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MagyarTimekettle Fluentalk T1 Mini translator hands-on: Better than Google Translate?
Timekettle is a company that manufacturers a variety of portable translators. One of its tiniest is the Fluentalk T1 Mini, a lilliputian device designed to translate conversations from the palm of a hand. The T1 Mini offers translation of 35 different languages, including English, Chinese, Japanese, German, and more. I spent roughly a month using the T1 Mini to see how it fared against other options, primarily Google's Translate smartphone app.
Design and Case - Compact, plastic, and solid
The T1 Mini feels like a flagship smartphone from an age long past. It's well put together, and all seams across the device are tight and even. The entire shell is made from a flat matte plastic that hides fingerprints well. Overall, I have no complaints about either the materials or build quality.
The T1 Mini lives up to its name — it's downright tiny. It has a 2.87 inch (7.3 cm) screen (measured diagonally) on the front. The whole unit measures 3.5 x 2.13 x 0.5 in (8.9 x 5.5 x 1.27 cm), making it easy to fit in the palm of a hand. The left side of the case is flat while the right side is rounded, and I found it fit the curve of the fingers of my left hand well. It weighs 3 oz (87 g). The device feels solid and has some reassuring heft to it.
For inputs, the T1 Mini has a power/lock button, speaker, and microphone on the top, a USB-C port for charging only and microphone on the bottom, volume buttons on the left side, and a single button on the right side to activate the conversational translation feature (more on that in a bit). The USB-C port, to my knowledge, can only be used for charging. All other inputs are handled via the tiny touch screen.
The screen is tiny but gets reasonably bright. It gets almost as bright as my iPhone 13 and is mostly visible outdoors, even on a sunny day. Touch input is also responsive.
In sum, the T1 Mini is extremely compact and can easily fit in a pocket, but is well-made enough that it feels solid. It's likely it could survive a fall or two, but Timekettle throws a neck lanyard in the box, so users can wear the device like a necklace to prevent drops.
As a last note, the battery in the T1 Mini should last long enough for most tourists' needs. It has a standby time of about 5-7 days. Heavy translation connected to a network runs the battery dry fairly quickly, but it should still get you through a 3-4 hour excursion while regularly conversing with locals or a tour guide.
Software and Features compared to Google Translate
The Fluentalk T1 Mini runs a heavily modified version of Android. It has no apps to select and can be used only for translating. This makes it simple to use, if a bit limited. There are some simple settings to adjust. Swiping down from the top brings up a quick settings menu with Wi-Fi and Airplane Mode toggles, brightness and text size adjustment sliders, and a link to the user guide and more settings. These additional settings include setting the system language, updating the device, managing the storage space (roughly 8 GB total), and getting some details about the device. There are also some settings for the display's automatic shutoff and a shortcut statement (more on this below), but not much else.
There are four main screens that users can swipe through. The first activates the camera, which can be used to translate written text. Unlike other services like Google Translate, the T1 Mini does not offer real-time text translation; users must first snap a photo and then let the device analyze it to translate it. This takes roughly 10-20 seconds, depending on how much text is present and how clear it is. The translation is fairly accurate with some insignificant changes from services like Google Translate and DeepL. The T1 Mini does have trouble recognizing handwriting, but this is not uncommon for other apps as well. However, the overall photographic experience is not great. The screen is very tiny, and reading text from it can be difficult due to the size. Additionally, the added time for translation requires patience and falls behind something like Google Translate on a smartphone. The camera function works in a pinch, but it is far from ideal.
The second screen prompts the user to hold down the side button to start a translation from voice. Once the button is held, one person can speak into the T1 Mini to prompt the device to translate their words into a selected language. This process is smooth, and the translations are very accurate in the languages I tested. I spoke with native Spanish and German speakers, and we were able to hold a (somewhat stilted) conversation in our respective languages via the translator. Three Spanish speakers and one German speaker all mentioned that the translations were accurate but felt a little stiff; the main complaint was from the Spanish speakers, who mentioned the translator sounded a bit more formal than standard conversational Spanish. This could also be due to dialectical differences; I live in central Texas, which has a slightly different dialect than other Spanish-speaking regions like Spain or Mexico.
