Editorial Review

Franklin Electronic Publishers Childrens Talking Dictionary with Spell Corrector ... Read more

Editorial Review

Sharp Electronic Dictionary featuring full content from the best selling reference books: The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford American Thesaurus and Garner's Modern American Usage. Enchanced Search Functions that with filtered search, Sumper Jump and quick view. This unit offers a better viewing display with 2 sixe fonts and includes additonal features like spell check, crossword solver, anagram solver, calculator and also has a metric/currency converter. ... Read more

Reviews

Comprehensive, intuitive and convenient, November 14, 2004
I had been thinking about buying an electronic dictionary since they first appeared on the market. I knew pretty much what I wanted in a device but until now, I've found them all wanting in some area that was important to me. This device is absolutely perfect for my needs. These are the attributes that I was looking for, in roughly most important to least important order:

It had to be easy and intuitive to use
It had to have a very comprehensive dictionary and thesaurus
It had to show (not speak) pronunciation
It had to be non-invasive (imagine using one of the speaking dictionaries in a classroom or library setting)
It had to be reasonably priced

The PW-E550 meets all of these requirements.

At the time I was considering the PW-E550 I was reading two books: "Being And Nothingness" by Sarte and "How To Be Alone" by Jonathan Franzen (as an aside, if you're not familiar with Jonathan Franzen I highly recommend checking him out). I decided to page through each book and write down a short list of words that I either did not know the meaning of, or was unclear of. I then took that list of words to my local bookstore, found the hardcopy version of "The New Oxford American Dictionary" and looked up my words. With the minor exception of "transphenomenal", I found all of my words in some form (with "transphenomenal" I was able to find "phenomenal", "phenomena" and "trans-").

To give you an idea of what I was looking for I unashamedly present my word list:

nihilates, transphenomenal, ontological, heterogeneity, facticity, thematized, interiorization, objectivation, vagaries, preponderant, exigencies, isolationism, milieu, preemption, multilateralism

When I received the PW-E550 the first thing I did was to recheck my word list. My experience was better than I expected. Not only did I find the same words and definitions, I didn't have to glance at the manual at all to figure out what to do. I just pressed the "DICT" button, typed my word and watched the list of words that matched my typing get smaller until my word (or a form of it) was displayed.

The screen has two zoom settings and the contrast makes the display easy to read. The entire unit could fit comfortably into a shirt pocket (both size and weight). The fact that it uses a single AAA battery (as a previous reviewer mentioned) is a real plus.

There was one feature that I did not think about until I started using the device - it would be nice if, when looking at a definition, I could look up any of the words in the definition without losing my place. That's when I picked up the manual and much to my delight I discovered the device can do this (they call it "Super Jump"). It's not as intuitive as the other features but once you've used it, it becomes obvious. Finally, the hardcopy version of the dictionary has pictures on some pages but the E550 does not. Again, not an issue for me.

I would like to comment on an earlier review where the author gave this unit a one star review. She complained that the PW-E550 is a dumbed-down version of the PW-E500. By dumbed-down, she meant it had fewer words than the E550. This is true. However, the PW-E500 uses the "Oxford English Dictionary" and its corresponding "New Oxford Thesaurus". That dictionary gives both English (as in England) and American definitions, likewise the thesaurus. This would be a personal choice. I don't need to see both "color" and "colour" in my dictionary but that's just me. To me it was like she was saying that she thinks a Jaguar is a better car than a Cadillac therefore a Cadillac is a lousy car. This is a great reference tool.

If you have any doubts about the contents of this unit, go look at the hardcopy versions. I am very impressed and absolutely delighted that I have such a simple yet comprehensive reference sitting on the arm of my chair as I read.

The best portable reference I've found so far, March 28, 2006
I'm a big electronic dictionary geek - I own four of them. Two of them for languages (Japanese and Chinese) and two for English. I'm a writer and I am constantly reading and looking up words, and I like to be able to do away from my computer because honestly, who wants to lug around a laptop when they just want to take a book out to a coffeeshop?

