Date:  Dec 25, 2019

From our last vacation in Japan, I found a new toy.

Hello “POCKETALK” – my new Universal Translator.

A very simple design.  Just two buttons.  Press left button and speak in English, it will translate them to Japanese.  Press right button and speak in Japanese, it will translate them back to English.  It will show the writing on the screen too.

Both languages can be changed.  The screen is touch screen.  Simply by touching it, you can select the languages you like.  There are 74 languages that you can switch too.

i.e.  English, Malay, Indonesian Bahasa, Thai, Myanmar, Khemer, Lao, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, French, Spanish, etc etc.  Wow, Australian English, US English, UK English and Indian English.  No joke, it is very good.

Very simple to use.  It runs on Android OS.

The version I bought comes with a SIM chip in there.  And the SIM chip data plan will last for 2 years.  And each day, they give you about 15 minutes allowance which is about 50MB data.  I think this is for emergency use purpose.  If you want to buy, buy this, and pay 2000+ yen more for this.  After 2 years, the data sim chip will expire and you can renew the plan.  Not sure how to do it yet.

This is very useful when you are traveling and you don’t have a roaming.  It roams to many many countries.

Beside that, it has WiFi and Bluetooth function where you can connect the device to your Internet/4G Dongle or your phone hotspot.

OK, it is time for some demos.

In the Arcade in Osaka, I saw a few kids were playing the Pokemon and they have this translator with them.  So, their parents actually give them this, so that they can communicate with the Japanese if needed too while the Parents went to shopping in the massive shopping districts in Osaka.  Hahaahha

Take a look, and you will know what I mean.  Very easy to use.

Let’s change to Chinese mode.

In the hotel at Tottori, the waitress auntie also have one of this.  And as I wanted to order something that is not inside the menu, the auntie use this to communicate with me.  “I will check with the chef”…

So, it is very useful.

Now, let’s give it a harder Chinese phrase and see how it does.

I am impressed.  Hahahaha.  Of course, not every phrase workable.  But I think it is good enough.

Let’s try Cantonese.

How about Thailand language?  Wow, it is good!

I think this is a very good gadget to bring around when you go business trip or vacation or shopping in countries you do not know their language.

So, I recommend you all try to get one of this toys if you are in Japan.  I am not sure where do they sell it too, I think they sell it in US too.

Let’s check out the box and manual.

This is the specs.  Not too bad.

Quad-Core CPU.  2200mAh battery.  Support 3G/4G.  Has a eSIM.  got a nano-SIM too?

Charging is USB-C.  Will be fast charge.

Weight 100g.  So quite light.  I bought the protection case as well as the bag for it.  I even bought the screen protector.  It is going to be my toy that last long long time.

Oh ya, if you are learning a particular language, you can use this to learn.  To see if your pronunciation is good?

Wow, there are two IMEI code.

The user manual.

See, easy to use.

Oh, now I get to see it closely.  You can buy a local sim card and insert into it.  (Nano Sim) That will supply the data.  If not, you can use the e-Sim supplied by it (if you pay 2000+ yen more for the data plan).

Safety info.

Easy to connect to Wifi.

Easy to use.

You can see the history too.  And add it to Favourite.  Cool.

And of course, the volume control.  It has to be loud so that your listener can hear.

There is a sleep mode to save battery.  For old people with lao-hua, you can change the font size.

Easy to update too.  I have already updated it once.

OK, because of the great china firewall.  It has a china mode.  Cool!  But limited language.

Last page.  They also have Japanese manual.

Warranty.

Some login info.  Cool.

Conclusion:  Buy.  About $250 like that.  It is useful.