NTT Docomo begins a second phase of trials for its two-way language translation mobile phone service

Jun 15 2012 in French to Japanese, Italian to Japanese, japanese language translation, Japanese to Chinese, Japanese to German, Japanese to Korean, Japanese to Thai, language translation mobile phone service, Latest News, machine translation, Portuguese to Japanese by admin

The translation service is part of the telecom carrier’s strategy to make its network more "intelligent" allowing it to effectively target firms that cater to foreign customers.

Last month we reported that NTT Docomo was preparing to conduct a second trial of an experimental cloud-based service for real-time interpretation between Japanese and other languages via mobile devices. Now with the trial well underway, Japan’s largest mobile operator is back in the news.

This is the second trial of the company’s language translation service that converts Japanese into 10 languages — English, Korean, Chinese, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Thai and Indonesian — and vice versa.

NTT Docomo executives believe the translation service has high potential, especially for companies that regularly communicate with foreigners.

"Our company is about creating communications. By incorporating translation capability, we think people can enjoy a broader range of communications," said Akihiro Nishimoto, assistant manager of network services and architecture group of the core network development department at the Docomo R&D Center.

"There are still a lot of things that need to be improved," admitted Nishimoto.

"We'll be working to improve the accuracy of translation and recognition. We also hope to increase the number of languages.”

Docomo expects to further enhance its translator phone service based on the feedback it will receive from this second trial, and is now aiming to launch a commercial service within the current fiscal year.

Alex Dupont

See Also

  • More about machine translation
    Raw machine translation may be sufficient for communicating via social networks. However, you may have to consider human translation if you require high quality.
  • Translating smartphone is boon for DoCoMo
    'Intelligent' service targets firms that regularly deal with foreigners
  • Docomo smartphone service looks to replace translators
    NTT Docomo, Japan?s largest mobile service provider, has begun a second phase of trials for its two-way translation service
  • About NTT DOCOMO
    NTT DOCOMO is Japan's premier provider of leading-edge mobile voice, data and multimedia services. With more than 59 million customers in Japan, the company is one of the world's largest mobile communications operators.

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