Phone to include voice translator

The latest cellphone from NEC Corp. will be able to translate spoken English into written Japanese in seconds, and vice versa.

When a user speaks a short sentence into the phone, a translation appears within a second or two on the screen, an official of the electronic appliance manufacturer said.

NEC adapted and improved its existing J-E machine translation software for use in cellphones, adding the reverse E-J option.

Internet connection is not needed.

It is the first commercial cellphone model of its kind, the company says.

Neither the phone's release date nor mobile phone service provider has been decided yet, however, officials said. (IHT/Asahi: January 5,2009)