thanks Esther. I'll check it out. On Jun 9, 2010, at 7:37 PM, Esther wrote:
> Hi Carlene, > > You asked: > > Does it come with the Nuance voices or do you have to purchase the > separately? > > I seem to be picking up a lot of questions about this post, which includes > topics that are discussed towards the end of this admittedly long post. I'll > cc this to the viphone list, since this might be of interest, and I don't > have use of an easily searchable Mail Archive, since that feature is not set > up for that group. The Trippo VoiceMagix app comes with voices for Chinese, > Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, > Russian, Spanish, and Thai. They're OK but not great voices, as I commented > in the post. This is not a replacement for a text to speech program with > great voices, especially for languages that are currently available with the > Acapela group voices. If I wanted a good app that reads out text in > languages like English, French, Spanish, German, or Italian I'd buy "Speak > It! Text to Speech" by Future Apps, Inc. for $1.99 and buy the individual > Acapela voices of my choice for $0.99 each through in-app purchase. See my > earlier post in the archives: > <http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries%40googlegroups.com/msg19914.html> > (Speak It! app to use Infovox voices on the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad) > You can find Speak It! at: > <http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/speak-it-text-to-speech/id308629295?mt=8> > Also, at present you're limited in the length of text you can either speak or > translate. Translation quality is OK, but if you're looking for well-covered > languages like the ones I listed above, you can find easier to use apps. For > example, as I mentioned in my post, even for Russian, which is not covered by > Speak It! (although there is a Russian Acapela group voice available -- just > not as widely for most apps), I could find an app that had a better voice, > and that overall gave a better translation. > > However, the really neat features of this app are the speech recognition, and > the support of other languages that are usually not as well covered, even > with large population bases -- like Chinese and Hindi -- and particularly > those for which text entry in non-Roman character input is an issue. Again, > quality of translation was OK, but could be better, in the languages I > checked. > > If you want a translation guide for foreign travel that is accessible, I > found the Lonely Planet Phrasebooks worked with VoiceOver. (This was based on > testing of an older free version of the app -- their Mandarin Phrasebook that > they issued for free in connection with the Summer Olympics in Beijing. I > haven't bought any of their guides. I did post on the accessibility of the > Lonely Planet travel guides a month and a half ago, again based on the free > guide offering that day: > < http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries%40googlegroups.com/msg20111.html> > (Free (today only) Accessible Lonely Planet Travel Guide apps for 13 cities > for iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad) > > Also, I've posted about the accessible mPassport guides with "Medical > Translations" section for foreign cities, e.g. from the archives: > <http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries%40googlegroups.com/msg17672.html> > (Accessible traveler's medical apps for iPhone/iPod Touch: mPassport Paris > and mPassport London, free for limited time) > That list of free guides is now (as of about April 15) up to about 20 > currently free and accessible guides. Many of these guides (e.g. Barcelona, > Madrid, Vienna, Florence, Rome, Mexico City, etc.) have medical translation > guides that include spoken phrases, and that work like the described services > for the Paris guide. > > All those apps would provide better options for standard languages and > specific traveler services. What Trippo VoiceMagix does that is unique is > its support for other languages that are not well covered by the iPhone or > iPad, and specifically for the transcription into non-Roman text entry. Even > when we get the language rotor in OS 4.0 this will be an issue. So, I would > say that this app is interesting but with a specific audience. At the risk > of repeating myself, I'll quote from the end of my original post (which is > also appended to the end of this post): > <begin quote> > In conclusion, the Trippo VoiceMagix app will appeal to a specific minority > of VoiceOver users who are interested in language translation, and who also > (at present) have access to the U.S. App Store. This is obviously a first > generation release, with some awkward features (such as having input text not > remain in the window when you return to the app, or having to fiddle the way > you dismiss the keyboard if you just want to paste in text to the translation > window and have it spoken). However, I think this is a very promising app, > and well worth the $6.99 (or even the $9.99 at which I purchased it). Note > that the default list price really is $24.99, and the $6.99 that appeared > yesterday is not likely to last very long. > <end quote> > > HTH. Cheers, > Esther > > >> >> On Jun 9, 2010, >>> Hi All, >>> >>> There's a new translation app just released in the U.S. iTunes Store named >>> "Trippo VoiceMagix" by Cellictica that just went on sale for a promotional >>> price of $6.99 (regular price is $24.99). I don't know how long this price >>> will last, but many current reductions are timed to the WWDC 2010 this >>> week. The link to the app is: >>> Trippo VoiceMagix by Cellictica ($6.99, regularly $24.99): >>> <http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/trippo-voicemagix/id372332910?mt=8> >>> >>> I'll