iTravel is not state-of-the-art

I have bought my iTRAVL NTL-2Ch English <-> Chinese Talking 2-way Language Communicator
about six months ago and I am very disappointed about the features.
It is only a combination of a dictionary / phrase book and a Google translate feature.

I expected that I could talk to the device and that it then simultaneously would be translated
into the chosen language. It only works for the phrases in the phrasebook obviously.

I also expected that phrases translated in the text translation could be listened too.
Unfortunately, that only works for the phrase one wants to have translated.
That is really not usefull: the purpose should be that the person you wish to understand what you want
can listen to the phrase one has translated. (I know of course already how to say the phrase I have written myself)

A company like Ectaco, that is advertising themselves as the experts in translation, should be ashamed of themselves
to ask that much money for such old-fashioned software!
Nowadays one can download free apps for iPhone and iPad which are doing a much better job.
And if one purchases the more sophisticated app for only a few dollars, one can enjoy all the things I thought
the iTravel would provide me with.

Ectaco will have no future if they don't quickly adapt to new standards!

chinaman wrote:I have bought my iTRAVL NTL-2Ch English <-> Chinese Talking 2-way Language Communicator
about six months ago and I am very disappointed about the features.
It is only a combination of a dictionary / phrase book and a Google translate feature.

I expected that I could talk to the device and that it then simultaneously would be translated
into the chosen language. It only works for the phrases in the phrasebook obviously.

I also expected that phrases translated in the text translation could be listened too.
Unfortunately, that only works for the phrase one wants to have translated.
That is really not usefull: the purpose should be that the person you wish to understand what you want
can listen to the phrase one has translated. (I know of course already how to say the phrase I have written myself)

A company like Ectaco, that is advertising themselves as the experts in translation, should be ashamed of themselves
to ask that much money for such old-fashioned software!
Nowadays one can download free apps for iPhone and iPad which are doing a much better job.
And if one purchases the more sophisticated app for only a few dollars, one can enjoy all the things I thought
the iTravel would provide me with.

Ectaco will have no future if they don't quickly adapt to new standards!

Hi,

I appreciate your feedback. Realistically the iTravl and the Partner models are the best self contained products for translation and language learning available, nothing even comes close.

A large chunk of our customers use the products for traveling and do not have access to Wi-Fi or a 3G connection which is required to download the apps you referred to and on top of that most of the smartphone apps require continued internet connection to use them. If their is no connection you are out of luck.

Not to mention the average smart phone costs about $200 with a $100/month plan effectively making your yearly expenses $1,400.

Also, each model comes with 35 different programs for communication and language learning. Trying to buy a similar language learning program with voice recognition costs about $400 and all you get is a CD and a headset.

We do make apps for the iPhone an iPad as well so one can enjoy some of our features right on their mobile device.

If you have further constructive feedback on how we can better our products i would love to hear it. Thanks again!

To Jerry:

This was a weak answer and you know it.
How can it be possible that software for iPhone / iPad is being offered for free, or almost free of charge,
while having all the features your iTravel device does not have?

What I mean to say is: why is Ectaco not able to offer similar software with the iTravel?
I agree that the iTravel device, as such, is a nice device, but the software is not good enough!
If Ectaco could just macth the free Apps software, the iTravel could fill the the need for travellers
who don't have an iPhone or cannot afford an iPhone while travelling.

You would make many customers very happy (including myself) if Ectaco could upgrade the software!

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 06/29/2012 12:31:28

chinaman wrote:To Jerry:

This was a weak answer and you know it.
How can it be possible that software for iPhone / iPad is being offered for free, or almost free of charge,
while having all the features your iTravel device does not have?

What I mean to say is: why is Ectaco not able to offer similar software with the iTravel?
I agree that the iTravel device, as such, is a nice device, but the software is not good enough!
If Ectaco could just macth the free Apps software, the iTravel could fill the the need for travellers
who don't have an iPhone or cannot afford an iPhone while travelling.

You would make many customers very happy (including myself) if Ectaco could upgrade the software!

Free? How much did you pay for your iPhone or iPad? How much do you pay per month? Hardly sounds 'Free' to me.

The fact is that some of the more advanced software requires connection to the internet or 3G, without it is simply does not work.

We have developed a product called the Partner LUX (English-Russian only right now). But again it runs on an android platform with wi-fi connection to support some of these other items. Unfortunately not everyone has a wi-fi connection.

Check out the partner LUX here www.ectaco.com/ECTACO-Partner-LUX-ER hopefully we will have additional languages available in the near future.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 06/30/2012 01:12:03

This is only a partial answer to my suggestion to develop a software for the iTravel similar to the free (or almost free) software for the iPhone/iPad
(Just ignore the purchase price of the iPhone or the iTravel).
From the discription of the ECTACO-Partner-LUX-ER it looks like a part of the question has been developed ( direct voice translation), but I don't see yet
the feature that translated text can be heard in the translated language. In addition this software should also be available for the iTravel, a much nicer device
than the Partner device.

Looking forward to new developments! (and upgrading my iTravel with the new software)

chinaman wrote:This is only a partial answer to my suggestion to develop a software for the iTravel similar to the free (or almost free) software for the iPhone/iPad
(Just ignore the purchase price of the iPhone or the iTravel).
From the discription of the ECTACO-Partner-LUX-ER it looks like a part of the question has been developed ( direct voice translation), but I don't see yet
the feature that translated text can be heard in the translated language. In addition this software should also be available for the iTravel, a much nicer device
than the Partner device.

Looking forward to new developments! (and upgrading my iTravel with the new software)

Hey,

Yes the Partner LUX is a step in a new direction, we will be releasing it with more language in time. Right now it is English-Russian. Not only will it have apps we have developed but it will also allow you to download apps from 3rd party developers on the android app store.

Thanks for the feedback!