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Sharp's Brain PW-AC10 e-dictionary attempts to fool you with its phoney looks
We've seen Sharp e-dictionaries aplenty here, but with the exception of a couple of models, that same ol' clamshell form factor's bound to send you to snoozefest sooner or later. To keep the Japanese bookworms interested, Sharp's latest offering -- dubbed the Brain PW-AC10 -- has packaged itself in a BlackBerry-esque candybar, which it claims makes it the industry's lightest e-dictionary while carrying two AAA batteries that keep it going for 110 hours. You'll obviously have to make do with a shrunken color LCD (2.4-inch QVGA) and keyboard, but the device still packs the usual English-Japanese translator, flashcard feature, and a seven-language traveling phrase book (with color images). ¥13,000 ($149) and it's yours early next month.
iriver introduces D1000 'e-dictionary' for Korea
So-called "e-dictionaries" don't often make the trip over here, but iriver broke that trend with its D5 clamshell device, which suggests that it just might also do the same with its new D1000 follow-up. Of course, like its predecessor, this device is quite a bit more than just a dictionary, with it packing a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 touch screen, 8GB or 16GB of storage, built-in WiFi, a DMB TV tuner, 720p video output, and a full range of media player features. Happen to live in Korea or planning a trip sometime soon? Then you can pick this one up right now for between 349,000 and 409,000 Korean won depending on the model and capacity, or roughly between $300 and $360.
Atree J100 gets lost in the forest of Korean PMPs
We certainly can't knock the 4GB Atree J100 when it comes to its well stocked arsenal of goodies: it has a three-inch touchscreen, an e-dictionary, DMB digital TV tuner, video playback, and microSD expansion -- and it plays music too. Audio formats are also plentiful, with MP3, WMA and OGG for the commoners, and FLAC and APE for the lossless fanatics. Too bad it's held back by the chunky casing, which looks big enough to have fit a five-inch screen if the designers were so inclined. With slicker-looking competition from the likes of Cowon and Samsung, the otherwise entirely useful J100 might struggle to stand out, but if you're willing to look beyond its superficial shortcomings, it's available now for 198,000 KRW ($158). [Via PMP Today]
Sharp launches Brain PW-AC900 e-dictionary in Japan
Sharp's really been stepping up the e-dictionary game of late -- what with the MID-looking RD-PM10. It's latest offering -- the Brain PW-AC900, however, is a little less exciting. It's very similar to its predecessors in the PW line -- PW-TC930 physically, but has a host of new features, including a simple text editor, multi-lingual dictionary, pronunciation, and vocabulary drills. It boasts a 5-inch VGA LCD, a text pad that's 30 percent larger than previous offerings, MicroSD and USB ports. It'll be available in Japan on the 10th of July. No word on pricing. [Via Engadget Japanese]
Sharp's MIDtastic RD-PM10 electronic dictionary
Sure, it's no Zaurus, but Sharp's new RD-PM10 certainly is a looker. It packs a 4.3-inch WQVGA screen, QWERTY keyboard and 8GB of storage into a pretty delightful form factor, and while it's only designed for light e-dictionary and media playback duties, with Windows CE 5.0 as the backbone, we could imagine it doing a whole lot more with a bit of extra oomph under the hood. There's a microSD slot for expansion, pretty great codec support, and a 360,000 KRW (about $288 US) list price.[Via SlashGear]
iriver's D50N MID gets its own site, closer to our hearts
iriver came clean with its D50N e-dictionary / MID back at CES, but it's taken until now for the company to host up a proper teaser site with all the details (in Korean, naturally). The beautiful handheld boasts a 4.8-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, 16GB of internal storage space, 802.11b/g WiFi, support for a whole litany of files, a microSD expansion slot, full QWERTY keyboard and a battery good for up to 16 hours of music playback (or 8 hours of video). Reportedly, the price on this one is pegged at around $370, but we're no closer to finding out when it'll ship to the states.[Via PMP Today]
Nurian X40Kris e-dictionary is an OS away from a UMPC