One downside that is common among translation devices and apps is that both parties must wait on the device to finish translating until the next speaker can begin. This can halt conversation, but is a common drawback. The T1 Mini does fairly well, especially when connected to a network. Translations are done quickly, even for lengthy statements, and take just a hair longer than the Google Translate app on my iPhone 13 (connected to 5G). While both speakers have to wait on the device to translate the conversation, it works well and makes it easy to get information or meet new people. However, long conversations can get tiresome. The translation also has some issues with accents, both in English and Spanish, and can miss words here and there. Timekettle advertises the T1 Mini with a 95% accuracy rate, and I believe that to be true. It'll miss some words here and there, but almost every time, it nails the translation in an understandable way.
Swiping up on this screen (and this screen only) fires off a shortcut statement, which can be edited in the settings. This is a customizable phrase that will immediately start speaking in the translated language when activated.
The third screen is for offline translation. Timekettle offers a year-long global data connection with the purchase of the T1 Mini, but doesn't give any details as to providers, network bands, or other specs. (As a note, the first year of network services is free with the initial purchase. Additional network service can be purchased for $14.90/month or $44.90/year.) The T1 Mini supports downloading language packs, but this is limited to 8 languages, and two of these (English and Simplified Chinese) serve as base languages. In other words, you can download language packs to translate either English or Chinese into each other, Spanish (Spain), German, Japanese, French, Russian, or Korean. If you want to download a language pack to translate German to Korean, that is not available.
The offline translation works, but it is not fast. Translations typically take about 8-10 seconds, even for simple phrases. This is painfully slow compared to Google Translate on my iPhone 13, which is nearly instant in both online and offline mode. As such, I would recommend keeping the T1 Mini connected to a network as much as possible. If you have poor connection, be prepared for you and the other speaker to wait. This may be why Timekettle itself suggests connecting the T1 Mini to a phone's hotspot when the device's network connection is spotty.
The last screen is settings for the device, covered above.
Pros
+ good build quality
+ pocket-sized and palm-friendly
+ accurate translation
+ loud and clear speakers with good text-to-voice
Cons
– screen is hard to read due to size
– slow translation speeds
– no "must-have" features compared to free translation apps
Conclusion
The Timekettle Fluentalk T1 Mini is an interesting device in that it feels like an answer in search of a problem. It's a dedicated translator that does dedicated translation fairly well, but it doesn't offer anything novel or unique compared to a free app like Google Translate. The big draw is its portability and single-use function. Due to its compact size, it's easy to take along on an outing in a foreign country, the software is simple and straightforward enough for easy use.
However, there is no must-have feature to use the T1 Mini over something like a smartphone with Google Translate. Considering Google's app is free of charge and most people will likely keep their smartphone with them while traveling, there is little reason to shell out the $149.99 the T1 Mini costs. A specific use case where the T1 Mini may be useful is for the traveler that either doesn't want to bring their expensive smartphone along (for fear of losing it or having it stolen) or doesn't want to drain their smartphone battery translating conversations all day. Here, the T1 Mini would fill a niche role.
Unfortunately, there just isn't a compelling reason to buy the T1 Mini over using Google Translate or another translation app.
The translation quality is on par with most other services, but the translation takes longer on the T1 Mini. Additionally, text translation via the camera is almost useless due to the small screen size and time the device needs to translate text. Unless you want a specific device for translation while abroad, skip this for a free app alternative.
Price and availability
The Timekettle Fluentalk T1 Mini is available for purchase from Timekettle for $149.99 or from Amazon for $149.99.
Transparency
The present review sample was made available to the author as a loan by the manufacturer or a shop for the purposes of review. The lender had no influence on this review, nor did the manufacturer receive a copy of this review before publication. There was no obligation to publish this review.
