Cool Gorilla Phrasebooks

The best value translator app: Cool Gorilla

Translator app reviews
World Nomads (free)
24/7 tutor (free)
Cool Gorilla (99¢)
Word Roll (99¢)
Odyssey ($9.99)
Lonely Planet ($9.99)

Cost: 99¢ Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

Platform: iPhone, Samsung, Nokia

Languages: 9 — Japanese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch , and Spanish (plus an Arabic one that doesn't talk to you, as well as Spanish to English, Mandarin to English, and Cantonese to English apps)

Usability: The interface is similar to that of World Nomads—useful travel phases, divided by category—but with ten times the number of phrases, making it a fantastic investment for just a buck.

Each app features more than 500 phrases in 40 categories (accommodations, food and drink, activities, shopping, etc.), all professionally translated and spoken aloud.

How do I know it's a pro doing the audio? They get all breathy and excited when translating such phrases as "Kiss me," and "I want you." (Never fear, these phrases come after "Would you like a drink?" and "What's your sign?")

Frustrations: Some translations seem less than necessary (guess what the Italian words pizza, lasagne, and tiramisu mean in English?).

More languages would be nice.

Also, this is a British company, which means you need to translate things into British English in your head first ("chips" are "french fries").

It's a bit buggy, and crashes on occasion—not a huge concern, but annoying.

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