Microsoft introduces translator app on smart phones and watches

Microsoft has launched a translator app that supports 50 different languages on various platforms. Released this week, Microsoft Translator is a new app designed by the software giant for iOS and Android users. The app supports phones and tablets as well as the Apple Watch and smartwatches that run Android Wear.

Users can type or speak the word or phrase they want translated. In response, the app will show the translated text on the screen and then speaks it out loud. Users can also and copy and paste text from and to other apps for translation. At this point, Microsoft Translator supports 50 different languages, including English, Chinese, French, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Russian.

Google's Translate app, on the other hand, supports only 27 languages for text and voice conversion. But Google's app lets users point their mobile device's camera at a sign, book or other object with text on it and watch as that text is automatically translated into the language of their choice.

Microsoft has already been serving up language translation via its Bing website along with apps for its Windows Phone mobile operating system and its Windows 10 desktop software. The company also offers translation through its Skype Translator program.