On one hand, we're pretty impressed that someone would actually bother to produce an e-dictionary this fancy. On the other, we're disheartened that those very "someones" didn't just throw a real-deal OS on here and call it a UMPC. Hannuri Biz's newest premium pocket dictionary goes by Nurian X40Kris and features a 4.3-inch LCD, QWERTY keyboard, 4GB of internal storage, 79 different dictionaries (saywha?) and support for XviD, PDF, Flash, JPEG and MP3 files. We're told that it'll be offered up in South Korea for ???379,000 ($253), and we're giving it around a fortnight before someone shoves a TV tuner and their favorite flavor of Linux on here and calls it a day.[Via PMPToday]
Hannuri Biz offers up Nurian TX-3 PMP / e-dictionary combo
Hannuri Biz already delivered that one-two punch with its FX1, but the long awaited successor (TX-3) has finally hit the scene. Launched over in its home nation of South Korea, this PMP / e-dictionary hybrid boasts a 4-inch touchscreen (480 x 272), an SDHC expansion slot, 1,050mAh rechargeable battery, USB connectivity, a voice recorder, e-book reader, support for MP3 and video files, a PDF viewer and an FM tuner to boot. In case that's not varied enough, there's also the obligatory dictionary, which includes 14 volumes in 13 different languages. For jetsetters, the ???319,000 ($227) asking price is surely reasonable, but for everyone else, we'd say a lower priced, monolingual media player would likely suffice.[Via AkihabaraNews]%Gallery-44752%
Udea Expert 300W electronic dictionary boasts FM radio... and more!
While we're quite certain you can still buy an "electronic dictionary" that is actually only a dictionary (or, maybe, a thesaurus), that seems to be the exception to the rule in Korea, where devices like the Udea Expert 300W are the norm. Apparently, this is the first such dictionary to boast built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, T-DMB mobile TV and a built-in FM radio, which is more than you can say for most netbooks. Apart from that, you can expect a 4.3-inch WQVGA touchscreen, Windows CE 5.0 for an OS, 2GB of memory, an SD card slot for expansion, TV out, a pair of built-in speakers and, of course, an amply supply of dictionaries to help you out. Look for this one to set you back 418,000 KRW, or about $385.
Nurian Avatar F1 PMP wears a few other hats
It's a UMPC! It's a MID! It's a multifaceted PMP that relies on Windows CE 5.0! Whatever it is, the Nurian Avatar F1 comes touting a 5.8- x 3- x 1-inch chassis and isn't likely to stray too far from South Korea. The PMP conglomerate not only plays back MPEG1/2/4, DivX, XviD, WMV, OGG and MP3 files, it also defines words, tunes into mobile TV (DMB) broadcasts and outputs video via the component dongle. You'll also find a 4.3-inch WQVGA display, USB socket, a built-in equalizer and an integrated mic for good measure. Take a wild guess at the price, chances are you'll be in the neighborhood (minus the flight to Seoul).[Via Pocketables]
Raon Digital adds 32GB SSD option in Everun S32S Dic
Regardless of your views on the Everun's level of attractiveness, holding 32GB of SSD between your palms is enough to make any true nerd break out in a sweat. Raon Digital's looking to get quite a few of those kind hot and bothered in South Korea with its Everun S32S Dic. The handheld boasts a 568MHz AMD Geode LX900 processor, 512MB of RAM, a 32GB SSD, 4.8-inch 800 x 480 resolution display, 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, USB connectivity and a built-in SayDic electronic dictionary with text-to-speech support. Apparently Raon's pretty proud of this puppy, as word on the street pegs it at a stiff ???867,000 ($828).[Via GizmoScene, thanks KC Kim]
Digital Cube's i-station UDIC gets hands-on treatment
One thing's for sure about Digital Cube's i-station UDIC: it's not your mother's electronic dictionary. Boasting a full (albeit tiny) QWERTY keyboard and a unique swivel screen, the HDD-packin' device could easily be mistook for a miniature UMPC (a convertible one, at that). Just in case you've forgotten, it also features a 4.3-inch display, text-to-speech support and an Alchemy AU 1250 CPU. Pricing has been set for ???398,000 ($396) / ???448,000 ($446) in the Korean market for the 30GB / 60GB editions, and you can check out a video of some spicy hands-on action in the read link below.[Via SlashGear]
Inkel's MU-D e-dictionary longs to be a real tablet PC
Not like we expect anything earth-shattering to emerge from Inkel's South Korean laboratory or anything, but surely it could do better than this. The awkwardly named MU-D (it's for Multimedia Dictionary, supposedly) does manage to include a DMB TV tuner for keeping you busy when not defining your life, but the whole swivel screen approach just seems... forced. Nevertheless, you will find a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 resolution panel, 4GB of internal storage, support for SDHC cards and an undisclosed price tag. Now, if only this thing could play Doom Portal.
