Sharp and IBM develop translator

Sharp has unveiled a portable translator that is capable of handling the nuances of spoken Japanese, turning it into English and vice versa. This new handheld device performs its translation work courtesy of IBM’s speech recognition software that is normally used on PCs. Word on the street is Sharp will release this device to the consumer market at the end of the year for approximately $500. You can now head off to Akihabara on your own and haggle for the best price over all the latest gadgets without being cheated. We’re not sure if it does swear words though.