Translation app
NEW ORLEANS--Though it has few operations in the United States, you always can count on Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo to show up at CTIA. And it's a good thing that it does because it always brings along some cool stuff to handle.
The first thing I tried was an instant translation app on this Sony Xperia phone. The app works in real time so even callers who otherwise couldn't understand each other can speak over the phone. Each caller will hear the other person speak in their native language before hearing the translation in a computer voice. Likewise, when you speak, you'll be able to hear your words translated and see the translated text on the screen.
In my trial I asked, "What time is the meeting?" before hearing the question in Japanese a few seconds later. You need an Internet connection to use the service, but you can listen to each translation individually if you want to brush up on your language skills later.