This will be short (cheers resound) Seattle Flyer Guy has put together a great tool for the Kindle (using Google Translate) for those who like to get translations for phrases they'd like to say in another language. One useful feature is that the resulting characters are huge, which means the person you might be communicating with will have no trouble seeing them.
Go to UPDATE if you've read the main entry before.
I entered my Chinese surname, chose Chinese as the output language, pressed the Translate button and immediately got the correct character for the name.
Seattle Flyer Guy, who posts excellent photos as Nicholas, and took some very effective pictures of the program's display, has a blog page guide to using the program, though I found it pretty intuitive.
He also has a growing list of linked reviews from the last couple of days, so go take a look.
To USE Kindlefish on your Kindle, you'll be turning on your wireless to GoTo Kindlefish. He explains:
' Kindlefish - No Muss Translations for the Amazon Kindle
One of the best features of the Amazon Kindle is the ability to access the internet virtually anywhere for free. Since there is no touchscreen, the interface can be a bit difficult at times, but for simple errands like checking your email, reading up on something on wikipedia, or sending a text message with google voice it's great. For example, I step off the plane, switch on my Kindle and a few moments later I can send a SMS saying that I got there safely. It doesn't cost me a thing and it just works.
However, one thing that hit me the other day is that I should be able to use Google Translate on the Kindle to help me out in situations where I need to communicate a message, but there's a language barrier. The standard Google Translate page doesn't work for the Kindle and the mobile Google Translate page returns text that is too small to be easily read, and a little clunky for use on the Kindle.
So I fixed it. I present to you: Kindlefish! '
Thanks, Nicholas !
UPDATE - 3/28/11 (Am not changing the date for this entry, only the time)
In the Comments area, David Cuen let me know that this tool did not work for his Kindle 2. I experimented and wrote the following, slightly modified here:
For your K2, you'll see a slightly different looking Kindlefish menu, and the 'Temporary DX Version' option on the right may not even show up unless you arrow down the page (which I found out accidentally).
The best way, though, to get to the method which will work for the Kindle 2 is to use the following shortcut URL (making sure the URL action at top right is "go to" by going right with the 5-way button).
bit.ly/kfishfix
(Don't type the "http://" part -- it's not needed on the Kindle.)
Clicking on the "Translate" button will work then.
Press Menu and select "Bookmark This Page" so you won't need to type the URL in the future. I'll include it later in the Mobiweb weblinks file described above.
(This Kindle 2 method uses the programmer's fix for the Kindle DX model ironically.)
The Kindle 2 cannot display the Asian characters though.
In FACT, at times the Kindle 3 will not respond to the "Translate" button either. If that happens, you can use the fix-shortcut URL (bit.ly/kfishfix and it'll work.
Kindle 3's (UK: Kindle 3's), DX Graphite
Check often: Temporarily-free late-listed non-classics or recently published ones
Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources. Top 100 free bestsellers.
UK-Only: recently published non-classics, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.
Unfortunately I tried it on a Kindle 2 and didn't work. You can't properly see the webpage on Basic Mode browser. In Advanced Mode it's possible but nothing happens after you hit the "Translate" button. It would be great if it works on Kindle 2 as well.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I'll need to update my entry to reflect what I've found works or works best with K3 and K2, for me.
ReplyDeleteFor your K2, you'll see a slightly different looking menu, and the 'temp DX' option on the right may not even show up unless you arrow down (which I found out accidentally).
The best way to get to the method which will work for the K2 is to use this shortcut URL:
(Don't type the "http://" part)
bit.ly/kfishfix
Then the translate button will work.
Bookmark it so you don't need to type using the 'sym' key again to get the '/' ...
(This method uses the fix for DX's ironically.)
In FACT, sometimes the K3 will not respond to the Translate button either. In that case, also use this fix shortcut.
Good luck!