I own both the Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Speaking Dictionary (with a Concise Columbia Encyclopedia card) and the Sharp PW-E550. I owned the Merriam-Webster first, then bought this one, and actually bought the Seiko Concise Encyclopedia Britannica for a while before I returned that one. Here's a comparison between the two, and a little mention of the last one:

- Both have a similar range of definitions. There are some words I could find in the MW I couldn't in the Sharp (McGuffin), and there are some I could find in the Sharp but not the MW (phylogenic, the Bowery). I find that the MW tends to have slightly more in-depth definitions and the Sharp one reads a bit more concise and colloquial. The Sharp does provide examples of usage while the MW doesn't.

- The MW doesn't have a visual pronounciation key, while the Sharp does. That's because the MW speaks out the words. This to me was kind of silly because you don't always want to hear the words out loud (like, in a library, or just about anywhere public), even if they included a headphone jack. What became problematic was that the speaking gizmo on my MW broke after a few months, and now I can't even hear the pronounciation even if I want to.

- The Sharp will list all the words possible with each input of a letter (i.e., if you punch in "a" it'll list all the words that begin with "a," then if you punch in "b" it'll list all the words that begin with "ab" until you get to the word you want. The MW waits until you input all the letters and hit "enter," then it searches until it finds something. It takes about a second or two for it to find something that is in its dictionary, but if you punched in something with the wrong spelling or it just doesn't know, it'll take a while, maybe five seconds, which gets kind of exasperating, especially once you get used to the Sharp.

- The Sharp, when you turn it on, displays exactly what you had when you last had it on. The MW always starts with the same default screen. The Sharp also has a memory feature, that goes back some forty or so of your last entries.

- The buttons on the MW are hard and they hurt after prolonged usage. The buttons on the Sharp are pretty soft, which ends up with the opposite problem, you may not push hard enough on them at times.

- The Concise Encyclopedia that came with the MW is extremely painful to use. It's slower than the dictionary and when you do page up or page down it often goes straight to the previous or next entry. Otherwise it provides some decent amount of information at your fingertips. I'm just afraid of the tediousness of it all.

- The leather flip cover for the MW is really flimsy, while the Sharp is neatly self-protecting. I also like how you can open the whole thing 180 degrees, which is something the Seiko can't do. The Seiko only opens up to about 135 degrees, which might seem adequate until you get used to the Sharp.

- The games that come with the MW aren't so great. I like the idea of creating your own wordlist, but it barely takes any, maybe 20 maximum. After playing with them a bit my first week with the MW, I stopped using the game function.

- The Sharp has a grammar guide that I hardly ever use. I suppose it could be handy, but it just feels impractical.

For a long while I carried around both the MW and the Sharp, with Sharp being my first resource then, if I have to, the MW, and if I really have to, the Concise Encyclopedia in the MW. After a while I just ditched the MW and now I only use the Sharp. It is a far better experience, and it's become an indispensible tool. The Seiko I was really excited to check out, but for the price I was quite disappointed. The user experience, while better than the MW, pales compared to the Sharp. The entries in the Seiko are great, a lot of information and depth, but most of the terms in there are in the Sharp anyway, just not with as much detail. For $180, I decided I could just stick with the Sharp for basic concepts on the proper nouns, and head to my laptop when I want more in-depth detail.

Overall, I recommend anyone with a remote interest in having an English electronic dictionary to go with the Sharp. It's the best portable reference I've found so far.

Excellent product, May 5, 2006
The Sharp PW-E550 is an excellent product. It is just slightly larger than a deck of cards when closed. It has two font sizes. The smaller one is perfectly readable for me and offers sufficient content on the screen. It performs amazingly well, very quick, and has so far had all the words I needed to look up.

As one person mentioned, spend a few minutes going through the manual as there are a couple of features that are not readily apparent but are very useful. The Super Jump feature being the most notable, which allows you to lookup the definition of a word within a definition.

The Sharp PW-E550 does everything I wanted it to do and more. A great buy.

Perfect!, August 17, 2006
I've only had this dictionary/thesaurus for one day, and its all-around perfectness has driven me to write this review. Sharp really does include the full contents of each book in this device!