paste in the list of features from the app store description, and then >>> go on to give a detailed description of its usage with VoiceOver: >>> <begin excerpt> >>> FEATURES >>> >>> - Voice input in US English >>> >>> - 27 languages supported (Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese Simplified, Chinese >>> Traditional, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hausa, Hebrew, >>> Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, >>> Portuguese, Pashto, Romanian, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Serbian, Thai, Urdu) >>> >>> - Accurate speech recognition by Nuance >>> >>> - Natural sounding voice output for Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, >>> Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai >>> >>> - Adjustable speed for voice output >>> >>> - Mode selection: Speech-to-speech, Speech-to-translated text only or >>> Speech-to-recognized text only >>> >>> - Send the translation by email >>> >>> - Full license includes upgrades to new features, like additional >>> languages, sharing features etc. >>> <end excerpt> >>> >>> The app is accessible and has some really interesting features for people >>> who are interested in using their iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad with different >>> languages, and some unique features that extend use (with spoken >>> translation and text) to languages that are not even currently supported on >>> these devices. First, it's powered by the Nuance engine that is used by >>> Dragon Dictation and Dragon Search, so one input mode is to speak rather >>> than type in the text you want translated, and let the app transcribe it by >>> voice recognition. Because the engine is set to recognize U.S. English, >>> this app appears to only be available in the U.S. iTunes Store at present; >>> I checked the Canadian store, and couldn't find the app. Second, you can >>> have the app speak the text that you entered. (This only works now if you >>> either typed or spoke your input entry with English selected with the >>> "Translate from:" button. You can translate to and from a very large >>> number of language combinations, if you're just working with text, and >>> don't use the app to speak the entries.) Third, for thirteen of the >>> twenty-five languages selectable with the "Translate to" button, you can >>> have the app speak the translated results. The spoken translations work for >>> a number of languages with non-Roman scripts, including Chinese (both >>> simplified and traditional characters), Greek, Hindi, Japanese, Russian, >>> and Thai. Languages like Hindi are not even supported otherwise on the >>> iPhone. Nor are (in just text mode) Urdu, Hausa, Persian, and Pushtu (which >>> are some of the other "Translate to" options). >>> >>> Voice recognition mode is pretty good, and fairly fast, since it's powered >>> by the Nuance engine. The app has a simple layout with a labeled >>> "Translate from" button, a "Translate to" button, a text box area for input >>> text to be typed in, and just beside it to the right, a Microphone button >>> labeled "BTN underscore Mic" for voice input. There is similarly a >>> translation text box for the results, and buttons for "Translate" and >>> "Listen". >>> >>> There are a few VoiceOver specific notes that may be useful. Although >>> layout is slightly different between portrait and landscape orientation >>> (with portrait mode having the text entry input above the translation >>> output, while in landscape mode the text box for the input language is on >>> the left, and the output translation on the right), both screens have a >>> button at the bottom center of the screen: "BTN underscore arrow underscore >>> show". Tapping this button reveals three buttons at the bottom of the >>> screen: "Help", "About", and "Settings". "Help" brings up a screen with a >>> tutorial on how to use the app. The "Settings" button lets you select the >>> rate of the speech returned from translation, and also to select the mode >>> of operation. By default, it is set for speech to speech, which means that >>> you speak your text (in English) and get spoken results (for languages that >>> support it). However, you can also just type in your text (in any >>> language), and use the buttons to run a translation to another language >>> and/or press the button to have the text spoken. (You can even paste in >>> text to the translation field and press the button to have it spoken, >>> although working with these fields without having the keyboard get in the >>> way is a bit buggy in the initial release.) >>> >>> The other major issue for VoiceOver users is that the language picker >>> wheels do not indicate which output languages support speech. You should >>> refer to the pasted description, or the developer's web page for the list >>> of translated languages with spoken output options: Chinese, Dutch, French, >>> German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, >>> Spanish, Thai. >>> >>> In terms of output text usage, iPad users may find, in addition to the >>> app's support of languages that are not even supported on the iPhone, that >>> they get text output for languages whose keyboard input is not currently >>> supported on the iPad: Bulgarian, Traditional Chinese, Greek, Arabic, >>> Hebrew, Serbian, Thai, Portuguese, Danish, Romanian, Norwegian, and Polish. >>> You can copy and paste the text into your favorite notes app (e.g. >>> Simplenotes for additional synched access through your computer, or even >>> the default Notes app). Also, according to the Multilingual Mac web pages, >>> apps like Pages on the iPad will correctly support these languages when >>> pasted in, even though the keyboard text input for the iPad doesn't >>> currently support these languages. A