NEC claims to have released the first PDA-style Chinese/Japanese translator. Speak Chinese into the microphone and the software converts this to text which is then translated. Japanese to Chinese works in the same manner and NEC claims that regional Chinese dialects can also be incorporated. The company is hoping to target local businesses looking to attract Chinese tourists and Chinese businesses preparing for the Olympics. No price on the press release (Japanese)
My Japanese speech is pretty good when I put my mind to it, but there are will always be situations where the other party doesn't understand what I'm saying and vice versa. In those cases an electronic aid which can provide an accurate translation both ways in less than a second is a real godsend.