1) Dictionary: All definitions are explained clearly, many with example sentences and word origins. Want to know about a town, i.e. Altus(purely random)? Type it in - it's a town in SW Oklahoma, pop. 21910. Phrases? See if you can find this one in your ordinary electronic dictionary - "upset the applecart" or "the whole ball of wax." Need to refresh your mind on history? This has it all. It unscrambles words, too.

2) Thesaurus: The Complete Oxford American Thesaurus...tons of words.

3) Grammar book: good for refreshing your memory on key points.

On top of that, the font is big, black, and easy to read. The wait times are nonexistent. And yes, you can use "Super Jump" and jump between entries at the touch of a button.

This is the absolute best electronic dictionary I have ever used or seen. If you want an intuitive, easy to use, easy to read, easy to understand electronic dictionary/thesaurus/history/geography/grammar/etc. device, then get this. It's well worth the money, and you'll never need another one. Ever.

Easy-to-use, high-quality electronic dictionary, with a few minor flaws, January 25, 2006
It's amazing how so many reviewers give this electronic dictionary five stars. For the most part I agree. This is an easy to use electronic dictionary with a deep vocabulary database and a comfortable thumb keyboard. The dictionary itself is a good one not only because of its coverage but because it lists a word's most frequently used core meaning first, unlike the Franklin English dictionaries where definitions are listed in chronological order, from oldest to latest (how stupid is that!). So whenever you look up a word in this Sharp dictionary, you'll know which definitions are the most used ones. The included thesaurus is also pretty good and the grammar guide is fun to read.

Unlike my Franklin 11th edition speaking dictionary, which had a lousy keyboard, this Sharp has large-sized keys that have the right tactile feel to them. There are also dedicated page-down and page-up keys, a very good feature. On the down side, the placements of Enter and Esc are unconventional and stupid and take quite some time to get used to.

The multiple-line black and white LCD screen is sharp and you can view contents in one of two fonts and change the font size on teh fly via a dedicated Zoom key. (The Franklin, in contrast, requires a trip to the setup menu.) Unfortunately the LCD screen is not backlit (nor are the keys), making it impossible to use this in the dark when you, say, have a sudden craving for enlarging your vocabulary while lying in bed. Given that most paper dictionaries (and the Franklin electronic ones) suffer the same problem, and given that a dictionary is usually used as a companion to reading something else, this may not be a big problem. Still, I wish it had a backlight option.

Nicely, the Sharp uses just one AAA battery and has good battery life. The clamshell design protects the screen and keyboard and the size is small enough to carry in a pocket. The build quality stands in stark contrast with the Franklin 11th edition collegiate speaking dictionary: whereas the latter feels cheap and flimsy, the Sharp feels solid and well built. I really hate myself for wasting $90 on the Franklin before discovering a much better value in this model.

On the other hand, the Franklin model has lots of learning tools (like an SAT word list as well as the ability to make your own vocabulary list) and games but the Sharp PW-E550 doesn't have any. But given the Sharp cheaper than the Franklin I guess this is not a big deal.

The biggest difference between the two is this Sharp has pronunciation keys but no spoken pronunciation, whereas the Franklin speaking dictionary is the opposite: spoken only but no written keys. It would have been nice to get both in one dictionary, esp. for foreign words (how exactly do you make those damned French sounds??) I got tired of Franklin's synthesized speech quick so I don't miss not having it. When I travel to Hong Kong a few years ago I saw electronic dictionaries with natural speech (American accented, no less!) selling for a few dollars. I don't understand why nobody has one here. Maybe the market is just too small as native English speakers usually don't need or care for this feature. (Who cares about how the French pronounce their words? We have our own way of saying them!)

Ok, in short, whether you are a student or an adult or something in between, this Sharp makes a great reading companion. Too bad it cannot be be updated to include new words like "blog" -- but then, who really cares for these new words anyway?

Works Great, DOESN'T Last a Long Time!, May 14, 2008
I bought this unit about a year and a half ago, and soon couldn't understand how I ever lived without it. The dictionary is quite complete -- I haven't had to go to my OED but maybe once or twice since getting it. The definitions tend to be on the terse side, but not ridiculously so.

