Lingo 10 Talk Talking Electronic Language Translator

by Lingo

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 3.5 x 5 inches ; 5.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000059Z4J
• Item model number: tr9903
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1973

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Hear the way a foreign word is meant to sound with the Lingo 10 Talk talking electronic translator. A built-in speaker lets you hear a word in any of 10 languages pronounced with the touch of a button. The electronic voice is clear and easily understood.

The 10 Talk translates 60,000 words plus 1,200 useful phrases to and from English, German, French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Turkish, Russian, Arabic, and Hebrew. The translator also displays the word in foreign characters and shows you how to pronounce it phonetically.

This translator also features eight currency conversions, six metric conversions, local time in 12-hour and 24-hour formats, and world time for 200 cities. A 10-digit, talking calculator is also included, plus a data bank for storing names, telephone numbers, and memos.

Entries are displayed on the four-line, 14-character LCD display with a backlight and contrast control. This translator comes with an earphone, three AAA batteries, and a soft carrying case. It is covered by a one-year warranty.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Handy Help in a Foreign Land, April 15, 2001

By 

Rick (Dallas, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lingo 10 Talk Talking Electronic Language Translator (Office Product)

I carried the Lingo Talk 10 on a recent trip to Moscow and found it to be quite useful (in fact for me, a necessity). I had only a basic understanding of the Russian alphabet and knew some basic phrases and phrase segments and a hand full of words.

The Lingo's phonetic sub-titles below the Russian text helped tremendously in aiding in my pronounciation of the words I needed to effectively communicate.

The talking feature helped even more on some of those real Russian tounge twisters. I'd say if you're not real familiar with the alphabet and pronounciations, then a talking translator is the way to go. The sound quality on this one was adequate through the small on board speaker but it was even better through the ear buds supplied.

The Lingo Talk 10 is very reasonably priced (great prices can be found with just a bit of surfing), is easy to use, has a back light display, and volume control and seems to be of substantial quality. It's vocabulary isn't as great as I would have liked but adequate to get me through my week in Russia. I would suggest that for trade or business you also carry an additional dictionary with a greater vocabluary for the country in which you are working. Just the same for tourist and others just passing through, this is nice.

I would like to have a translator with the Lingo Talk 10's features that was just perhaps a tad bit smaller so that it would fit in my shirt pocket behind my glasses case, but this was small enough to fit in my inside jactet pocket without too much fuss. I know this works against my desire for a smaller size but I would also prefer that it use AA batteries instead of the AAA size as in some areas the AAA's may not be readily available.

Overall, I like mine and I'll have it with me on my next trip abroad. I keep it in my desk on top of my passport just to remind me that I'll need that too.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for travel, November 26, 2001

By 

TJ (Land of the rising sun) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lingo 10 Talk Talking Electronic Language Translator (Office Product)

I live in Japan but do not speak the language. I took the Lingo 10 with me on a trip to China and it worked great with taxis and merchants. There are limitations but this is a great machine for travel to a variety of countries. The price is also good considering some translators cost the same for only one language.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Listen to it before you buy, August 27, 2002

By 

Buildalot (Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lingo 10 Talk Talking Electronic Language Translator (Office Product)

I am disappointed with the voice function. It reminds me of the old Texas instrument "speak and spell" - That had to be some 20 years ago, I would have thought voice tech knowledge would have improved by now.

Its vocabulary is limited to about 6000 words for each language. But the biggest disappointment is that it can't tell between different words that sound the same. Example If I enter the word "Fall" it will give me a translation in several different languages, but it does not say whether it is talking about "fall" the season for "fall" like fall off a cliff.

Part of the problem may be one of its features. Instead of specializing in just one language it does several, which probably limits its ability to cast a better definition on the word you are trying to translate.

I don't care for the body style to much. To me at least, it is ugly and has somewhat of a disposable feel to it.

But on the flip side it very easy to use as advertised, and if you don't intend on learning a language, but just need a language survival guide in several different countries, you may want to look into it.

Research the price before you buy. I have seen it advertise as low as [price] in military stores and as high as [price] on some web sites.