Google Withdraws API Support For One Of Its Key Products
June 1, 2011
Google has announced it is shutting down its Google Translate API. The free service, which many third party developers rely on for their iPhone/iPod touch or iPad apps, will officially close down December 1.
According to a message left on Google Code, the tech giant notes:
Important: The Google Translate API has been officially deprecated as of May 26, 2011. Due to the substantial economic burden caused by extensive abuse, the number of requests you may make per day will be limited and the API will be shut off completely on December 1, 2011.The Google Translate UPI allows developers to add free language translation features to their iDevice apps. According to Marco Arment, creator of Instapaper, perhaps iOS developers were the cause of the “extensive abuse.” He states:
I wonder how Google felt about all of these iPhones hitting their free translator constantly. Seems like the kind of service that they might want to be exclusive to Android. Maybe iPhone apps are the “abuse” they’re talking about.While we're not sure what Google means by "extensive abuse," this news will affect a number of developers. Luckily, Microsoft offers a similar service through its Bing product. Therefore, developers have a place to go. The Google Translate service, which is located at http://translate.google.com/ is expected to remain for consumers. What do you think? Leave your comments below.
