International travel seems like a distant memory, but if you’re ready to start globetrotting again, make sure you pack Sourcenext’s Pocketalk Plus. At $329, it’s pricey, but that’s much less than what you’d pay to hire a human translator, and it has 82 languages under its belt. Its large screen can be seen from a prudent six-foot distance and makes reading text translations easy. Solid battery life and free data for two years make it a great companion and the winner of our Editors’ Choice award for translation devices.
Slides Into Your Pocket
The Pocketalk Plus is larger than its siblings, the Pocketalk S ($229) and the Pocketalk Classic ($249), but it’s still much smaller than your smartphone. Its plastic body measures 4.8 by 2.6 by 0.5 inches (HWD) and weighs just 4.4 ounces, and it fits easily into your pocket or bag. In the US, it’s available in white; additional color options are sold in other countries.
The front of the device is dominated by a crisp 3.5-inch, 800-by-480-pixel touch screen. It’s bright enough to use in direct sunlight. The display is a little larger than the one on the Pocketalk S, and that extra space makes a big difference when reading or tapping on the touch screen.
Below the display there is a large backlit Home button. It’s the most important button on the Pocketalk Plus, since it’s the one you need to hold down each time you need a translation.
The top of the Pocketalk Plus is home to two microphones and a 3W speaker. A USB-C charging port is on the bottom. On the left, you’ll find a SIM slot, though there’s also an eSIM baked in. A volume rocker and Power button are on the right side; both are easy to reach with one hand and provide a satisfying click when tapped.
The plastic body seems sturdy enough and should handle a drop without much of a problem. The display is also surrounded by enough plastic that it would hopefully survive minor falls without much damage. And though the Pocketalk Plus doesn’t have an IP rating, we used in the rain several times without any problems.
Works Just About Anywhere
Since the Pocketalk Plus requires the internet to work, good connectivity is essential. Fortunately, the device comes with a two-year cellular plan that supports LTE or 3G connectivity in 130 countries and regions. There is also dual band Wi-Fi when you’re somewhere with poor coverage.
During the pandemic, we were unable to travel internationally to run our usual connectivity tests. We have, however, tested the Pocketalk S and Pocketalk Classic around the globe with considerable success.
The nano SIM slot only works with Sourcenext SIMs. When your two years of free data service are up, you can easily buy a SIM on the Pocketalk website.
The speaker is loud and easy to understand, maxing out at 100dB. The microphones do an excellent job of picking up your voice and can be used in a loud room without a problem. There’s also Bluetooth 4.2 connectivity if you prefer to use headphones instead of the speaker.
Top-Tier Translation
The Pocketalk Plus runs on a highly customized version of Android OS—so customized you wouldn’t know it was Android if we didn’t tell you. That’s not a bad thing, because the interface is intuitive with absolutely zero learning curve.
Setup is easy. Simply push the power button and wait a few minutes for the device to find the local mobile network. There is an option to add Wi-Fi credentials, but it’s not necessary unless you’re in a building with poor reception. The final step is to select your language from a list.
Once the translator is set up, hold down the home button and say the phrase or sentence you’d like to translate. Translations appear immediately on the display and, for most languages, are also read aloud.
If you need the Pocketalk Plus to translate your words for the other party, simply tap the white arrow on the display. To change languages, tap on the language and either scroll through the list of options or press the microphone icon to say it and tap Okay.
Easy, Excellent Text and Speech Translation
We tested the translator in Arabic, Catalan, Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Russian, and Spanish. It worked well with single sentences, but you’ll notice some hiccups if you try to use it on multiple sentences. In Hindi and Russian, there were a few minor mistakes that did not affect our ability to understand what was being translated.
The overflow icon on the top left side of the screen gives access to the camera, for text translation, and currency converstion.
The 8MP camera on the back of the Pocketalk Plus translates short lines and paragraphs of printed text. We tested it on newspapers in over a dozen languages and were able to understand text far better compared with using Google Translate on Chrome. Simply put the text and focus and tap the home button to see the translation.
Hardware is not really the big sell here since it works well for its intended tasks. If you’re curious, however, the Pocketalk Plus sports an ARM Cortex 53 quad-core 1.3GHz processor along with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage.
A 1,550mAh battery powers the translator. Sourcenext claims it’s large enough to provide 330 minutes of translation. We kept the device on for weeks and used it for several hours with almost no battery drain.
A USB-A-to-USB-C cable and 10W charger are included in the box. It takes about two hours to get the Pocketalk Plus from completely depleted to completely charged. Make sure you use the charger that came in the box with the translator; otherwise, you may end up with a fried device. We learned this lesson the hard way.
Should You Buy a Translator?
$330 might seem like a lot for a translation device, given that many smartphones have some kind of translation feature or can access one on the web. However, Pocketalk devices are made by Japanese software giant Sourcenext, which works continuously to update its already excellent custom software. We found the Pocketalk’s overall accuracy to be much better than what you’ll get from Google Translate or Microsoft Bing, and new languages are being added all the time.
It’s also worth considering the price of connectivity. If you’re a frequent international traveler, you know how expensive it can be to use roaming data. Imagine paying those prices to translate dozens of conversations or pages of text. The Pocketalk Plus’s free data can save you far more than the device costs.
The Perfect Travel Companion
The Pocketalk Plus is the best portable translator you can buy. It’s easy to use, has a battery that will last your entire trip, and comes with two years’ worth of roaming data. For leisure travelers who may go abroad once a year, an international hotspot and solid translation app will do just fine. If, however, you’re frequently traveling to countries outside of Europe or conducting business in other languages, the Pocketalk Plus is an indispensable tool you’ll want to keep close at hand. Its substantial improvements over the Pocketalk Classic and Pocketalk S make it our clear Editors’ Choice.
