In a move aimed at bolstering Google's translation service online, the company purchased Word Lens app maker. And now, many are looking forward to what they believe could be a better and improved Google Translate, which has left many frustrated by their results.
The move should help propel Google ahead as other competition over translation ideas continue to sprout up online. With Word Lens maker Quest Vision now being part of Google, it allows for further development and expansion of the translate and other language-based platforms.
According to Quest Vision, in a posting published on the company's website, it was officially acquired by Google, leading to a frenzy of wordsmiths over the purchase.
The company said that the Google take over should move its team on Word Lens, which allows users to use their camera phone to scroll over a foreign language. Word Lens then translates the text in the other language into one a user can understand. It has been widely successful and many view it as the leader in translation platforms.
The purchase now means the Word Lens team will be transferred to the Google Translate department where they will assist in integrating that technology into Google's own translation app.
The good news for potential Word Lens users is that the company is now offering free downloads of its software.
"As a thank you to everybody who supported us on our journey, we've made both the app and the language packs free to download for a limited time while we transition to Google," it says in a post.
While Word Lens only functioned in translating the major Western languages, such as Spanish, English, French, German, Russian, Italian and Portuguese, Google Translate supports over 340 languages. Combining the technical skills of Quest Visual's team could help Google better update their translation platform.
"By joining Google, we can incorporate Quest Visual's technology into Google Translate's broad language coverage and translation capabilities in the future," Quest Visual says in a statement on its website announcing the news.
"With Word Lens, we've seen the beginnings of what's possible when we harness the power of mobile devices to "see the world in your language."
Now, Google believes that its takeover of the smaller company will help it achieve the future of translation that it has long pushed for in its own Translate platform, app and website.
