Lost in translation The inherent problem with all translators is that what goes in does not necessarily come out the way you want it to. You have no idea if the message you are trying to convey is even semi-accurate. I have been toying with the Google translation app and it is far from accurate. I cannot fathom using it even remotely for business purposes. In my estimation these translation apps are novelty items. Aside from "hello", "how are you" and "happy birthday", I would not trust the Google translator for any other purpose. Everyone on earth speaks differently and hence writes differently. Do any of you really ever understand what the Carboss is trying to say? There is no amount of programming that can replicate what a human is trying to convey to another via speach or text.
Insofar as travelling is concerned, I have travelled the world without issue or barrier. In most instances I would never openly carry around a 300 dollar device be it a phone or a tablet. A tattered translation booklet is all you really need. And the locals enjoy tourists trying to speak their language. In many countries you would be beaten and robbed of your shiny new Ipad.
In closing, I would never pay one red cent for the Google translation app. I cannot understand why anyone would use the Google translator more than once or twice per year for entertainment value. I am sure the Ortsbo product is much better and far more refined. I will be testing it today and will report my findings.