Best Translation Software: Comparing the Pros and Cons

Here are some guidelines in choosing the best translation software in the market today. Read on, or call Language Direct for more help on translation and interpretation.

best translation software

If you are thinking about using a language translation software, it is important that you first understand the advantages and disadvantages of using one. If your intention is to merely translate short, informal phrases or sentences like greetings or phrases you might use on your next vacation, then you can use the services of a free translation software available online.

However, if you have decided to pay for a translation software and have searched the market for the perfect choice, then you must know how difficult it is to make a decision. The language industry is filled to the brim with varied translation software offered by different companies.

To help you decide, here is a comparison of the top 5 best translation software in the market today.

Babylon

Babylon has long been a big player in the translation business for many years, with their services ranging from offering translation software to online translation services. The Babylon 9, their newest product, has received a very positive response.

Pros:

Accuracy: It reportedly has one of the highest accuracy turnouts, with very few grammatical and capitalization errors.
Features: It features many perks including: program integration that makes it easy to translate documents from various formats, text-to-speech pronunciation that plays the pronunciation of words for you through audio, a grammar and spell checker, a dictionary, and a glossary. The dictionary is also linked to Wikipedia, and will provide links to articles and other information online.
Languages: Babylon offers translation service for 77 languages.
Files Supported: It supports many file formats such as Word, PDF, HTML and email.
Help: There is also a customer service team available by phone and email, and a forum where users can seek help from one another.

Con:

There is no user guide available for this software.

Power Translator

Power Translator Premium is a translation software created by LEC, a company known for making efficient translation software that are both powerful and reliable.

Pros:

Accuracy: It offers 90% accuracy, with great punctuations and minor errors.
Added Perks: Your purchase will include a12-month subscription to Translate DotNet and Translate ToGo. Your added online access gives you access to more languages and translation tools.
Features: Power Translator is divided into 7 interfaces:
- LEC Mirror
- Trans – provides translation while you work in another window
- Transit – translates instant messages and chats
- ClipTrans – automatically provides translation for anything copied to the Microsoft clipboard
- LogoTrans – translates small amounts of text
- FileTrans – provides translation for digital camera images, PDFs and scanned files, as well as text-only files like XML, ODF, RTF, HTML
- 1 WorldChat – allows you to chat with anyone around the world without any language barrier
- LEC Power Translator – main interface where you can access the other features

Other Features: It has the option to convert both speech-to-text and text-to-speech, providing pronunciation not just for English, but also for German, Italian, Russian, English, Portuguese, French and Spanish.

Cons:

Languages: While the software offers many language pairs, the CD only includes German, French, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish and English. However, you have the option to download other languages through your online access.
Files Supported: Power Translator supports Word, web browsers and email. However, some file types are notsupported. If this is the case, you will have to copy-paste the text to the software to get the translated text.
Help: There is no technical support available over the phone. You can access the user guide, list of FAQs or email LEC instead.

Prompt.

Prompt Standard is a translation software that’s made easy to use, but with advanced features.

Pros:

Accuracy: According to some tests, the software has 90% accuracy. In fact, the errors found were not even mistranslations, but just simple word mix-ups.
Features: One of Prompt’s best features is the ability of the user to simply highlight a particular text, and the software will automatically translate it, providing the translation right next to the original text. This is definitely a time saver. The web translation feature is also quite advanced. After typing in the URL, the software will direct you to the web page. The original text will be shown first, and then the translated text. You will be alerted if there are word variations available. There are three dictionaries available, which you can edit and personalize. Chat translation is available for ICQ, Skype, QIP and MSN Messenger.
Easy to Use: The icons are self-explanatory and the interface is very simple.
Files Supported: The software supports email, and file formats such as Word, Outlook, Adobe and Acrobat. Other formats also supported are OpenOffice, PDF, RTF and HTML formats. Text from a web browser, email or instant messages can also be translated.

Cons:

Source Language Identification: It lacks the ability to automatically identify the source language during translation.
Languages: The software’s giant version only supports 7 languages, while the basic one only has 2. There were no Asian languages available for full translation.

White Smoke.

White Smoke is a reliable and effective tool, with very basic features in its software.

Pros:

Accuracy: With an accuracy rate of 95%, this software is truly reliable for both personal and business use.
Features: With its full text translation feature, you can translate long documents instead of just short paragraphs. A multilingual dictionary is available, with 11 languages and includes results from Wikipedia. A White Smoke toolbar can be added to your browser so you can access translation tools while your browsing the internet. The spell check feature is especially helpful, and generic template documents are also accessible.
Easy to Use: It uses a very simple interface with 4 tabs. Everything is straightforward, and the steps are easy to follow.
Non- translation Features: The software also offers writing guides such as document and letter templates, and grammar and writing style checks.
Languages: White Smoke offers 9 European to Asian languages, plus Korean and Turkish as an added feature in its dictionary.
Files Supported: Chat, emal and MS Word are all supported, as well as PDF, RTF and HTML.
Help: Tech support is available through email, chat and telephone.

Cons:

Features: You wont be able to automatically translate a webpage, and there is no text-to-speech feature. The shortcut feature that allows you to select a shortcut key to open the software from your desktop does not work properly.
Help: There is no online forum available.

Translate Personal 9.

Translate Personal is another product from LEC, with less features but with great accuracy rate. It is ideal for home use or small translation projects.

Pros:

Accuracy: With and accuracy rate of 90% and the same engine as the Power Translator, it is a reliable software for home use.
Features: It includes 4 of Power Translator’s modules- LogoTrans, ClipTrans, MirrorTrans, and TransIt.
Files Supported: It can translate emails and web browsing.
Help: A manual and help section are available, as well as phone and email tech support.

Cons:

Features: It lacks many translation features text-to-speech, spell checker, or full text translation.
Languages: While the software offers many language pairs to choose from, you can only purchase one language pair at a time. You can choose to purchase several language pairs, but it is costly.
Files Supported: The software cannot integrate with Word or PDF. You will have to copy paste the text in long documents such as these.
Help: There is no forum available for users.

If you are not sure in using the best translation software, Language Direct can help you by hiring a linguist to help you with your translation needs.

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