Category: Apps

Skype and Microsoft Research collaboration has resulted in major technological advancement in telecommunication.

Microsoft has recently made technology news by revealing a new translation service for the freemium VoIP (voice over IP) and messaging app Skype, which has the ability to identify spoken words and translate these words into a different language and, in almost real-time, speak back the translation.

After 15 years of research Microsoft intends to launch the new service by the end of the year.

Presently, Skype has an estimated 300 million monthly users who utilize its service via smartphones, tablets, computers and television. At the end of 2014, Skype Translator will be available for Windows 8. However, Microsoft also has the intention to make it available to other operating platforms in the future.

Skype’s corporate vice president, Gurdeep Singh Pall, said “Skype has always been about breaking down barriers. And the language barrier is huge. It has been a blocker to productivity and human connection.” He went on to say that “Skype Translator helps us overcome this barrier. It’s going to make sure you can communicate with anyone without language barriers.”

The technology was demonstrated by Pall in California at the Code conference. He held a three minute conversation with one of his German colleagues via a Skype video call. Pall spoke in English and his words were translated into German while his colleague spoke in German and Pall and the audience heard the German to English translation in almost real-time.

There were a few mistakes during the conversation, but these were extremely minor compared to those that occurred when the service was first demonstrated two years ago, translating English to Chinese. This shows the technological improvements that have been made in such a short time.

Microsoft’s technology news could preserve Skype’s competitive edge.

Skype was acquired by Microsoft back in 2011 for $85 billion. Globally, Skype continues to be the most used video and voice chat. However, it has a lot of competition from other popular messaging services like WhatsApp, FaceTime and Hangouts. The translation feature could be what allows Skype to keep a leg up over its competitors.

It is likely that there will be more Skype-related technology news in the future as more advancement are made and because Microsoft has yet to announce if the new translator service will be free or not.

New app aims to help Panera Bread recover from operational struggles

Panera Bread Company has launched a new mobile application that aims to help the company recover from the operational struggles it has faced over the past 18 months. The mobile app is meant to help the company’s restaurants better manage the high volume of orders they receive during peak hours by taking advantage of the mobile commerce scene. More consumers are beginning to use their mobile devices in restaurants to pay for their purchases and many of these consumers are praising the efficient nature of mobile commerce services being provided by these restaurants.

App could improve the efficiency on Panera Bread restaurants

The new mobile application aims to address efficiency and consumer satisfaction issues by giving customers the ability to order and purchase food from Panera Bread restaurants using a mobile device. The application is free and can even be used to find Panera Bread locations using geolocation services. The company expects that restaurant efficiency will be increased as the new application becomes more widely used among consumers.

Consumers are becoming mobile-centric

Mobile commerce continues to attract a great deal of attention across numerous industries as the demand for mobile-centric services continues to raise among consumers. People are eager to have their mobile devices play a more important role in their daily lives and mobile commerce represents the next step in the process of integrating mobile technology with people’s lives. As the demand for mobile services continues to rise among consumers, businesses are beginning to take steps to meet this demand more aggressively.

Mobile commerce is not a guaranteed success with most consumers due to poor experiences in the past

While mobile commerce is in high demand, it can be difficult for companies to find success with their mobile payments endeavors. In the past, retailers have tried to engage consumers with their own mobile commerce platforms only to find that these platforms were unable to live up to the expectations that consumers have. Poor experiences with these platforms have caused many people to avoid mobile commerce services being offered in the retail sector.