Customer Reviews

Franklin MWD-1440 Dictionary and Thesaurus with Bookman II

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As a heavy on-the-road word processing user of my Palm -- made possible by DataViz's Documents To Go 4.0 (available from Amazon, which downloads MS Word documents to my PDA) -- I've found myself using my Franklin MWD-1440 Dictionary and Thesaurus with Bookman II almost constantly! Granted, its not as thorough or as in-depth as the large book-style dictionary and thesaurus which I keep at home next to my PC, but, with its portable size, I can always take it with me wherever I go -- such as to my kids' sports practice or music lessons (where I'll write product reviews such as this one), or when I'm traveling away from home for business.

Even though its volume of entries is not as extensive, the Franklin is actually superior in some ways to both my book-style dictionary and thesaurus, and to my laptop PC (personal computer). Here's how I've found the Franklin to be most useful:

For spell checking. Just punch in the word -- as you think it should be spelled -- and the Franklin will fix the spelling for you. With a book-style dictionary (as you already know), you're pretty much on your own!

For definitions. The Franklin provides the meanings of words -- which is something you won't get from your PC's spell checker. This can be very handy, especially when confirming the proper usage of the words suggested by the thesaurus.

For its thesaurus. The Franklin provides both synonyms and antonyms. And you only need to enter the word once -- to look it up in both the dictionary and the thesaurus, (which is very convenient).

The Franklin also has a very legible five-line display -- which is vastly superior (and requires a lot less up-and-down and side-to-side scrolling) as compared to other electronic dictionaries that have only a single or double line array. The replaceable (and long-lasting) watch-style batteries also give the unit a very low profile. (Franklin's other less expensive models, by contrast, use four AAA size batteries, and are noticeably thicker in appearance.)

When I acquired my Franklin, I also purchased the available Bookman II interchangeable Encyclopedia and Word Game cartridges. But, to be quite honest, since I use the dictionary and thesaurus so frequently, I haven't had much of a chance (or desire) to try out these other modules.

(Buy the MWD-1440 for the five-line display and its thin size -- and not for the Bookman II capability. The improvement in usability and portability you'll experience from these extra features is definitely worth the slightly higher cost.)

No matter where you're writing, the Franklin MWD-1440 Dictionary and Thesaurus is a great tool for finding just the right word to use.

I just recieved this as a gift and I couldn't be more pleased! Its features include a very expansive dictionary and thesaurus, fun games, word lists, SAT words, flashcards, and a unique addition called Bookman. I really like the Word list feature because you are able to add a total of forty words at a time and then use your own words as flashcards. Although I have not used the Bookman, the idea of a electronic card with book length material on them is useful. All of these features combine to form an excellent hand-held dictionary that resolves the nuisance of leafing through a large dictionary. I highly recommend this product, and consider it the best there is to offer in electronic dictionaries.

Usually when I'd discover an unknown word, I'd just infer its meaning through the context, or ignore it, rather that lug out a dictionary, flipping back and forth, squinting until I revealed the word. This handy little device has changed all that! Now its just a matter of typing in the word. And if you need to find a synonym for that word, no need to lug out the thesaurus; just highlight the word and hit enter. Its such a time saver, and when your absorbed in what you're reading, that makes a big difference. You can also save words, and run through "flashcards" of words; a convenient feature for learning new words or studying for the SAT.

The swapable Bookman cards, though I've never used them, seem like a great addition. The unit is small and sturdy, easy to take it with you. And don't forget the games; they can make passing the time in lecture much easier (I never knew how addictive anagrams could be!). The only fault is the unit's top; why is it such a pain to open? I've also had it come off a few times; its fairly easy to replace, but its still a nuisance. I have a feeling that one day when I'm not careful it'll break off. But besides that, if you're a student or an avid reading, this unit is indispensable.

I recently read a review by dave lester concerning a Seiko dictionary. In it he explained that he uses that product like I intended to use the Franklin. I use it while reading and every time I come across a new word I like to quickly look it up. In to many cases, I find that the product is just not up to the task. If more time were spent for just the dictionary and less for games etc., you would have a much better product.

