Customer Reviews

Franklin Spanish/English Dictionary, downloadable content capability

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

You don't really need a speaking dictionary for Spanish since most Spanish words are pronounced the way they are spelled so don't waste your money on the 99$ version of this. This cheaper gadget is excellent for beginners such as myself. It seems to have the complete Merriam-Webster Spanish collegiate dictionary and it is very easy (and fast) to search. It includes many example phrases so you can find the exact word you want. It is easy to read and you can enlarge the font. A great value. I have had none of the negative experiences of the other reviewers. My guess is that one customer mistakenly threw the transparent screen out with the packaging (the plastic screen is wrapped in plastic with the instructions). Mine DOES have a screen and it has been sturdily protecting my dictionary since I bought it.

I bought this product to replace my franklin TES 118, which I love but the dictionary lacks depth.
I use these gadgets primarily to stick in my back pocket in order to help me with everyday situations. Oops, where the TES-118 is rugged, sweat resistant and well designed this newer model is the opposite. The minutest pressure on the 2 AA size battery compartment dislodges the batteries and erases all the personalised settings, in particular the word list which is one of the reasons I bought the thing in the first place.
It comes with a ridiculous flip top cover which I guarantee will break within one weeek, perhaps this was designed to prevent the paint coming off the buttons which seems to be happening too.
The dictionary is excellent though and if you are looking for a desktop gismo then this might be your thing, but surely portability is the attraction of these things, no?
This product is flawed, I would not recommend it!

I bought this version after my previous older model died (it lasted a long time and survived several trips to Mexico and Venezuela).

It is definitely a robust translator, in the sense that it has:

* An extensive vocabulary

* Many usages of a word. For instance, if you type in "go", you get 10 different English usages such as become, fit, progress, function, etc., and their Spanish equivalents (often with more than one Spanish synonym for each usage, so in the case of the word "go", you get close to 20 different Spanish words depending on usage.) That is invaluable if you are trying to communicate on any level of complexity at all and you don't want to carry a 3 inch thick book around. Some of the cheaper translators I've seen have a much smaller vocabulary and only one or two usages of each word.

* Almost as good is a lot of the common idioms it has, such as "go off", "go bad", "anything goes", etc. However, it would be very nice if you could type something like "go bad" in directly and get a translation, but alas you cannot.

* Conjugations. Same situation; extensive conjugation, but as other reviewers have commented, you can't type in a conjugated form and get the direct translation; it takes you to the infinitive. For instance, if I type in "dijo" (he said), it takes me to the infinitive "decir" (to say). You have to scroll through up to 10 screens to find the conjugated form, frustrating even for an advanced student, and downright maddening for the beginner.

In addition to the 2 big flaws I mentioned here, I think the keyboard layout was better on the older model, being a little more like a real keyboard and less cutesy. It does seem like the brain is a little faster on this one than the old one which is nice when you do have to scroll through 10 screens.

All in all, a great piece of equipment, which will be constantly by my side when I go to Colombia next week. However, I do wish Franklin would fix the flaws. I would be the first to give away my current one and buy the redesign. Franklin, are you listening?

This is one of the few electronic dictionaries that actually contains a true dictionary in electronic form. The entries are just like you'd see if you opened a normal spanish-english or english-spanish dictionary, with multiple meanings for the words and phrases, not like a pocket dictionary. And yet, it fits in your pocket!

Unlike the previous reviewer said, there is no flip top cover, and the battery compartment is very secure. Franklin must have revised its product.

The conjugations are the only weak part- while being functional, to be honest, Barron's 501 Spanish Verbs, a normal paper book, is a bit faster than this and gives you every conjugation at a glance. The dictionary will display a general conjugation, called an "overview" of the verb in each tense with an english translation (ie: Yo Soy - I am). Which, while useful for a traveler, is highly disfunctional for a student who knows what exact tense and subject he wants to conjugate the verb in. Accessing the full conjugations is easy, but slow. You must press a key to cycle through the tenses, but there is about a 1 second lag time between each tense, making getting to the pluperfect tense for example, very time-consuming. However, usually in the "overview" of the verb, you can figure out what the stem of the verb is for that tense, but you run into problems with stem-changing verbs, because all the different stems for one tense will not be displayed in the "overview" and you'll have to cycle through.

Typing is very easy though with your thumbs, or fingers (although thumbs i feel are easier and more natural)

Overall though, and especially given the fact that the main feature is the dictionary, it's a great product, certainly the best dictionary out there in this price range.

I moved to the Dominican Republic with very basic Spanish and soon found out that dictionaries are only good if you know the basic form of a word i.e. the infinitive of a verb. This dictionary allows me to type in the conjugated form and still get a definition. It's great! It also provide idiomatic information and practical translations of common phrases and expressions. It's easy to use and I carry it everywhere.

I purchased this Spanish dictionary after a friend bought one and have no regrets. I am currently studying Spanish in school and find that this dictionary is extremely helpful. Not only does it save time looking up new words, but also conjugates verbs in several different forms. I have to admit that I have even become a little bit dependent on this dictionary. I would definetely recomend this product to anyone looking to improve their Spanish skills.

I bought this device for help with my spanish class. I never expected it to be the reason I pass the class. Not only can you look up words, but it'll give you a list of phrases that word is used in that might sort of changes the meaning. There is a flash card feauture but I still found it a little easier to make my own flash cards. The games are pretty much useless. The real deal and what you'll be happy to have this for is the conjugation feature. Plug in any word and get the preterite, subjunctive, imperfect and much more. A lot more actually...almost too much. The device isn't blazing fast so looking for a specific conjugation can take awhile. Definetly not something you'll do while in class when the teacher doesn't notice. Everyone in class is jealous I have it and my profesor is shocked at the level of words that I know...thanks to this puppy. All in all, great product, great buy and I think I'll actually keep it.

I read lots of books in Spanish. The electronic dictionary fits perfectly in my hand, my shirt pocket or on an open page in the book. The typing is easy, the dictionary even looks for related words if I make a typo. Finding a word, even a complex lexical item, is easier and faster than in a printed dictionary. Being able to store words for later review and learning is a great feature. I find at least 95% of book text vocabulary. On my daily walks, I use the dictionary to communicate with latinos, improving my knowledge of the language and helping them to understand better the English language. A great tool, indeed, and worth every penny.

I have been using this dictionary for over a year. It is small and convenient. It works very well. I use it almost daily. It has good battery life. I find it very pocketable and serves basic spanish needs very well. It has an adjustable display intensity and I found that I had to put the itensity to maximum to work with my old eyes (62 years).

My only problem with the device is the sanitized dictionary. Many colloquial words are just not in the dictionary. I watch Spanish telenovelas (with the hearing impaired Spanish words shown.) to learn more and many of the words in the telenovelas are just not in this dictionary.

(Get a copy of Streetwise Spanish and look up some of the words and you will see what I mean.)

To understand a language one needs to see a full definition and this screen has sufficient room. It is small and portable. It contains conjugations. I have used it in five spanish classes with good luck, but now with my last class it is failing me with movies such as Belle Epoque. The screen can be hard to read in dim light (but you can increase the contract, although it is still a bit dim)

The major problem I have with this item is the extent of the dictionary. It is only a G rated dictionary and the common spoken language seems more R rated. This makes it useless to translate common words in spanish telenovelas.