POCCard or Google Translate: two different shapes

Google Translate is free, it does a great many languages and it is on almost every phone already. If it solves your problem, use it — we are not going to pretend otherwise.

What this page does not do: it does not tell you what Google Translate can or cannot do. It is not our product, it changes constantly and we do not track it. What follows is about the two shapes a translation tool can take, and which one POCCard chose.

One screen, or one button each

A general translator is designed for one person using it. When two people use it face to face, they end up leaning over the same phone, taking turns to press the same control, and it is never quite clear whose turn it is. It works, and it is awkward in front of a customer.

POCCard gives each person their own button, in their own language, on the same screen — or on two phones joined by a QR. The microphone only listens while a button is held down, so it does not pick up the room.

Seeing before speaking

POCCard puts the transcript on screen before the translation is spoken. A misheard name or number is caught by you, not by the person in front of you.

Two languages, on purpose

English and Spanish only. That is a limit and we say so: if you need forty languages, this is not the tool.

What it costs: you pay for the minutes you speak, not a subscription. 15 minutes for $6.99, 30 for $9.99, two hours for $24.99. Credits do not expire. Try it free first.

Where not to use it

Not for a medical consultation, a legal proceeding or anything where a mistranslated word has consequences you cannot undo. Those need a sworn or certified human interpreter, and no software replaces one. This is for the counter, the workshop, the site visit and the conversation that would otherwise not happen at all.

Questions people ask before buying.