Hand-held Language Translators?

Ok, well since no-one has replied to this question we've gone ahead and bought it anyway, via Amazon.com.au

The refs say it's good enough for normal conversations

It's currently on sale in Au for 4,200 peso, say $100 Au and about 40% of the price on their company website.

Online reviews are mixed, tho frequently quite positive.

Here's one review from: https://cybernews.com/reviews/best-instant-language-translator/

5. Enence Instant Translator

Opinion: best instant language translator for frequent flyers

Number of languages    61

Number of languages offline    19 language pairs

Connectivity    Wi-Fi, Hotspot, Bluetooth

Best for    Frequent flyers

This device might be worth considering for avid travelers.

It’s easy to use and offers 2-way translation, delivering results in just 1.5 seconds, so you don’t have to struggle with language barriers the moment you land in a new city. However, it’s also worth noting that many of its competitors – such as Timekettle and Vasco V4 – advertise an even shorter 0.5-second response time.

Once you’ve downloaded the necessary language packs, you can use them offline, which makes it ideal when there’s no internet. You can take it anywhere with ease thanks to its lightweight, portable design. Best of all, it offers all this without costing a fortune.

On another note, you’ll need to connect your Enence translator to your smartphone and install the corresponding app in order for it to function fully – which may prove a disadvantage if you’re looking for a model that doesn’t always rely on other devices. Users also criticize the translator overly relying on a phone, with some claiming problems with deliveries/refunds.

Pros

1. Instant two-way translation
2. Works offline with 19 language pairs
3. User-friendly

Cons

1. Requires a smartphone and app to work fully

So, soon we expect to be having 'normal' tagalog talks?

Maybe :-)  happy trails ..

.

Do let us know how it performs.

I asked Google about it, and it said 19 languages are "preloaded". Curious whether the other 42 languages it supports can be loaded via a language pack, or whether a WiFi connection is always needed.

How's Google Translate with English to Tagalog? It's atrocious with English - Vietnamese. It translates word-by-word, so you often end up with some real word-salads.

I expect in the not too distant future there'll be a "Language Interpreter", not just a translator.