Muuzii debuts first real-time translation service for cell phones

Mobile translation innovator Muuzii unveiled on June 25 a game-changing mobile translation and language learning service for the North American market.

Piloted and tested by thousands of users in the U.S., Muuzii Message and Muuzii Speak are subscription-based language translation services accessed via any text-enabled mobile device. The new service is the first to provide real-time, free-form and colloquial Spanish-English, English-Spanish and English-Chinese translations to North American users.

To translate using Muuzii Message, a subscriber simply enters a phrase via text message, and an accurate text translation is instantly returned. With Muuzii Speak, the response includes an audio translation, enabling the subscriber to use and learn the correct pronunciation in a conversational context.

“Muuzii is a new kind of tool for practical day-to-day conversation,” said CEO Eric Fang. “In the workplace, in a business setting, at a physician’s office — anywhere language is a barrier, subscribers can simply ‘speak Muuzii’ to communicate with ease and confidence. It’s right there in your pocket when you need it.”

Existing translation apps and Web-based tools rely on canned phrases and dictionaries and by most estimates offer about 75% accuracy in their translations. Muuzii translations, on the other hand, are generated using sophisticated machine-learning backed by expert human translators.

The Muuzii translation engine “learns” new words, trending phrases and emerging jargon with every request, providing increasingly accurate and nuanced translations to Muuzii users. The system also scrubs and standardizes common language deviations, including misspellings, auto-correct errors and “texticon.” Novel requests to the system are diverted to expert human translators in real time to ensure accuracy.

“The U.S. is a diverse society, and we need to be able to communicate in an easy way,” added Fang. “Think about employers with a multi-lingual workforce or multi-lingual crew out in the field — Muuzii will transform how safely, efficiently and effectively they get the job done.”

Muuzii is currently available by subscription on the AT&T wireless network and will expand to other North and South American carriers in the coming months. The company also expects to add new languages its portfolio quickly by replicating its dynamic language catalog.

“Universal language translation isn’t futuristic — it’s already here, affordable and just a text away,” concluded Fang.