recent post on the Multilingual Mac >>> pages indicates that some of this language support (e.g, for Hindi, which >>> you can get both spoken and written text output with this app), will still >>> not be in the iOS 4 release. >>> >>> Let me try to summarize the features of this app in the context of what >>> else is available in the app store. If you're looking to use a dictionary, >>> translation app, or voices in a standard supported language, such as >>> French, Spanish, German, or Italian, you have access to many more apps and >>> some really good voices. The Acapela voices (sold as Infovox on the Mac) >>> are available via in-app purchase for apps such as Voxtrek (GPS >>> navigation) and Speak It! (general text to speech). If you're looking for >>> voices, text, or simple translation with a well-supported language, then >>> you can probably use other apps. Even for languages with non-Roman text >>> entry, like Russian, I can find translation apps that use the high quality >>> Loquendo voices that will do a better job (even though the app is mostly >>> inaccessible to VoiceOver and requires requires fiddling to navigate to the >>> one part of the app that is usable). However, many other languages, >>> particularly languages that do not use Roman alphabets to input text, are >>> not similarly supported in the app store and are especially not >>> well-supported through VoiceOver. And these apps do not support speech >>> recognition for translation entry. What is unique about this app is its >>> support for both spoken and text translation output for a wide variety of >>> languages, including several which do not use Roman alphabet characters for >>> input and/or do not have full or even any support on the iPhone/iPad. The >>> developers, a Finnish company named "Cellictica", are distributing versions >>> for multiple platforms, including the Android, hence the reason the >>> languages are not limited to the iPhone or iPad complement. >>> >>> I am aware of Mark Taylor's coverage of Jibbigo's translation apps in his >>> Candleshore Blog (January 2010 entry, "Bring the Star Trek Universal >>> Translator to your iPhone 3GS or iPod Touch"; February podcast episode 46, >>> "A Real-Time Bi-Directional Spoken Language Translator for your iPhone 3GS" >>> demo of the Spanish-English translation using VoiceOver). Jibbigo tailors >>> its bi-directional translation apps for specific language combinations >>> (originally, English-Spanish and Japanese-English; just recently released, >>> Chinese-English and Iraqi-English). The Jibbigo app is priced between $25 >>> and $30 per language pair and runs entirely on your device. This has the >>> advantage of allowing you to use the app locally on your device, but also >>> puts the processing load there, while additionally running VoiceOver. >>> Given the price, and current operating system/processor limitations, I >>> probably wouldn't try the Jibbigo app out myself yet. It's a more >>> interesting possibility for the iPhone 4G release. Trippo VoiceMagix >>> relies on a server connection (just as with Dragon Dictation), and you're >>> currently limited to short spoken phrases (but longer text). However, the >>> transcription accuracy appears to be high, at least for U.S. English voice >>> input. Trippo's voices for translated text are OK, but not spectacular. I >>> don't recognize the source of these voices, but they're different from what >>> the iPhone uses (and would certainly have to be for the languages the >>> iPhone doesn't support). I'd be curious to learn the accuracy of the >>> Jibbigo bi-directional translation for different spoken voice inputs and >>> accents (for Chinese, for example), but not enough to buy the app <smile>. >>> I note that they don't describe whether the output text uses Simplified or >>> Traditional Chinese characters (a selection option of Trippo VoiceMagix), >>> but that this also adds PinYin. >>> >>> In conclusion, the Trippo VoiceMagix app will appeal to a specific minority >>> of VoiceOver users who are interested in language translation, and who also >>> (at present) have access to the U.S. App Store. This is obviously a first >>> generation release, with some awkward features (such as having input text >>> not remain in the window when you return to the app, or having to fiddle >>> the way you dismiss the keyboard if you just want to paste in text to the >>> translation window and have it spoken). However, I think this is a very >>> promising app, and well worth the $6.99 (or even the $9.99 at which I >>> purchased it). Note that the default list price really is $24.99, and the >>> $6.99 that appeared yesterday is not likely to last very long. >>> >>> Finally, in order to give list viewers an alternative take on the app, >>> here's a link to the AppShouter review that appeared when Trippo VoiceMagix >>> was first released: >>> <http://www.appshouter.com/trippo-voicemagix-iphone-app-review/> >>> They give a separate description of the interface and the way in which you >>> can mail translated text. Their summary: >>> <begin quote> >>> All things aside, this app is a great value for all of the features that it >>> contains. Especially if you are really planning on using more than one of >>> the 27 languages in this app is definitely worth it! If you’re still >>> curious and reading this review I’d encourage you to check out Trippo >>> VliceMagix by Cellictia. >>> <end quote> >>> >>> You can also check the Cellictica developer page for more information about >>> this app, and planned other app releases: >>> <http://www.cellictica.com/> >>> >>> HTH. Cheers, >>> >>> Esther >>> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > carlene knight http://carleneknight.blogspot.com [email protected] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