The thesaurus is just okay, but I've been spoiled by my vintage 1957 Roget's, which is SO much better than what they slap that name on these days.

So why the negative review? After a year and a half of being my trusty writing desk sidekick it just quit. Wouldn't turn on, wouldn't do anything. New battery and jabbing the reset doohickey do nothing. Naturally the warranty is only for a year. If this was a $15 item I'd grumble and get another one, but at $80 I shudder to think what my cost per lookup came out to!

Now I can't live without one of these little gadgets, but I'll be trying a different brand. Hope I can find one that's as good as this and actually lasts awhile!

Useful Little Gadget, November 20, 2006
I use the Sharp PW-E550 when I am out reading at a cafe, it is a great little tool and it has proven to be quite indispensable!

PROS:
1. Relatively compact (size & weight) as compared with comparable Franklin models. It is not small enough to carry in a jean pocket (or a shirt pocket unless you are one of those that wears a pocket protector), but it's much better than having to lug a dictionary around
2. When you turn the unit on, it will be where you last left off, not the main screen - you'll come to appreciate this feature
3. 8-line display makes it easier to skim through definitions without scrolling
4. Fast retrieval of dictionary/thesaurus entries - almost instantaneous
5. Spell checker is very good at finding the word you are looking for
6. The Super Jump feature is very handy (as mentioned by many other reviewers)
7. The keys are well laid-out and intuitive to use

CONS:
1. The unit is made in China, and the built-quality suffers a bit, but it is sturdy enough to take some beating
2. Soft buttons are comfortable, but occasionally enters one-too-many characters, this coming from a Blackberry user who's comfortable with even smaller keypads
3. A backlight will be a nice addition to the feature set but not a necessity
4. In addition to the History which is marginally useful, it'd be nice to have more memory to store words of your choosing on the unit -- electronic flashcard?

Very Handy, Quite Comprehensive, April 28, 2006
I own the PW E550 and the PW E500. Neither model has dissapointed me as far as variety of words. I have yet to stump either device reading classic English works. I bought these dictionaries based on the reviews on this page and the reviews of the competing devices from Franklin and Seiko. Also, I think the Oxford Dictionary of English (and its American counterpart) are excellent reference books, better put together (in my opinion) than Merriam-Webster or American Heritage.

The E550 has the grammer dictionary, which is a great tool. The E500 has the dictionary of quotes, which is nice, but I think I would have rather had the grammer dictionary.

The definitions are long, very informative, and easy to understand. The definitions are also organized as to most modern meaning first, considered the core sense, followed by sub-senses which might be: most commonly used, oldest, etc... Each sense has an example sentence which shows its use--very nice to have.

Some of the entries have *notes* associated with them, which give a great deal of additional info on the particular subject (e.g. earth, which identifies circumference, distance from sun, and other facts).

Both the E550 and the E500 have pronunciations; however, the E550 has it for most every word, whereas the E500 has pronunciations for certain (I guess less obvious) words. The E500 is described as the "British" version by the manual, but as an American I have had no trouble understanding any word uses/definitions. The E500 will also identify regional differences in usage for you so you don't have to guess if you're sounding too much the Brit or the Yank (e.g. it will say N. Amer for meanings common in North America, and Brit. for meanings commonly used in the UK). It will also tell you if the particular sense of the word is archaic, vulger, slang, formal, informal, etc...

No backlight, but the screen is clear, large, and you can zoom in or out one size of the font. They keys are large and soft, making it quite easy to type versus stiff, hard keys. The devices are conservative looking, light, and appear well built. They use 1 AAA battery. They also have an automatic shutoff, which you can configure and which will extend the life of your battery. They will stay open at virtually any angle less than or equal to 180 degrees, which is convenient for desktop use, sitting on your chest as you lay in bed, or whatever contortion you find comfortable.

