Skype integrates Translator into Windows for instant translation
14 Jan 2016
Microsoft's video calling and instant messaging service Skype has integrated the Skype Translator tool into its Windows desktop app for all users.
Skype's announcement follows a few months after the launch of Skype Translator Preview for Windows, six months after it was rolled out to general mobile users, and a year after the preview debuted on mobile.
According to the company's blog post, the Windows app of the service offered voice-to-voice translation in seven languages - Chinese Mandarin, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.
For users who preferred texting, the app supports 50 languages including Hindi and Urdu.
The tool was launched in 2014, and according to Microsoft's announcement in June, last year, it would bring the real-time translation technology into Skype's Windows client.
The tool was aimed at breaking language barriers between people and enable communication even if they did not speak a common language.
The feature uses machine learning, and according to Microsoft, over the testing period, the feature had shown improved results as more people used it.
The software giant noted that currently, French to English was the most popular language pair and added, that the number of calls per day had increased 400 per cent since launch.
To start a conversation with someone who spoke a language one did not know, one needed to click on the globe in the upper right-hand corner of the Skype for Windows desktop app.
If the icon did not appear, users should make sure to update their app to the latest version from skype.com.
Some commentators expressed surprise Skype chose to integrate so soon. They say, offering Skype Translator as a separate app made a lot of sense, this was very early technology that simply would not work in many cases.
As Skype Translator relied on machine learning, the technology improved with use. With all Skype users on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10 able to access it, the feature should only get even better.