bhome83

saw some electronic dictionary's at borders and was wondering if anyone uses these things? not sure what kind I should get. don't need all the gadgets, just a dictionary. seem a lot more convenient when at a library, instead of having to open a book. i like to know the definitions of every word i see

bhome83

no one uses an electronic dictionary?

aasimon

I use the Franklin SCD-1870 that has the complete Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, 11th Edition. I take it with me everywhere and it has proven to be very handy while working on my thesis.

bishop2knight

I use dictionary.com sometimes. Does that count?

clappj

I purchased one for my PDA, a while back, and it works great!
I bought it for Scrabble "debates," but I can use it any time.

bhome83

hey aasimon, how do you like that dictionary? are the keys easy to push? have you ever not been able to find a word? how much you pay for it? might try to catch a deal on ebay for it.

aasimon

I like it a lot but I do have to admit that there has been the odd word here or there that it can't find. It doesn't bother me that much because it doesn't happen very often and it is the complete MW 11th Ed. The keys work fine for me but my hands aren't that big, so there is the possiblility of hitting more than one key if you have thick fingers. I paid $100 for it two years ago, but you could probably find it for much less these days. It looks like amazon has it going for $80.

One of my favorite features is the thesaurus. When I am writing and I start to get redundant with my choice of words, I just hit the thesaurus key and "voila", instant options. It also works great when you are reading an author who likes to flaunt their massive vocabulary. I always have it by my side when reading literary criticism or classic literature. Hope that helps.

bhome83

yes that does help, thanks. might go ahead and get that one. hopefully can get a good price on it. does it pronounce words for you? thanks!

aasimon

It does pronounce words for you, but since it is in a "computer" voice it is not always clear.

bhome83

Ok, so im hooked to my electronic dictionary. It's a Sharp PW-E550. Its a great thing to have when i dont know the definition of a word and the history function lets me go back and review words. Yes, im a nerd
Anywho, As im becoming more of a dictionary whore I have found out this electronic dictionary fails in certain ways:

No backlit screen (hard to see unless under a light). History function only goes about 20 words deep (hey, i like my words!) Wish there was a SAT prep type quizz(s) on the dictionary. And would prefer a built in encyclopedia for quick lookups.

So my question is: Am i the only one who is really anal about a good electronic dictionary? While i dont really need an enccylopedia attached to, i really wish there was a deeper history list of words and a backlit screen.

Can anyone recommend me a better electronic dictoinary that has some of these key features? I'm gonna guess there isn't a huge market for electronic dictionaires (considering reading isn't exactly a huge hit among many people)

SterlingBen

Yes, my gf uses one but english isn't her first language

Promethean

When I read, I have my reference books nearby. I use 2 dictionaries (American Heritage and OED), a book about pre and suffixes, an atlas, a Spanish/English dictionary for when I'm reading in spanish, and a mythology book. It takes me forever to finish some books because I will look up anything unfamiliar to me. I'm thinking about getting a laptop so I can access all of the above references quickly. I am definitely a logophile.

joeee

apple computers come with an electronic oxford english dictionary/thesaurus on it, and it's phenomenal.

boredsilly

Wow, impressive...or insane!

I actually thought about getting one of these for a second. I'll be at work sometimes and all of the sudden I'll hear a word or think of a word, but then I'm not totally sure of it's definition. What I've started to do (or try to do) is just to write the word down and look it up when I'm near a computer. Dictionary.com is my addiction.

DRG

Ha, I'm kind of the same way. I'll look up any word I don't know, or if a book brings up an interesting subject I'll head to Wikipedia to read more about it.

Promethean

Hey boredsilly, I'll give you an example: today I was reading The Decameron and there was mention of a few notable doctors. Who they were was not at all important to the plot, but it was killing me that I did not know who they were, so I wrote their names down and looked them up.

And DRG, Wiki is also the first place I look online.

bhome83

dang, i just wish more time and effort went into making better electronic dictionaries and encyclopedias. Wish more people gave a shit about reading so there would be a demand for better ones.

bhome83

i'm really looking for a good quality (Somewhat) compact electronic dictionary that has a backlit display so i dont have to read right under light to see the word. Does anyone know where these can be found? I currently own the Sharp PW-E550 which works well except for the fact it doesn't have a backlit display. Seems to be slim pickings when it comes to electronic dictionaries. I love the things! maybe im just a word whore

feignfeign

i am really looking for a good electronic dictionary also...