Re: Zaurus? Canon Wordtank? Or...?

Thiago Cornelius De Leon wrote:

I've been using a wordtank v-80 for about a year now. Although I have
no experience with Zaurus or other dictionaries, I can speak a little
about the v80.

The handwriting is very good, it finds even the most complex kanji with
ease. The explanation per kanji is also very detailed, and you can see
and test the stroke order.

That sounds very good; just what I need!

However, the words with two or more kanji are difficult to find and are
not always there. For example, if you dont know the reading of 本当,
you can write both kanjis with ease. However, there is no 本当 entry
in the kanji dictionary, so you have to check all the on-yomi readings
of 本, then delete it and search for 当, memorize its on-yomi, go to
the normal japanese-english dictionary and try some combinations.

That sounds terrible; not what I want! Isn't there even a copy and paste feature, to get you from one dictionary to the other?

For me this is specially difficult because I'm used to babylon on the
pc, where I can write in "moto ataru" to get the same kanjis, and check
the right yomikata with the definition of the word. Does the Zaurus
allow that?

Absolutely. It doesn't matter what reading you use to call up the kanji, as long as you've got the right kanji combination, it'll find it (assuming it's in the database, which is reasonably large). And you can go from one dictionary to another simply by highlighting the kanji-combination and then selecting the dictionary you want to check it in. It's all very easy. You can even keep notepad memos, storing vocabulary lists, or whatever (though these get lost when the disc battery is replaced).

There are also some "unnecessary" feature in the v80 as well - 4 kanji
proverbs, chinese conversation and name reading with voice support.
That makes the dictionary bigger in size and price.

Hmm. Might be cool to be able to sound sententious with the odd proverb, but don't need the Chinese conversation, and certainly don't need the voice support.

The 2 AAA batteries run out very fast too, so it's better to use an AC
adaptor or rechargeable batteries.

OK. I can do that when I'm working at home, I suppose.

For sure its a big tank, but I can't find the convenient stylus (great
for jumping too) and the kanji recognition elsewhere...

Right. Well, I'm still torn between the cheapest of the Zaurus SL models, trying to hunt down a pre-SL range Zaurus, which would probably be fairly cheap, and plumping for a Wordtank.

P.S. It seems that there is a newer version of the wordtank, but I'm
not sure about the improvements from v80. Better check it out

The catalogue I picked up yesterday lists four types of models, one specially for studying Chinese, one for studying English, one just for studying (!), and a "compact" model.

The V80 is listed at a staggering \52,000, much more than I'd been planning on spending. The model I was looking at in the shop was about half that price.

I hope it helped.:)

Well, I still can't decide what's right for me, but at least I know more than I did!

Thanks,

John
http://rarebooksinjapan.com
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Zaurus? Canon Wordtank? Or...?
    ... Basically, I only use the Zaurus as a dictionary, so its PDA features ... other electronic dictionaries is the handwriting recognition of kanji, ... which appears to have many of the Kanji handwriting ... recognition features which characterise the Zaurus. ...
    (sci.lang.japan)
  • Re: Zaurus? Canon Wordtank? Or...?
    ... no experience with Zaurus or other dictionaries, ... The explanation per kanji is also very detailed, ... Does the Zaurus ... It seems that there is a newer version of the wordtank, ...
    (sci.lang.japan)
  • Zaurus? Canon Wordtank? Or...?
    ... My trusty Zaurus is about ten years old now, ... other electronic dictionaries is the handwriting recognition of kanji, ... which appears to have many of the Kanji handwriting ... recognition features which characterise the Zaurus. ...
    (sci.lang.japan)
  • Zaurus? Canon Wordtank? Or...?
    ... Basically, I only use the Zaurus as a dictionary, so its PDA features are superfluous to my needs. ... As a dictionary, its main advantage over other electronic dictionaries is the handwriting recognition of kanji, coupled with easy cross-referencing of meanings, readings and combinations. ...
    (soc.culture.japan)
  • Re: Feature suggestions wanted for Japanese learning software for PDAs
    ... I have a Palm Vx but I use a free program called ... has J-E and E-J dictionaries ... Kanji dictionary has a Flashcard ... feature (Kanji and Vocabulary flashcards) you can cross-refrence some ...
    (sci.lang.japan)
Loading