Microsoft is planning to release a Skype Beta app before the year ends. This version will enable the real-time translation between people that are verbally speaking different languages. They call it as Skype Translator. Microsoft has recently demonstrated this newest technology in China. With the release of Windows 8, they previously launched the Bing Translator that works just the same. Microsoft stated that the latest Skype Translator makes more sense than a reserved app, with distinct situations where Skype is being used; either in business, education or to talk to our friends and relatives abroad. Satya Nadella of Microsoft introduced the Skype Translator in Southern California during the Code Conference and Gurdeep Pall, the Corporate VP of Skype and Lync show how it works through his German-speaking associate. The demonstration provides oral and text-based translation. The original text will appear at the bottom and even though the text is scripted, the demonstration is still remarkable.
This will be available in Windows 8 before the year ends. According to Nadella, the Skype Translator will assure that everyone can communicate with anybody without any language barriers. Users can be able to talk in their own language to another user who speaks another language, then the beta app will translate it to the other person. For more than 10 years, Skype is bringing people all together. And now, there are over 300-million users every month and approximately more than 2 billion minutes of conversation daily when Skype delivers the voice and video to various devices such as PC, Tablets, TV and Smartphones. However, the language barrier is still an issue and Skype Translator will help us to overcome this issue. The beta app will unite with the Skype Voice, IM technologies and the neural network-based speech recognition.
The Skype Translator will be available in Windows platform before the year ends and will be expanded to other platforms like OS X and iOS when the Windows version launches. They will start with just few languages and Microsoft hopes to add more languages and support for different devices and platforms as the development improves.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu9kMIeS0wQ autoplay:0]
However, it is still unclear on how this Skype Translator will connect with the Skype itself, or if these two will still be a separate application. One thing is for sure, Microsoft is getting better and moving forward in real-time translation.