The E550 is US $[...]. For double the price I got 105K more words, lost the grammer guide, and gained the quotes dictionary. I'm not sure if I made out for the better or not on this one, I suppose time will tell. If I don't find a word I'm looking for in my more $$ one, I may end up being disappointed. Do I think double the price for 105K more words is good? Not really, but as I'm going to rely primarily on this device when I read and travel, I figured I'd spend the extra money and get as much as I could.

Again, I have tried no other dictionaries but these, and bought these based on reviews of the predominant brands. I have been very pleased with my purchase thus far and would recommend one of these to anyone intersted in improving their vocabulary and understanding of the English language--and to quite a few people not intersted in doing so but who butcher the meanings of words regularly.

As for me, I'm studying for the Graduate Record Exam and have already found this to be a great tool in improving my score.

A truly excellent product, September 27, 2005
Buying this dictionary was one of the best investments I have ever made. It has nearly every word I need to look up (the ones that don't show up are latin words that are rarely used in philosophy, which I wouldn't expect most dictionaries to have anyway).

The thesaurus is a great tool to have, helping me to use a greater variety of words while writing. The Garner's Modern American Usage was a pleasant surprise, giving detailed explanations of specific usage issues in the English language.

I was comparing this to the Franklin Electronic Dictionary (Merriam-Webster College Dictionary 11th ed), but I really despised the idea of a talking dictionary and I much prefer the pronunciation guide. While the Franklin model does have games and tools designed to help expand one's vocabulary, it seems (at least in its description) to be full of unnecessary features. The Sharp dictionary, on the other hand, is very easy to use and is well-suited for its purpose.

All this being said, I should point out that after only two weeks of use, the LCD broke on my dictionary. I suppose that maybe I set my backpack down too quickly and the force crushed it, but needless to say I was very dissappointed that this product couldn't handle more than it did. I called Sharp and they are not going to cover my product under warranty, even though I feel it's not designed as well as it could be. Despite my negative sentiments towards the company, I plan on ordering a replacement and buying a hard case this time.

NOAD is a Superb Dictionary and Sharp Makes it Better, January 19, 2006
I have been a lover of dictionaries for many decades now. I enjoy learning and one cannot learn if the words are not understood!

Seems I am always "in search of a better dictionary". When the first Oxford American Dictionary came out I was very impressed with its clear, easy to understand and simple definitions. Main thing missing then was there were no derivations for the words and it was not expansive enough. Later the dictionary was greatly revised and expanded and provided derivations. But skimped on examples for definitions.

Then came the New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD). This dictionary is about as good as it gets in a single volume that can be lugged around. Weighs about 8 pounds.

The NOAD has excellent definitions. It presents its definitions in a very simple way that is an upgrade over previous dictionaries. Something like Encarta, but has better definitions and more examples. And has excellent derivations.

Also, very importantly, gives simple examples for most of the definitions. In the past the dictionaries that provided examples for their definitions usually gave sentences from English Literature. And often these sentences contained words that were uncommon and forced one to look them up in order to have understanding. Sometimes these words were so uncommon you couldn't even find definitions for them in the dictionary that provided the example! The NOAD provides simple examples that illustrate the meaning, but are not pedantic.

So if I can only have one dictionary at my disposal at any given time I choose the NOAD. Understand, though, that the NOAD might not be the best dictionary for a person that hasn't been looking up words for some time. A simpler dictionary might be more appropriate for regular use. In which case this dictionary would be a great second dictionary for finding words and definitions missing from the easier dictionary.

When I discovered that Sharp had teamed up with Oxford to put the entire NOAD in a small package I was delighted.

This tiny device contains the entire NOAD PLUS an Oxford Thesaurus and a Grammer Book.

The electronic dictionary is superbly done and functional. Very easy to use and actually makes looking up words fast and fun. If you are in a definition and need to look up another word in that definition you can do that quickly and as quick return to the definition you were in.

You can also look up a word in the new definition if needed. You can continue to do this, if needed, and still be able to return (without using the history function) via the same word path. The dictionary keeps track of this direct path up to 10 words. If you need to go back further the History function is there to do so. The history function keeps track of 30 words.

Phrases and idioms are also very easy to find. Much easier than in a regular dictionary. Sometimes one doesn't know which word entry might have the definition for the particular idiom. Here you can type in up to 3 words in the phrase and the dictionary finds the phrase and its definition immediately.