Just bought this because after having to flip through the paper version of a dictionary/thesaurus, it does get tiring. And so I thought I'd try something new - a Franklin Bookman MWD-1440. So far it's proven to be interesting.

Some good aspects...It's a good size for your pocket, although still big enough to hold comfortably in my hand. The device is simple enough to use without every looking at the directions, and also functions well enough for the average person who likes to read or write. The device lets the user choose from three different font sizes which is nice, and can change the display contrast. The addition of the games are nice. I haven't yet tried another bookman card though.

Some design nitpicks...I do wish the cover could flip over and under the device so it would be easier to hold, I wish the buttons were bigger [but it's a small device, cannot expect too much], and I wish there was a way to backlight the display while using it in a dark place. The arrow buttons could be easier to press, and I do wish the number buttons were arranged like the keyboard/phone instead of in a line. I think Franklin could do better with a redesign of the layout [I'm in an Industrial Design student and I would do it differently].

Overall...a nice purchase and a keeper! I'm putting it to good use. I would not recommend for people with hard-to-see vision and arthiritis problems. Even while I'm a 4th year college student, it's still hard to press.

I recently returned from a 30 day trip to Mexico. When I travel I keep an extensive journal and misspellings are a downfall. The Franklin Electronic dictionary was the answer. Light weight and compact. I have also found it more convenient when reading (particularly in bed) and coming across a word I don't know, to use the electronic dictionary rather than flipping through a heavy conventional one. On the downside, the 100,000 word vocabularly is light and I have come across three words so far which were not included. One of the words was "topiary." The games are also sophomoric.

My son (5th grade) uses this product both at school and at home. It makes "look it up" simple to do. He only has to come close to the spelling using simple "sounding out" techniques to find the correct spelling of a word and see a definition. The dictionary was terribly frustrating! Thank you Franklin for making a parents'/teachers' job easier and providing a child with the tools to solve his own problem!

This little machine can do almost anything I love it. I use it for everything, for dictionary, thesaurus, 9 games, sat words, spelling bees, metric converter, calculator, and much more. If there is anything it doesn't have you can buy one of the bookman cards at franklin.com to make the mwd-1440 even more versitile like a spanish-english dictionary and more. If you don't have this you should buy it, it's just so helpful!

I bought one of Franklins dictionarys and also an (expensive here in U.K.)"popular encyclopedia" to slot in the back of it about six months ago.I have shown it to several of my friends and the usual reaction is compleate lack of interest.Well what would they know,this thing is great for a person like me who has bad spelling.It can spell correct even the most hopeless effort at a word and can be used while listening to the radio or watching T.V. without losing the plot of the programme.My range of words is improving with the help of this thing,now thats good.What I would like to see is 50% more words and why do they have to look so dull.Yellow,blue,orange and green are all nice colours for a dictionary.

I had shopped around for a pocket translator for travelling. I had bought the Spanish/English DBE-1440 which gives me phrases, a dictionary, some simple games, calculator, ... I was quite impressed with it's capabilities and range compared to the other pocket translators. It's quite simple to use and quick. The keyboard is just large enough to be able to type in words quickly without being bulky. It fits nicely into your pocket. There are smaller translators but they just don't contain as many words, phrases.

What I also liked about it was the idea of the bookman card. If I wanted to use another language for translation I could simply slip in the card. So I thought. I had wanted the french/english translator so I had called up the main office in my country to order. They were very helpful and delivery was very fast. I do applaud them on that. What I found out was that the card was quite limited and not at all similar to buying the french/english unit itself. I ended up returning the card and I had to pony up for a new translator unit. Which I do like. It's the BFQ-1440 model. My grievance is that this shouldn't have to happen. The software they use on the unit should be the same as that which they put into the bookman card. But it isn't. And I don't know why they do this. I would rate it five stars if it wasn't for this case.