I carefully researched and expected to love this keyboard extension app, but there are just too many deal-breakers:
The iTranslate keyboard lags terribly. I’m not a fast typer, but iTranslateKeyboard forces me to type and retype so s-l-o-w-l-y to avoid dropping letters that would screw up the translation. It slows the pace of the conversation terribly.
There is no spellcheck or autocorrect, so you constantly have to scan your message looking for dropped letters or typos.
The crucial “green arrow” button that translates your text into the second language sometimes disappears. I carefully typed out a long message and then there was no green arrow button. I tried to copy the text, erase the text box, and paste it again, but no green arrow.
The interface is not terribly intuitive.
If the person you are texting sends you a message in a second language, it is not automatically translated into your language. Instead, you have to copy the text, and then the translation pops upon a bubble on the keyboard. This means you can’t page back in the conversation and instantly know what the other person typed without this extra step.
That said, the translations themselves seem fine. It’s just too much work to have a long conversation. At $50 per year, it seems like a poor value.