I recommend you read the manual. You can even download it before purchase. It is easy to understand. Knowing how to use this convenient little device gives you great power in terms of mastering words rapidly.

You can jump to other definitions, to the Thesaurus or Grammer book, to notes on definitions, etc. and back again with ease. The facility of navigating the dictionary is superb.

The history function is very useful as it keeps track of words you have looked up and permits fast access to them.

The dictionary is so useful I bought another. It is small and lightweight. (Won't leave home without it). I will probably buy several more to give to others I know.

If you want to learn the English language and have rapid access to words for anything you are studying this dictionary is a MUST. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Homework Wiz - Childrens Dictionary, 40k definitions ... Read more

Editorial Review

This handheld learning tool from Franklin is ideal for Junior High School and University students who want to write more effectively. With this all-in-one device, they have instant access to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary and Grammar Guide with Quizzes. Also includes Merriam-Webster's guide to Punctuation & Style, biographical and geographical entries from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, and a complete thesaurus containing 500,000 synonyms and antonyms. Students can also challenge their minds with puzzles, word games, and other mentally stimulating activities. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Now you can communicate effectively with clear, concise definitions and translations from Merriam-Webster. This portable dictionary is chock full of extras, our patented Phonetic Spell Correction allows you to enter words as they sound and the device automatically provides alternatives for misspelled words, SAT and TOEFL word lists, word usage examples, seven games and crossword solver. Build your grammar knowledge with our grammar guides so you can speak and write with confidence. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Don¿t waste valuable time or luggage space if you¿re going on the trip of a lifetime or travelling on important business. Bulky travel dictionaries weigh you down while sightseeing and computer translating software is inconvenient to access when you really need it. The answer to these travel accessories is an electronic translator that is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and contains travel related phrases for seven international languages! Eight conversational categories allow you to find your desired phrase quickly, and you have the choice of letting the translator display or speak any phrase you choose. Don¿t get stuck flipping through pages every time you want to order dinner or ask the cost of admission - travel with this translator and ditch the dictionary.Communicate confidently in multilingual countries ¿ The ENTOURAGE7 cross-translates 7 international languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese. This translator is the perfect companion for airport stopovers, backpacking across Europe, or traveling to multiple countries on the same trip. Many cities have different ethnic areas, so you can spend the day shopping Little Italy and have dinner in Chinatown without any worries of language barriers.The ENTOURAGE7 contains more than 4900 travel related phrases and keeps them organized in categories so you can find them quickly and easily. Each category has its own button so you can easily find your desired or related phrases. The included categories are General Speech, Emergency, Entertainment, Sightseeing, Direction, Restaurants, Transport, and Hotel & Accommodation. If you find yourself repeatedly using the same phrases, you can press a button to add them to a list of frequently used sentences. ... Read more

Reviews

a travelers best friend, December 23, 2008

Not Ready For Prime Time, January 14, 2009

Packed with Functionality for the Traveler, December 25, 2008

For the price, this translator can't be beat., December 29, 2008

Excellent Touring Tool, May 13, 2009
This travel translator exceeded my expectations. It has all the phrases you would want for an average tourist. It is extremely user friendly. The translator is easy to hear and understand the translation as it is spoken. I did extensive research on talking translators and this one is the best value out there. I would highly recommend this travel translator to anyone travelling that knows nothing about the native language of the country they are visiting.

Excellent value and performance, December 23, 2008

Useful, but VERY BASIC, device for learning some common phrases., February 18, 2009

Usless, January 14, 2010
This item functions as describe BUT you better bring a ton of BATTERIES with you it eats them. If you use the backlight 15 min. or less is all it will give you. With out the backlight its VERY hard to see. The only thing I found it usefull for was an alarm clock.

