Customer Reviews

Ectaco Universal Translator 10-Language Translation System

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Would James Bond use this device ? Ah... no. However his young nephew on a continental tour might find it helpful in a pinch. Physically, it's what it appears to be: very plastic. I don't think it would hold up to much abuse at all. The battery cover is only slightly secure and could come loose in your pocket (a simple piece of tape fixes that). Operationally, it's limited. The dictionary is light. It has just a bit more or less than you might use on holiday. The advertised 4,000,000 words are on the CD. The phrase list is rather short as well. It would not do for a student language tool. The other electronic features don't add much to it's value. The real value of this device is somewhat subtle. While the dictionary is lacking, any word in it can be translated between ANY two of the available languages. When you change the primary language, all the menus change to that language. When you tire of the device, you can load the software of the CD on your PC or palm-top. Here is where the beginning student material is found. I've only loaded the palm version of the English/Russian dictionary. It includes basic phrases as well as individual words. It seems fairly extensive. Is this device worth the listed $50 ? Not by itself, no. However, with the included CD it becomes a bargin. Then again, what's it worth for a waiter at a restaurant in Turkey to be able to tell you what you just ordered ?

First of all I have never thought such a small and light device could INSTANTLY translate into 10 languages! I have traveled all over Europe (15 countries) with it. I often found very useful the common travel phrases and words in different languages. If I had taken all the necessary usual dictionaries with me, I would have had to pay for overweight ;) It is much more comfortable than traditional phrase-books - no pages to turn.
And I am really satisfied with it - for such a low price - it is really worth it.

The product was dead on arrival -- it doesn't seem to be built very well, so I returned it and bought Ectaco's dictionaries for the Palm platform. They work very well although they do take up quite a bit of memory.

Craptastic!
The first one I received was DOA.
The second one died after using it for only a few hours. I tried the reset feature repeatedly - no luck. Replaced the batteries - no good.
The software isn't too bad. It's 4 million word vocabulary doesn't seem to include conjugated verbs.

This translator was very helpful for me when I went to visit a friend in Germany. Until I met up with her and had her as my translator, this helped me get where I needed to go! I recommend this product!

This unit may have good information in it, but is built VERY poorly. Died in less than a year!!! Company says too bad. NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH THEM!!! Find another translator company.

Cheap case! Information inside, however, is very good.

Well, I must say that this little thing is amazing. I just came back from doing the Grand Tour (England, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, France again, and Belgium) and found that with this in my pocket I was able to really communicate. What I think is probably the most useful function of this small device is the instant phrase translation to and from any of 10 included languages. I only know a bit of Spanish so I can't say how accurate the other translations are but the English-Spanish travel part was great. I was really glad to have it with me because although my Rough Guide had a small phrasebook in it, it wasn't something I could depend on.

It was a a piece of junk when I got it. Didn't really work well at all, and ended up in the back of a drawer for good reason.

The dictionary has very small amount of words - less then 40,000 for each language - in opposite what was declared by seller; also we had very hard time with seller returning this product despite we observed return policy.