iriver's new D30 e-dictionary and M20 GPS navigator
Just to make sure it got all its bases covered, iriver is tossing a new e-dictionary and a new GPS device into its CES 2008 lineup. The new D30 (above) is set to be iriver's flagship e-dictionary, and sports a 4.3-inch touchscreen, full QWERTY keyboard, 2GB of storage and over 50 dictionaries. Iriver is also packing in DMB where available, Flash games, an FM tuner and voice recorder. On the nav front, the new M20 sports GPS navigation and regular PMP functions on its 7-inch LCD, along with DMB in applicable markets. No word on price or availability for either of these, and we haven't spotted a picture just yet.
iriver's D5 electronic dictionary gets whitewashed
We know it's not natural to get all funny about an e-dictionary, but we can't help it -- iriver's little D5 gets us hot under the collar. You may remember seeing this multi-use, flip-open device in its original black, but luckily for us the company has decided to issue a new color that we can oggle. As before, the D5 features MPEG-4 video and MP3 audio playback, a 480 x 272 TFT display, an FM radio, voice recorder, and USB connectivity. Also as before, you'll need to hit Korea if you hope to get your hands on one -- cause this puppy doesn't seem to be headed Stateside.[Via Akihabara News]
Hannuri Biz's nurian X10 e-dictionary doubles as PMP
Hannuri Biz has a knack for sprucing plain ole e-dictionaries up with enough multimedia capabilities to still make them relevant, and it's proving yet again that these things still have a place in our world with the vividly colored nurian X10. Aside from sporting an external LCD surrounded by playback controls, this thing also handles all the translating one could stand, and just in case you get tired of mingling with all those words, it can also play back XviD and MP3 files. Additionally, you'll find an image / text viewer, voice recording capability, USB connectivity and a rechargeable battery good for up to 14-hours. Mum's the word on pricing at the moment, but feel free to check out a couple more looks in the read link.
iriver's D27 e-dictionary loose in Korea
We aren't exactly sure why a media-playing e-dictionary has us this jazzed up, but it probably has something to do with that absolutely delicious design. Whatever the case, it's available now in South Korea for ???278,000 ($301) -- got a cheap ticket to Seoul, anyone?
Sharp's new PW-TC930 e-dictionary, now with insect noises
Sharp sure likes to milk this e-dictionary form factor, but this latest trip around the block might be too much. The new PW-TC930 includes a 4.3-inch 480 x 272 screen, media playback of the MP3 and JPEG varieties off of SD cards, and all that usual translation tomfoolery. The big upgrade this time around? Bird and insect noises. Yeah, apparently Sharp is beefing up the Britannica-based encyclopedia functionality with audio samples, boring nature ones included. Lucky for us, Sharp stuffed in a 1seg TV tuner as well so we can avoid this whole "learning things" paradigm The Man is trying to box us into.
Maxian looks to educate with dictionary-equipped E900DIC PMP
Not willing to be left behind by all those other dictionary-packin' PMPs out there, Maxian has decided to launch a device of its own to both entertain and educate. The E900DIC boasts a stylish white enclosure, simplistic control scheme, and a "Saydic" dictionary that even touts text-to-speech capabilities. Details regarding the actual formats that this thing supports are scant, but we do know it features a DaVinci chipset and plays nice with H.264. Unsurprisingly, this one looks to be a Korean exclusive, but those parked near Seoul can reportedly snag one for between ???400,000 ($430) to ???500,000 ($538).[Via MobileWhack]
Atree's UM10 e-dictionary with trick sliding keyboard
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.