Talking Translator, December 23, 2008

AWESOME LITTLE DEVICE FOR FOREIGN TRAVEL!, January 12, 2009

Editorial Review

Don¿t waste valuable time or luggage space if you¿re going on the trip of a lifetime or travelling on important business. Bulky travel dictionaries weigh you down while sightseeing and computer translating software is inconvenient to access when you really need it. The answer to these travel accessories is an electronic translator that is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and contains travel related phrases for 11 international languages! Eight conversational categories allow you to find your desired phrase quickly, and you have the choice of letting the translator display or speak any phrase you choose. Don¿t get stuck flipping through pages every time you want to order dinner or ask the cost of admission - travel with this translator and ditch the dictionary,Communicate confidently in multilingual countries ¿ The ENTOURAGE11 cross-translates 11 international languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Turkish, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and Swedish. This translator is the perfect companion for airport stopovers, backpacking across Europe, or traveling to multiple countries on the same trip. Many cities have different ethnic areas, so you can spend the day shopping Little Italy and have dinner in Chinatown without any worries of language barriers.The ENTOURAGE11 contains more than 7700 travel related phrases and keeps them organized in categories so you can find them quickly and easily. Each category has its own button so you can easily find your desired or related phrases. The included categories are General Speech, Emergency, Entertainment, Sightseeing, Direction, Restaurants, Transport, and Hotel & Accommodation. If you find yourself repeatedly using the same phrases, you can press a button to add them to a list of frequently used sentences. ... Read more

Reviews

Good gadget, June 21, 2009
I purchased this with my parents in mind for an upcoming trip they would be taking to Europe. Fortunately both my parents can use this new toy with ease. I recommended to them that they make copies of the list of phrases that are included. However, one thing that baffled both my mom and I is that the simple phrase "thank you" is no where to be found. kind of stupid if you ask me. That would be my main reason for only giving it 4 stars and not 5. Other than that I am satisfied with my purchase and would recommend this product to others.

Great value plus small and easy to carry everywhere, June 22, 2009
I bought this for my husband who is interested and quite procient in learning foreign languages when we travel. When we first received it we did a test drive on the Chinese version since we speak the language, and the translations and pronunciations prove to be accurate and clear. We were impressed. Now all we need to do is to take it on the road.

Just What We Needed, August 8, 2009
Our new ENTOURAGE11 arrived earlier today. My wife and I will be cruising the Mediterranean soon and will be visiting several countries. The ENTOURAGE11 will fit the bill perfectly. Right out of the box, its up and running in a matter of minutes. Instructions are clear and the device is simple to learn and use. I suspect there may be phrases that I won't find in the device but most of those I can see myself using are in there. I'm especially pleased with the clarity of the speaker. It makes it very versatile. We can either learn/repeat the phrase or let the ENTOURAGE11 speak for us. It was a steal at the price and I am anxious to start using it in Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, etc. etc..

Nyrius Global ENTOURAGE11 Talking Travel Translator for 11 International Languages, September 2, 2009
I purchased this translator for a trip to French speaking Montreal Canada. There were some very useful phases on this translator.
I would have preferred to have been able to look up individual words instead of complete phrases, however I felt silly using the translator as I had many stares from the locals when I used the computer sounding audio feature of this translator, so I would suggest if using this device, use a set of ear buds. Over all it was fun to look up phrases but from a practical position I say save your money.

Great! ...if you need it., September 3, 2009
I purchased the Translator to provide French phrases while I visited the Seychelles Islands in July 2009. It provides exactly what it promises. You can select from 700 English phrases, then it pronounces your selection in French while displaying the French spelling. You need to learn a few French nouns to expand some questions with a verbal substitute. It is a little cumbersome and time consuming to find the English phrase you want to want to translate. But the biggest problem was that 90% of the people on these islands are bi- or tri-lingual and speak English better than I do. I was able to use it only 5 or 6 times, but in those instances it really came in handy. If French were the only language in your location it would be worth its weight in gold. I don't think it helped me learn the language, but that is a circumstance of where I was using it. It does enable you to communicate on a basic level and for the inexpensive price, very worthwhile.
Zollie Watson

Best Translator, April 3, 2009
I read an article about this translator and paid about the same amount for a non talking one. This one is excellent, you cannot beat the price & everything is crystal clear. Definite MUST HAVE for people who travel a lot like myself! My son loves to use it too and it is easy enough to just figure out.

