​Google app introduces point-to-translate

For globe trotters with who don't know the language -- and don't have a good international plan -- the Google Translate app's latest update will be a welcome change.

Starting Wednesday, the app allows users to simply point their phone's camera at a piece of text in another language, be it a street sign, a subway map or a restaurant menu, and see an augmented reality-like translation overlaid right on the screen. Suddenly, that inscrutable scrawl transforms into familiar words.

What's more, the function doesn't require a Wi-Fi or data connection.

It leverages the power of Word Lens, the real-time translation app that Google bought last year. Now Google has swept the technology into its own Translate app. As a result, the Huffington Post reports, Word Lens will no longer be supported as a standalone.

Also part of the update bundle: If you use the app to translate a conversation between you and a local, it will automatically recognize what two languages are being spoken, so you don't have to manually select them.