Google Translate on the web and on your smart phone

Online translation tools have come a long way in the last several years.  Though they still aren't perfect, they do a much better job than in the past.  My favorite tool for translation is Google Translate and is available online so it can be used on several different platforms...PC, Mac, smart phone, inside email, etc.

Google Translate does a great job of translating for you as you type on their site, and it remembers the last languages you used for translating, in case you frequently translate between the same two languages.

Google suggests downloading their own browser Google Chrome for automatic translation, but I haven't used it yet.  I do use Gmail for my personal email and love the integration of translation into email.  If I open an email that was written in Spanish, Google automatically translates the email to English for me.  And I can switch back and forth between English and Spanish with one button click. 

Google highlights words in both languages as you roll over them with your mouse to better understand which words coordinate in both languages.

Google will even read your translated text to you with a "Listen" link!


Try out Google's free translation tool and let me know what you think, or let me know if you use another online translation tool that I have missed.

http://translate.google.com/

Update: Google Translate now has its own iPhone app.