Last year, Word Lens stormed the App Store and set everyone who pays attention to it buzzing with how cool augmented reality could be. In today’s Fresh Apps list, we talk about TransLens, a Wi-Fi-based alternative to Word Lens that supports 16 different languages. Check it out below, along with a couple of other useful and interesting apps.
TransLens (iPhone) $1.99
By now you’ve probably heard about Word Lens, an augmented reality app that scans words with your iPhone’s camera and translates them in real time on your phone’s screen. TransLens is a similar app with similar functionality: scan words with the camera and the app provides the translation. But TransLens works a little differently — it doesn’t require in-app purchases of $4.99 per language translated and offers a wide variety of supported languages, but it also requires an Internet connection.
TransLens lets you highlight which words on the screen you want translated, and supports up to 16 languages. Like Word Lens, it still seems best in small doses, like on signs in foreign countries. If you’re looking for an alternative to Word Lens or you need additional languages, TransLens is for you.
2phone (iPhone) Free
Downloading an extension for your Safari web browser to your desktop computer will allow you to use 2phone, an app that makes it easy to move all kinds of text, as well as links and other information, straight to your phone.
The Safari extension adds a button to your browser that lets you instantly fire any highlighted text to your iPhone’s 2phone app. Once it’s there, you can retrieve it — like a phone number for a restaurant or a link to a website you want to check out later. It’s extremely handy to be able to get small notes from your computer to your phone without any hassle, and the app is free, so there’s no excuse not to give it a go.
Voice Changer Camera (iPhone) $0.99
Turn your videos into comedic masterpieces (maybe) with Voice Changer Camera — which, as you might expect, lets you alter the voices of the people you shoot videos of using your iPhone 4. You get seven different voice effects to mess around with, including obvious ones, like “helium” and not so obvious ones, like “reverse.”
Once you’re done messing with the voices of friends, family and complete strangers, you can spread your hopefully hilarious videos around. Voice Changer Camera allows you to save your videos and upload them to YouTube, or send them to other people by MMS message or email. You can also do some light trimming of videos in the app, shoot at night, or record with either the front or back camera on an iPhone 4.
