Planing for a trip to any foreign country??? Here is your translator!!!

If you've ever wandered around a foreign country completely confused by what all of the signs are actually saying, Quest Visual has the answer with its augmented reality Word Lens App for iPhone. Simply point the camera at the text you want translated and the foreign language is replaced instantly on-screen with something you can read.

While translation software has been available before, seeing the converted text in-situ without any pop-ups is both neater and quicker. The speed of translation requires a small amount of text and Word Lens was not designed to read books. Decent light and clear text are also required for the best results, with Quest Visual telling people to "brighten the text with your phone light".

Currently the app is only available for the iPhone on the App Store for free, but you have to pay $4.99 in-app for translation packs. Currently there are only two packs available, Spanish to English and English to Spanish; however Quest Visual has big plans for the software.

"We're starting out with European languages and will expand from there. We won't stop until we get all the way across the globe!" said the official website.

More European languages should be added soon and all will be available to buy in-app, with the rest of the world following after that.

What of other handset users? Quest Visual has big plans on this front too, hinting that apps are on the way for Android, Windows Phone 7, Palm and Blackberry.

"Our goal was to get a great first release on one platform. Keep in touch!" said the website.

Rumor: Gingerbread comes out of the oven on November 11

"A trusted source has tipped us to the potential launch date for Gingerbread, the 2.3 version of Android. According to our source, the SDK for this upcoming revision will debut on November 11th. The timing is àpropos as Samsung is slated to have a big event in New York City  next week on the 8th and the confirmation of a Gingerbread-powered Nexus Two is a possible topic for this event."

IntoMobile is reporting today that the next release of Android--Gingerbread--is expected to debut November 11. Likely to be marked as v2.3, Gingerbread is said to focus more on aesthetics as opposed to additional features. Other details include WebM support, better copy and paste functionality, and improved social-networking features.

Reading the tea leaves, it certainly appears that an SDK announcement is around the corner. A giant gingerbread man statue was dropped off at Google headquarters two weeks ago, where he now stands next to previous delicious builds of Android, including Froyo (2.1) and Eclair (2.0).

Typically, Google announces an SDK or a phone within a few weeks of new lawn ornaments. Samsung was recently tied to "Nexus Two" rumors where it will reportedly debut the 2.3 build. A few Android blogs have also spotted Android 2.3 and 3.0 (Honeycomb?) in their recent traffic analytics reports, leading many to believe testing is being actively conducted.

The latest release of Google Maps might be our first glimpse into how applications and menus will look. A clever Freenode IRC member, canadiancow, noticed that the app came with a folder hiding new graphics and interface tweaks. Look for a crisper, sharpened appearance to the overall user experience with a hint of green.

Verizon has a couple of devices expected to launch November 11, but I don't expect to see Gingerbread loaded on them just yet. If recent history is any indication, it will be at least a few weeks or more between the SDK release and the first phone or OTA update.