iPhone top language translation apps (but not with menu translators)

Budget Traveler Magazine looks at iPhone Top Language Translation Apps. You still need to purchase Andy's Eating & Drinking guides to help you translate a menu!

Our favorite apps work with or without Internet access. Because, chances are, Wi-Fi hotspots aren't the only places you'll need help with the local lingo.

By Reid Bramblett, Tuesday, August 11, 2009

BEST FREEBIE
World Nomads
Free

Languages: Twenty-three, including Arabic, Cambodian, Cantonese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Lao, Malay, Mandarin, Nepali, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese, and Australian—the last app is handy for translating otherwise incomprehensible Aussie slang.

Usability: The World Nomads apps present lists, divided into categories, of a few dozen basic travel phrases. After tapping through the categories, such as "places to stay" and "directions & transport," you can select an appropriate phrase and hear an audio clip of a native speaker pronouncing it—a high-end feature we're surprised to find in a free app.

Frustrations: Dining phrases are missing—a big drawback.