(Click here for a slightly larger view of the Ectaco iTravl)The languages supported by the device are Chinese, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. The company says the unit can translate approximately 63,000 travel-related phrases per language, then say them "like a native-speaker" using its speech synthesis functionality.
According to Ectaco, the unit's dictionary includes more than 3 million words overall. Translation is two-way, so the device can also recognize speech in any of the supported languages and translate it back into English.
The iTravl additionally permits text input by hand, including the Pinyin transliteration system for entering or reading Chinese using the latin alphabet. It also includes Fodor's Travel Guide, with maps and essential information for 50 cities, and the CIA World Factbook for 180 countries around the world, according to the company.
Added functionality in the iTravl includes an MP3 player, games, a calculator, and a metric converter. Ectaco says a clock provides world time, local time, a daily alarm, and reminder functionality.
Technical specifications provided by Ectaco are relatively few, but include the following:
- Display -- 320 x 240 pixel LCD display
- I/O:
- USB port for PC connectivity
- headphone jack
- Power:
- power input from AC adapter
- lithium-polymer rechargeable battery
- Dimensions -- 6.0 x 3 x .6 inches
- Weight -- 7 ounces
The iTravl is available now for approximately $600. More information appears on the company's Web site,
here.
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