The good news is, the app really does work. I tried translations on Spanish language newspapers, signs, and Websites. While World Lens never worked perfectly, it generally performed acceptably enough to capture the gist.

Still, as clever as it is--and indeed, this is a clever implementation--Word Lens feels like the 1.0 app it currently is. The speed with which it renders translations is impressive, but its accuracy with recognizing even clear, well-lit text is not. I like the current iteration of the app for showing friends what the iPhone is capable of. But until Word Lens can smooth out its live translations a bit more, I'll continue to ask my waiter at Spanish restaurants a few questions before ordering.