Talking translator, June 17, 2009
The translator is very simple to use. I think the instructions could be made a little easier for the technically challenged. The audio is very clear and the translated language scrolls across the screen--enabling one to become familiar with commmon word spelling so one could recognize signs ect. I would reccommend as I travel internationally extensively.Nyrius Global ENTOURAGE11 Talking Travel Translator for 11 International Languages

Good phrase holder and nothing more., July 1, 2009
Works well, good quality, easy to use and accurate accents for each language, but not a translator at all. Just pre-stored phrase holder. Misleading description. Disappointing in terms of not what I expected.

Did not work, September 24, 2010
I just got my Nyrius Global ENTOURAGE11. I unpacked it, did the setup, and tried the translations. It worked fine for about 10 minutes, then the screen displayed a bunch of vertical lines. I turned it off and back on. It worked for 5 minutes then went blank. I could not get it to function after that.
The first 10 minutes it worked fine.

Disappointing......, April 30, 2010
This item is only good for emergenices, backup device or learniing a new language.

Here are the issues with this device,
1. It is very small and the buttons are too close, so even after 5 minutes of use your arm and fingures will start to hurt.

2. The dispaly is also very small, so you can not see the full sentence without pressing the scroll arrow.

3. Since you can not see the full sentence all at once on the screen, it makes it very hard to find a phrase so basically you press the down arrow key, you see a partial sentence, then u click the right arrow to scroll to see the rest of the sentence and if that is not the sentence u r looking for, you click the down arrow to see the next partial sentence (very annoying and fingure aching)

4.There is no way to quickly jump to a phrase, (a search for a sentence with a key word that u type would have been nice)

5. Setting up the device is not intutive and without the instructions, which you can't be expected to carry with the device at all time, it is dufficult to change the setup.

6. The device only lets u pick a timr zone from a select fixed number of cities across the world.

7. The device can only translate what you tell it to translate so for example, if you ask the device to translate, "Where can I buy tickets?" u are only half why there, how is someone in a foreign language gonna give u directions is beyond the abilities of this device. ... Read more

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This new handheld contains Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition including biographical and geographical entries. The dictionary speaks over 500,000 clear and concise definiteions and the thesaurus contains 500,000 synonyms & antonyms. The reference set also contains Merriam-Webster's Concise Dictionary of English Usage, Guide to Punctuation and style, and Dictionary of Quotations. Also includes a USB link (PC or MAC) that will allow a user defined personal dictionary of up to 500 entries of Excel compatible csv file format to be downloaded to the unit. ... Read more

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"Global Talking Translator for 12 Languages - This talking pocket translator is the perfect traveling companion. With 12 built-in international languages and over 8,400 commonly used phrases, you'll be able to communicate easily and quickly in a foreign country. Simply select the language, topic of conversation, and sentence you would like to speak using the LCD display. The translator will display and speak the sentence in the desired language, allowing you to communicate effectively. Categories of phrases include: general speech, emergency & medicine, shopping & entertainment, sight-seeing, immigration & directions, restaurants, transport, and hotel & accommodation." ... Read more

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Whether you're a student, professional or first-time traveler, this speaking Spanish-English Dictionary helps you learn English and Spanish words quickly and easily. Perfectly sized so you can slip it into your pocket or bookbag, yet powerful enough to provide 5 million translations to build your vocabulary - and 4,800 recorded phrases to perfect your pronunciation. Create your own personal word lists and dictionary entries by connecting the device to your PC or Mac, via the enclosed USB cable, download your entries - and take it with you on the go! Phonetic Spell Correction fixes your misspelled entries. It even has scalable fonts and adjustable volume control to ensure you'll see and hear every syllable. Demo included for step-by-step instructions. ... Read more

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The Spelling Ace comes with eight word games, including anagrams, flash cards,and spelling bee. It also features context-sensitive help text, and a scrollingLCD screen with contrast control.

The Spelling Ace is powered by four AAA batteries (not included). It comes withautomatic shutoff, volume control, and a one-year warranty. ... Read more

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