As the automatic translation application “GenieTalk” has taken the No. 1 spot on AppStore’s free popular app chart just one day after launching, early adopters across the nation and overseas are busy posting reviews on social network services ― on both the good and the bad.

“GenieTalk,” a free Korean-English translation app developed by the Electronics and Telecommunication Research Institution with support from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, was introduced on Wednesday and jumped straight to the top of the popular app chart as of Thursday, defeating popular game apps.

Users speak or type a phrase and it instantly gives a text translation. If the user taps on the text, the app provides four sub-functions to choose from: voice translation, bookmark, modify and delete options.

The platform has such a user-friendly design that the features are perfectly navigable within five minutes of starting to use the app. In addition, the setting menu allows users to easily convert the language on the interface and choose between a male or female voice mode.

Korean speakers who downloaded the app applauded its excellent usability and convenience on a customer evaluation list at AppStore.

“I strongly recommend this. The interface is well designed and works pretty quickly. I will use it when I go abroad,” one user wrote.

While getting positive responses from most Koreans, the speech synthesis system’s English recognition capability was found to be insufficient. Additionally, the application doesn’t work offline or in low-signal areas.

Testing out the app abroad, users from the U.S. and New Zealand said they found problems operating the speaker function due to a weak signal.

“When I tried to translate English to Korean by typing, the result came out fine, but the speak function doesn’t work at all. I’ve tried it several times and it either translates the wrong thing or says ‘weak signal area,’” said Tiga Seagar, a New Zealander Web designer in Auckland.

Also, the usual problems found with prepositions and idiomatic phrases make it more suitable as a phrasebook than an actual translator.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)