Sharp's 20GB RD-CX300 e-dictionary

Word to pretenders: don't step. Sharp's not kidding around with this electronic dictionary stuff, and the 20GBs of hard drive space it stuffed into the new RD-CX300 should be proof to any fools who doubt its resolve. Other than the beefy storage, the dictionary is quite simliar to its CX200 predecessor (pictured), with a 4.3-inch color screen, SD card slot, MPEG-4, WMV and MP3 playback, FM radio, e-book viewer, Flash Lite support and a voice recorder. Of course, all that "dictionary" craziness doesn't come cheap, it'll cost you about $500 to pick this thing up when it hits in Korea at the end of April.

[Via pocketables]

[TomTheGeek @ Apr 13th 2007 2:48PM]

Is this a Dictionary or Laptop? Why don't they just sell the software for $100 and let you buy your own laptop.

[Electromodo @ Apr 13th 2007 3:13PM]

Sharp Zaurus is a micro-tablet PC running Qtopia Linux, similar in functionality to Windows Mobile.

Sharp's dictionary line seem to have proprietary OS, they are actually DAP, not PDA. Not much info about those dictionaries is available in English, as they are not sold in western countries at all.

[Preston @ Apr 13th 2007 2:48PM]

So is it basically a DAP?

[ROFLROFFLES @ Apr 13th 2007 3:10PM]

wth? You might as well buy a laptop and runs a dictionary software from it.

[Electromodo @ Apr 13th 2007 3:24PM]

Sorry, my post might be confusing.

No, Sharp dictionary is not a laptop/PDA. It is a dictionary with DAP functionality.

There is another similar Sharp product called Sharp Zaurus, which is really a micro tabletPC/PDA running Linux.

Sharp dictionaries are completely unknown in western countries (you can not find them on eBay). Sharp Zaurus was sold in US several years ago, therefore some people there still aware of new Zaurus models (including myself).

[Mrmean @ Apr 13th 2007 3:31PM]

LMFAO @ this, $500!

[drstrangegun @ Apr 13th 2007 4:52PM]

They should print "Don't Panic." on the cover...

[OddManOut @ Apr 13th 2007 5:10PM]

"...who needs a $500 dictionary when you have dictionary.com?"

Anyone wanting to translate from one language to another, in case apparently from Korean to Japanese and/or English.

But that question does bring up one point that bugs me about all these super dictionaries sharp has been releasing. WHY NO CONNECTIVITY ??? Built in WIFI can't be that difficult, nor is SDIO or CF difficult to implement. 4GB of flash and built in WIFI seems a much more enticing package than 20GB of storage for a device this size. True, it could come in handy to always have a 20GB mass storage device on hand, but any videos you are going to watch on a device like this will need to be encoded such that they can run on a 400mhz - 624mhz cpu. So even 2 hour movies won't be too big. So usually that storage space will lie largely fallow.

Not to mention the fact that any student buying this will probably NEED internet connectivity more than media capabilities. But if they're dropping $500 on this they probably do have a laptop already...

But I shouldn't complain. I am a fan of the stand-alone PDA/Pocket Computers, which is a dying breed of device. So it's nice to see devices other than phones branching out in the craze of convergence. Particularly in the clamshell form factor...

[michael @ Apr 13th 2007 6:24PM]

http://dictionary.reference.com/translator/

[PEZ @ Apr 13th 2007 5:12PM]

LMN0P! IT looks like an OGO!

[OddManOut @ Apr 13th 2007 9:16PM]

Fair enough. I didn't know Dictionary.com had a translator function, or that it was as good as it is (just took it for a spin...simple J-E/E-J ain't half bad).

So let me take another crack at that (likely rhetorical) question "...who needs a $500 dictionary when you have dictionary.com?..

No one. No one who has access to Dictionary.com needs a $500 stand alone e-dictionary. But some of us do on occasion like to leave the computer...the house...library...classroom...etc, and thus we may find ourselves in a situation wherein we may not have internet access, and at those times a stand alone device becomes advantageous.

[Saywhat? @ Apr 14th 2007 7:45AM]

@OddManOut:

Noone? Everyone who studies any of these languages *needs* a electronic dictionary further down the road, simply because they house commercially availabe (in their respective native countries that is) in pocket form. I doubt dictionary.com has the range of "Dai-kenkyuusha" (a eng-jap dictionary which I think is about 30 000 yen in paper version) that some of the the ones sold in Japan have. It's simply not an alternative with dictionary.com on higher levels.

What's pretty ironic to me, though, is that they might actually possibly be more useful as a study aid to non-native speakers than to native speakers themselves.