It must be nice to live in a culture where it seems like having a
dictionary on hand at all times is a must -- but sadly we in the US seem doomed to describe everything as either "awesome" or "sucks" while kids in Asia broaden their vocabularies with devices like
Atree's UM10 e-dictionary / PMP. The unit, which sports a sliding flip keyboard much like the
HTC Shift, also takes stylus input on its 3-inch screen and can play back media in a wide range of formats, including MP4, WMV9, MP3, WMA and Ogg. The unit also has FM and DMB tuners, a Microsoft Office reader app, and either 2 or 4GB of storage expandable via microSD. No word on price, but unless you're planning a trip to Korea sometime soon it doesn't really matter. Too bad -- it sucks that we can't get a device this awesome over here.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ben Wyatt @ Aug 14th 2007 7:21AM
Maybe if you guys had one of these you would realize that "Asian" isn't a place and kids can't be "in Asian."
Deluxe @ Aug 14th 2007 8:21AM
Maybe you should finish third grade before you make suggestions.
luki @ Aug 14th 2007 9:16AM
deluxe dumb ass.. u really should get one of these..
the region is asia, not asian.. asian is a native or inhabitant of asia..
did you finish your third grade?
Mike @ Aug 14th 2007 9:44AM
i don't know about you pal, but i've been in many asians
riggs @ Aug 14th 2007 10:56AM
haha good one.
Kyle Richards @ Aug 14th 2007 8:00AM
what is it?...a phone?
nick @ Aug 14th 2007 8:03AM
No, they have to carry these things to learn English, our immense lexicon essentially demands it. Using them in grade school for their native language is a secondary (but decent) benefit. And trust me, as someone who had to lug a Canon Wordtank around Japan, carrying one is a burden not a privilege. These things are big, expensive, and despite this one being fairly advanced, most are maddeningly primitive. Copy/paste? How about "Jump?" Not the same thing. It's good to see that electronic dictionaries are beginning to acknowledge the advances made in the last 20 years, but I'd rather just have it as an application on a device I'm already carrying.
Jamar @ Aug 14th 2007 11:30AM
You mean, like my Toshiba 904T (cellphone), which has a Japanese/English dictionary built in? Or do you mean like the one on DS? You don't need a dedicated unit, but typically a dedicated unit has additional features, like being able to switch between interface languages, and expansion (Japanese-German/Italian/Spanish/French/English/Korean/Chinese; but that's Sony's electronic dictionary).
And "lug around"? I've seen a magazine review of 2 different Canon Wordtank models- the lower-end one is about the same size as a Canon digicam (in fact, the review said the casing of the dictionary was made to resemble a Canon point-and-shoot to make it look nice) and the higher-end one isn't much bigger (but it had touchscreen capability as well as Chinese dictionaries). Both could fit in a purse. Is there some uber-huge model that I don't know about?
kaminix @ Aug 14th 2007 5:36PM
@Jamar
I also have the Toshiba 904T, but the dictionary isn't very good imo. You can't see any examples how to use the words, thus it's almost worthless for foreigners. In combo with my real Denshi Jisho it was lovely though.
As for "Kanji Sono Mama Rakubiki jiten" it's okay, I prefer my DJ where I can copy-paste kanjis I can't read or write via the touch screen (Canon Wordtank V90).
However, none of these devices are all that good. I'd give my left testicle for a robuster version of my V90 with a better screen (color? it sure does make it easier to read).
nick @ Aug 14th 2007 1:10PM
Yeah, it's not that hard to find a software solution. When speed wasn't an issue, I generally opted for kdic and radic on the Palm (pen input too slow) or used the wwwjdic keitai interface (wireless internet too slow.)
But since my late-nineties model is roughly the size of a tankobon manga, I stand by "lug" as the appropriate phrase. If it doesn't fit comfortably in my pocket (ie. blackberry curve = yes, prior models = no), or even my coat pocket, I have to carry a bag. That is a pain.
I must admit though that there are advantages to having the large, dedicated model. Sony shipped a smaller model when I needed one, but I found it too small to type on without picking up. While doing a long translation it would be: find unknown word, put down pencil, pick up unit, find word, put down, pick up pencil, continue. The wordtank is placed near my free hand, and just the right size to type on one-handed. So for
nick @ Aug 14th 2007 1:24PM
(no warning about overly-long messages being clipped?)
5% of the time I used it, i loved it. Of course, I was using it alongside paper dictionaries (which are still universally better, period) so portability wasn't the issue. But that brings up another point, why is the (original) dead-tree Nelson's faster to use than any of these electronic dictionaries? It's obviously muscle memory, but why can I consistently outpace a 3GHz CPU?
(A: low-resolution, poorly reflecting displays and absurdly bad/slow UIs)
Twitchy @ Aug 14th 2007 8:44AM
I want one - no let me rephrase that - I NEED one. I have to learn Italian as I will be moving there soon, but I also want to add at least one other language to my vocab (current language count at a pityful 2). Does anyone know whether it has an English interface? Or is it in Korean only?
nick @ Aug 14th 2007 1:49PM
Do you even need an Italian dictionary? Just add a vowel to the end of an English word. Done.
Todd @ Aug 14th 2007 8:56AM
The chick in the picture looks awesome. Too bad reading sucks.
strider_mt2k @ Aug 14th 2007 8:59AM
Na-uh, reading is awesome!
Dahk @ Aug 14th 2007 9:01AM
Dooood that's awwwweeesome.
BrianC @ Aug 14th 2007 9:26AM
Calling it a dictionary is simply a pretext for getting the parents to pay for it. What the teens really want is the functionalities like watching movies and TV and listening to songs.
mewantphone @ Aug 14th 2007 9:43AM
She’s broadening her vocabulary and throwing up gang signs.
Tony Colonello @ Aug 14th 2007 10:07AM
My wife started using a Besta Cyberdict 8 about 3 years ago that plays videos, mp3s but also has handwriting recognition in Thai, Chinese and English.
The one I use is an older E Dict 201 that does not have as vast dictionary but translates between English and Thai Japanese Korean Vietnamese and Indonesian. Which covers most of the countries I travel and is almost impossible to find in an electronic dictionary in the States.
Almost all of these devices are used by students in helping them learn English, or as in my wifes' case to study for the TOEFL test and also to help her communicate with her farang husband that is too stupid to learn Thai.
周鹏 @ Aug 14th 2007 10:49AM
So could become a MID to access to the Internet,UM must mean Ultra Mobile sounds like Intel AD.
John @ Aug 14th 2007 4:22PM
Im going to Korea next week, anyone know of any other cool things to pick up while Im there
Zach @ Aug 15th 2007 11:38PM
Hmm...A dictionary. how quaint.