Franklin Electronic Publishers BES-1890 Speaking Spanish-English Dictionary

by Franklin Electronics

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4 x 1 inches ; 5.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000P6H85Y
• Item model number: BES-1890
• Batteries: 2 AAA batteries required.
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #5 in Electronics > Office Electronics > Electronic Dictionaries, Thesauri & Translators > Foreign Language Dictionaries
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 15, 2005

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The BES-1890 Speaking Spanish-English Dictionary from Franklin Electronic Publishers is a handheld language learning device that can help anyone improve their reading, writing, and understanding of Spanish or English. Inside you will have instant access to over 5,000,000 total translations and 4,800 example phrases. You can hear all these words and phrases spoken at the touch of a key.

This unit also includes Franklin's phonetic spell correction feature along with grammar guides and verb conjugations so you can write or speak with confidence. Whether you're just learning Spanish or English, the Talking Spanish-English Dictionary will help you hear words and phrases clearly, pronounce them accurately and communicate effectively at school, home or work.

Product Description

Learn to speak Spanish and English like a native with the Franklin Speaking Spanish-English Dictionary. New features include a Merriam-Webster Dictionary with 274,000 definitions and 4,800 commonly-used phrases in both Spanish and English recorded in human voice.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast, functional, and very useful, January 12, 2008

By 

Traveling Jack (So. California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Franklin Electronic Publishers BES-1890 Speaking Spanish-English Dictionary (Office Product)

I've had this dictionary about a month and a half and the few reviews I could find prior to buying it were not overly positive. But I bought it anyway and couldn't be happier with it. It is intuitive, very fast, and translates almost all the words I have entered. I have used it almost every day since I am attempting to move up from a high beginner to a strong intermediate in Spanish by month's end.

I have been in Buenos Aires for 11 days, with 20 to go, taking a 3 week Spanish course in a language school. I am in a low intermediate class and we have homework assignments and lots of exercises and speaking each day. I use the Franklin dictionary constantly when I don't know a word or need the equivalent in Spanish. The best part about the little computer in my opinion is the conjugations.

I have had and will have more class lessons in conjugations, so far only the present tense. When I am stuck on an irregular or any other verb I enter it into the dictionary, hit the conj key and bingo, aqui esta. Successively hitting the conj key takes you through all the tenses in all persons. While my classmates are fumbling around with their Spanish-English translation books, I have the verb, its meaning, and have already conjugated it, if applicable. It's my favorite feature and really helps me to learn the verbs and their forms.

The negatives are the rather poor audio for some of the translations (not all) and the fact that the screen is not backlit, although I have had absolutely no problem seeing it in normal or even somewhat low light.

I use it in restaurants here in Buenos Aires while I'm waiting or eating and can practice Spanish by inputting words or reading and translating phrases. It fits easily in the pocket of my shorts and I'd replace my BES 1890 immediately if anything happened to it.

If you're serious about learning espanol, or simply need a new translator, I recommend it. For the serious estudiante, it's more than worth the cost.

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Spanish Translator, October 15, 2007

By 

R. Purvis (WA State) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Franklin Electronic Publishers BES-1890 Speaking Spanish-English Dictionary (Office Product)

Received this product a few days ago and my daughter (who is a sophmore in High School) says it helps her learn Spanish. Overall, I found the product a little expensive once I had it in my hands. I was not able to turn the volume up very loud. I even saw my daughter putting it to her ear to hear the words. Second, it did not have a Backlite for ease of reading. To read the words on the screen, you had to put it under a light. For the amount of money it cost, I assumed it would have that.

On the good side, it does come with many applications. She was able to put her vocabalary words in the unit and it would help her spell and translate each of them.

Overall, I am a little disappointed with the product. The sound could have been better and a backlit LCD would have been an improvement. However, as long as my daughter is happy with the product and she is using it for her Spanish class; then I am happy and will not tell her how disappointed I am with it.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable translator, don't leave home without it, September 7, 2009

By 

Jim Whitehead (Santa Cruz, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Franklin Electronic Publishers BES-1890 Speaking Spanish-English Dictionary (Office Product)

Summary: This is a rugged, highly functional English-Spanish and Spanish-English translator that has worked flawlessly for me over the eight months I have owned it. I recommend it highly for anyone with a beginning or intermediate level of Spanish who will be visiting a Spanish speaking country. The most common negatives raised in the comments are true: spoken word quality is poor (but volume is fine), and the screen is not backlit. In my daily use of the translator, I have not found these to be a problem at all.

I am an American who is currently living near Madrid, Spain for a year. I have a low intermediate level knowledge of Spanish. As a result, I frequently find myself running into unknown words I see on food packaging, menus, advertisements, newspaper articles, etc. The ability to whip out the translator and quickly get a translation is invaluable, and I now make sure I have the translator with whenever I leave the house. I would replace it instantly if I were to lose it.

There are two big advantages of this translator over a small pocket dictionary (which I also have). First is speed. Almost always I can look up a word faster using the translator than using the dictionary. Second is looking up conjugated verbs. With a dictionary, you need to know (a) that the word you're looking up is a verb conjugation, and (b) what the root verb is. For irregular verbs, or more advanced tenses, this can be a challenge. Type in "tuve" on the translator and you get "tener". Look up "tuve" in the dictionary and it's not there. In a similar vein, the translator will suggest a long list of possible words if you misspell a word (great for typing in a word you heard on TV).

That all said, this unit does not replace a full dictionary, which can provide more subtle shades of meaning. I own both, and find that each has its uses. However, I use the Franklin translator many times a day, while the more complete dictionary is used much less often.

Typing on the keyboard is easy. The keys are chiclet style, and have a spongy feel. When held in both hands, it is easy to use both thumbs to quickly type in words. Occasionally the unit will miss a key due to fast typing, but misspelled word correction feature means the unit will typically let you pick the word you intended without having to got back and correct your entry.

The Franklin translator isn't perfect. The further you get away from mainstream words and into specialized vocabulary, the more frequently the translator will not have a good translation or will not have the word. Like any translation, you will need to exercise personal judgment when using the provided translations. Additionally, the translator has a bias towards South American Spanish. For example, translate "restrooms" and you will receive "servicios" and "baño" but not the common (in Spain) "aseos" (for which it doesn't have a translation).

The translator has a ton of features, including an English dictionary, thesaurus, unit and currency converter, clock, calculator, flashcards, and some learning games. I don't use these features very often, though they all appear to be quite solid.

As other reviewers have noted, the screen is fairly small, six lines of text using default settings. It is possible to make the text smaller, and cram more information on the screen. I don't use this feature, since it's harder to read when I'm out and about. There is a page down feature that lets you scroll through materials quickly. The screen is also not backlit, which I have not found to be a major problem. Yes, it will be hard to read in dark places, but so will a pocket dictionary. It is possible to adjust the screen contrast, which might help in low light situations.

The ability to have the translator speak a word from the dictionary seems like it should be useful, but it really isn't. Spanish has very regular pronunciation rules, so once you have those down, word pronunciation is usually not an issue. I just don't find myself wanting to use this feature that much. The pronunciations I have heard are very mechanical sounding, and not especially good. I like the earphones that came with my unit.

Battery life is excellent -- the unit seems to run forever on just two AAA batteries. I have operated the unit successfully using NiMH rechargeable AAA batteries (some electronic gizmos don't like the lower voltage levels of NiMH batteries).

The unit is a little larger than I would prefer, but still fits nicely into an adult pants pocket.

I have found the unit to be very rugged in daily use. It has traveled in my pocket on many excursions, been played with by my young kids, been dropped on the floor a few times, and still keeps on ticking.