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There already exists an impressive Chinese real-time OCR dictionary for the iPhone called Pleco: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7VTo0656Rc

The dictionary is free and the OCR is available as an in app purchase for $15.

I'm just saying this because it is not trivial to adapt an OCR engine to non-latin scripts, because the image analysis techniques are rather different.



As I was suffering from acute future shock last night I didn't make this clear... but I'd happily pay a premium for French, a much easier OCR problem (and, indeed, one of the easiest foreign languages for an English speaker to read, since there are so many loan words in both directions.)

I understand that Chinese is harder, for many reasons. It is also much harder for humans. But that is why I'd happily pay, say, $10 per day of my trip for an engine that gives reasonable hints. Maybe more. Try me and see.

Of course, once this technology is ubiquitous and the price of such a thing has fallen to nigh-zero it is going to change the world. But we have to walk before we run, and you'll need the money for R&D and legal costs.




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