TheFluentalk T1 from Timekettleis a pocket-sized translator with different modes to suit every situation you might find yourself in.
Let’s find out.
Who is Timekettle?
Timekettle is no stranger to translation devices, having previously kickstarted and successfully delivered several earbud translators.
Despite the awe-inspiring nature of areal-life Babel fish, I’ve so far avoided the Timekettle earbud translators.
In general, earbuds don’t agree with me.
By which I mean they thoroughly gross me out.
In which case, you might as well just use an app in the first place.
Read our previous review of theTimekettle WT2 Edge earbud translators.
The Fluentalk T1 is Timekettle’s first gadget with an actual screen, and resembles a tiny smartphone.
However, this isnt a Kickstarter with vague promises of features yet to materialize.
Its an actual product and you could buy it now.
What is the Fluentalk T1?
The Fluentalk T1 is a small Android-based machine that ships with a two-year worldwide data plan.
Translations can be done between 40 languages, including 93 dialects.
For this review, I’ve focussed on the use of Fluentalk T1 for Chinese and Japanese.
I tried live news broadcasts, anime, as well as face to face interactions.
It’s lightweight too, at just 115g (4oz).
There’s a 4-inch 540 x 1080px screen that’s just enough to display text comfortably.
Wi-Fi, eSim, or NanoSIM options ensure you should be able to connect anywhere.
Press the red button closest to you, to translate from your language to the other one.
Press the blue button (closest to your partner) to translate back again.
You just have to remember to press the buttons.
Both texts appear on-screen like a chat message, and you might scroll back through the history.
Just pre-record several phrases, then scroll up and select them to have the translation read aloud.
Even more bizarrely, the swear filter is only active from English, and not in other languages.
So we were able to get it to accurately translate certain Chinese or Japanese phrases back to English.
you’re able to also quickly access this screen by double-tapping the power button.
Once finished, you’re free to also scroll back through what was said.
I tried this with a live Japanese news broadcast, and the results were great.
If you watch the video, you’ll see the translation is constantly updating.
This isn’t an error or bad performance from the Fluentalk T1.
In other cases, unnaturally high-pitched voices were ignored too.
I also left this mode running as my wife spoke to her father over WeChat in Chinese.
Even then, it struggled with the harsh QingDao dialect.
Chat Mode
Most useful for traveling is perhaps the two-way conversation or chat mode.
With two microphones, the Fluentalk T1 can infer which language is which from the volume.
Be sure to keep the machine oriented correctly, or it won’t work.
The answer would be: not really.
Both performed roughly the same with any test sentences we tried.
Both were equally as good as handling more conversational language or harder dialects.
But that doesn’t mean the Fluentalk T1 is superfluous or a waste of money.
The two devices can certainly coexist.
While smartphones have grown in complexity and become essential parts of our modern life, people haven’t changed.
Its handy to have a rig that does everything, but not always sensible.
An Essential Travel Companion?
As with all translation systems, you must think about and formulate your full sentence before you say it.
