Whenever I am in my photography “zone” and I am brainstorming about future shoots and locations, I get very excited about the photo opportunities that I have seen via television shows, or from pictures taken by other photographers. I also understand that to get to some of those locations, there will be much travel through unknown terrain, and I get really fearful when I think about the challenges of possibly trying to navigate while in places with people who do not speak my language. While traveling with expensive gear and not being really sure of where I am going, I would really like to know what I am being told, especially if I have to depend on a native guide.
Researching my options, I came up with the iLi Translator. This little gem is a one-way translator. While it only supports translation for three languages; Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese, it would work for me because those languages are native to several of the countries that I would love to travel to for photography. The iLi Translator has a small footprint, and translates from English to any one of the three languages. It works completely offline, with no Wi-Fi required. It has a fast response time of 0.2 seconds to translate a word, and it is basically optimized for travel. While it is obvious that this device will not work for everyone, especially because of its language limitations, I may still give it a try for my relevant trips. One major negative for me might be the one-way aspect that makes me have to construct all of my questions to get yes or no responses. Something that can translate responses back to me in English may work better for me.
If the iLi Translator is a fit for you, head over to the Iamili website where you can learn more about it and purchase one for $199.
