Mobile app developer Mopius has launched a Windows Phone 8 app that records and then stores voice messages on NFC tags in text format. When the tag is read, NearSpeak uses text-to-speech and translation software to play the message in whichever language the user's phone is currently set to.

NFC tags don't have enough memory to store recordings as MP3 files, so voice messages are first converted to text. Single-language messages are stored directly within the tag, while those destined for translation are stored in the cloud, says Mopius. Translation is a premium feature that can be purchased from within the app.

Users without the app installed are automatically prompted to download it when they attempt to read a tag. The app can be seen in action in a video produced by Nokia: