more, manyof these applications translate first into English and only then into the target language, further reducing the quality. Thanks to 10 engines, Vasco devices always translate the languages directly.
On top of that, each Vasco translator has an extremely powerful battery, that lasts up to 180 hours in a standby mode.
To confirm the quality of this device, let’s mention that Vasco Translator M3 has been honored with many prestigious awards. Here we have, for example, the Red Dot Design Award, commonly considered as the Oscar of Design, or the New York Product Design Award.
Pocketalk is another leading manufacturer of electronic speech translators. Their devices are popular around the world, winning many prestigious awards (such as the Good Design Award).
They can translate more than 70 languages, and the SIM card provides unlimited Internet in 130 countries. However, Internet access has to be renewed after 2 years. Still, Pocketalk’s translators are constantly being improved, so one can hope for no limit in the future.
The S and Classic are their most popular models on the market. They are very similar to each other, but the S model is a bit more powerful. This is because it offers a photo translator function.
Both models, however, boast a pretty long battery life, which means you don’t have to worry about the device failing to work for you as soon as you leave the hotel.
Unfortunately, the Classic model has only one translation engine. This means that translations can be of lower quality. Imagine translating a conversation from Japanese to Chinese — we have no guarantee that the device is supported by the best optimal engine to do so.
It’s true that with 70+ languages, we can communicate with more than the 90% of the Earth’s population. Still, in the case of the Pocketalk Classic, however, the quality of conversation in many of them can be of questionable quality.
Jarvisen advertises itself as the company that produces the fastest and most accurate speech translators. This is only partially true.
Indeed, their translators can be described as experts in difficult, specialized vocabulary, and they are indeed very fast, with translations delivery in less than 0.5 seconds.
Coming back to accuracy, however, there are some doubts here. Jarvisen has only one translation engine, and we already know what this can entail.
Nevertheless, the device supports more than 60 languages, has free Internet for translations for 2 years, and offline translations, but only for selected languages. The data package, meanwhile, covers 98 countries. What’s more, Jarvisen also boasts a very long-lasting battery.
The last product on our list is a translator from Langogo. However, it’s worth noting that it’s very clearly aimed at the Asian customer.
First of all, we can see that the menu is available in many Asian languages and only in a narrow group of others (i.e. English, Spanish, French and German).
What’s more, this speech translator supports more than 100 languages! You will probably say: an impressive number. Well, sure it’s impressive, but most of them are Asian languages!
The Langogo Genesis includes a SIM card that allows us to connect to the Internet in more than 60 countries, but only for two years for free. After that, you need to buy a data package.
As a perk, the device has the ability to act as a Wi-Fi hotspot, so up to 5 devices can connect to it.
The Langogo Genesis has a screen of more than 3 inches, which is also a plus, especially for people who like to see everything clearly. Battery performance, however, is weaker than the other devices mentioned in this article: This is because the Langogo Genesis will only last about 6 hours during continuous use. Very little!
Without a doubt, Langogo’s voice translator is a technologically developed device. Unfortunately, the small number of languages other than Asian and the short battery life may be a huge drawback to many users.
This is our take on the best voice translators for 2022.
Each of the above-mentioned companies is constantly working on improving their devices. They will certainly introduce various innovations to their translators in the future.
It’s safe to say that electronic voice translators are a very good alternative to mobile apps. And, although price-wise they may be a deterrent, they are a great investment for years to come, and as a result, a saving due to the free Internet (especially on Vasco Electronics devices, which provide free Internet for translations forever). It may not seem so important until you turn on roaming, for example, in Australia or China.
We hope this article has helped you with a decision. Enjoy your translation!
Articles
Have you ever travelled outside the borders of your country? Have you ever tried to communicate in a language in which you have not learned one single word? An electronic voice translator is a great help in such situations. With a voice translator, you don't have to worry about heavy dictionaries or phrasebooks, and you don't have to have a hard time finding the words you're missing. All that is necessary is to say or type the words into the translation device, and within seconds you will have the translation in the language you want - including a function that will translate voice for you.
The market is saturated with electronic translators. Do you know what to look for to pick the best translator device? Below are a few tips:
Choosing a live translator is not a task that’s as easy as it might sound. Of course, some devices are plain better than others and it really pays to research so you’re not stuck with a suboptimal option - but your particular needs and wants really need to be considered as well. Are you going top be using the live translator for work? Or maybe you’re meaning to travel with it?
While all the translators we write about here are portable, some portable translators are more portable than other ones. How so? First, there’s the size. Pockets are not created equal, and neither are portable translators. Some of them are smaller (like the Vasco Mini 2), while some are a bit bigger. If space is an issue, this is certainly something to consider. Then there’s the matter of the internet price - some devices come with unlimited internet in a variety of countries, while some don’t. The countries in which the free internet is available is also something that’s well worth checking when you’re picking a portable translator to go with you on an exotic trip.
The features available on various language translator devices vary - this is a pretty obvious statement. What is less obvious is that you should consider which ones are the most important to you - is translating voice the reason you’re after a translator device? Or are you meaning to translate pictures? Even if the language translator device you have selected has a particular function, it will be wise to check if the particular feature is the language translator device’s strong suit, or just something chucked in to be able to tick off a box.
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