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Product Description
From the Manufacturer
The Sharp PW-E550 electronic dictionary delivers comprehensive knowledge of the English language in a convenient and compact design. The over 250,000 definitions and 350,000 synonyms can be found in this 5 ounce electronic reference tool that will fit in your pocket, briefcase, backpack, or purse.
- Full Contents Dictionary
Instant access to more than 250,000 definitions and more than 9,000 biographical and geographical entries from The New Oxford American Dictionary - Full Contents Thesaurus
Oxford American Thesaurus of Current English contains 15,000 main entries keyed to more than 350,000 synonyms. - Grammar Guide
Includes Garner's Modern American Usage - the ultimate resource for becoming a more effective writer - Filter Search
Find the required word you are searching for quickly and easily by typing the letters, and candidates for the matching word will appear. - Super Jump
enables faster cross-reference between dictionaries. - Quick View
displays the first line of each definition. - Crossword Solver
Use wildcard character "?" to search for words with ambiguous spellings. Place the appropriate number of "?" in the places for characters. - Anagram Solver
A word or series of letters can be entered to find matching anagrams found in the New Oxford American Dictionary. - Zoom Key
Switch between small and large print size. - Phrase Search Function
Enter in 3 words and all phrases containing entered words can be searched for.
Specifications
- Dictionary The New Oxford American Dictionary
- Thesaurus Oxford American Thesaurus of Current English
- Grammar Book Garner's Modern American Usage
- Display Size 80 x 159 dot, 8 line @ 9 dot font
- Zoom 9 dot, 12 dot
- Filter Search Yes
- Super Jump Yes
- Quick View Yes
- Spellchecker Yes
- Crossword Solver Yes
- Anagram Solver Yes
- Phrase Search Yes
- History Function Yes
- Calculator Yes
- Metric/Currency Converter Yes
- Battery AAA x 1
- Dimensions 4.90 (w) x 3.10 (d) x 0.66 (h)
- Weight approximately 5 ounces
Product Description
The Sharp PW-E550 electronic dictionary delivers comprehensive knowledge of the English language in a convenient and compact design. The over 250,000 definitions and 350,000 synonyms can be found in this 5 ounce electronic reference tool that will fit in your pocket, briefcase, backpack, or purse. Sharp Electronic Dictionary featuring full content from the best selling reference books: The New Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford American Thesaurus and Garner's Modern American Usage. Enhanced Search Functions that with filtered search, Sumper Jump and quick view. It includes additional features like spell check, crossword solver, anagram solver, and calculator and also has a metric, currency converter.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
589 of 594 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I had been thinking about buying an electronic dictionary since they first appeared on the market. I knew pretty much what I wanted in a device but until now, I've found them all wanting in some area that was important to me. This device is absolutely perfect for my needs. These are the attributes that I was looking for, in roughly most important to least important order:
It had to be easy and intuitive to use
It had to have a very comprehensive dictionary and thesaurus
It had to show (not speak) pronunciation
It had to be non-invasive (imagine using one of the speaking dictionaries in a classroom or library setting)
It had to be reasonably priced
The PW-E550 meets all of these requirements.
At the time I was considering the PW-E550 I was reading two books: "Being And Nothingness" by Sarte and "How To Be Alone" by Jonathan Franzen (as an aside, if you're not familiar with Jonathan Franzen I highly recommend checking him out). I decided to page through each book and write down a short list of words that I either did not know the meaning of, or was unclear of. I then took that list of words to my local bookstore, found the hardcopy version of "The New Oxford American Dictionary" and looked up my words. With the minor exception of "transphenomenal", I found all of my words in some form (with "transphenomenal" I was able to find "phenomenal", "phenomena" and "trans-").
To give you an idea of what I was looking for I unashamedly present my word list:
nihilates, transphenomenal, ontological, heterogeneity, facticity, thematized, interiorization, objectivation, vagaries, preponderant, exigencies, isolationism, milieu, preemption, multilateralism
When I received the PW-E550 the first thing I did was to recheck my word list. My experience was better than I expected. Not only did I find the same words and definitions, I didn't have to glance at the manual at all to figure out what to do. I just pressed the "DICT" button, typed my word and watched the list of words that matched my typing get smaller until my word (or a form of it) was displayed.
The screen has two zoom settings and the contrast makes the display easy to read. The entire unit could fit comfortably into a shirt pocket (both size and weight). The fact that it uses a single AAA battery (as a previous reviewer mentioned) is a real plus.
There was one feature that I did not think about until I started using the device - it would be nice if, when looking at a definition, I could look up any of the words in the definition without losing my place. That's when I picked up the manual and much to my delight I discovered the device can do this (they call it "Super Jump"). It's not as intuitive as the other features but once you've used it, it becomes obvious. Finally, the hardcopy version of the dictionary has pictures on some pages but the E550 does not. Again, not an issue for me.
I would like to comment on an earlier review where the author gave this unit a one star review. She complained that the PW-E550 is a dumbed-down version of the PW-E500. By dumbed-down, she meant it had fewer words than the E550. This is true. However, the PW-E500 uses the "Oxford English Dictionary" and its corresponding "New Oxford Thesaurus". That dictionary gives both English (as in England) and American definitions, likewise the thesaurus. This would be a personal choice. I don't need to see both "color" and "colour" in my dictionary but that's just me. To me it was like she was saying that she thinks a Jaguar is a better car than a Cadillac therefore a Cadillac is a lousy car. This is a great reference tool.
If you have any doubts about the contents of this unit, go look at the hardcopy versions. I am very impressed and absolutely delighted that I have such a simple yet comprehensive reference sitting on the arm of my chair as I read.
It had to be easy and intuitive to use
It had to have a very comprehensive dictionary and thesaurus
It had to show (not speak) pronunciation
It had to be non-invasive (imagine using one of the speaking dictionaries in a classroom or library setting)
It had to be reasonably priced
The PW-E550 meets all of these requirements.
At the time I was considering the PW-E550 I was reading two books: "Being And Nothingness" by Sarte and "How To Be Alone" by Jonathan Franzen (as an aside, if you're not familiar with Jonathan Franzen I highly recommend checking him out). I decided to page through each book and write down a short list of words that I either did not know the meaning of, or was unclear of. I then took that list of words to my local bookstore, found the hardcopy version of "The New Oxford American Dictionary" and looked up my words. With the minor exception of "transphenomenal", I found all of my words in some form (with "transphenomenal" I was able to find "phenomenal", "phenomena" and "trans-").
To give you an idea of what I was looking for I unashamedly present my word list:
nihilates, transphenomenal, ontological, heterogeneity, facticity, thematized, interiorization, objectivation, vagaries, preponderant, exigencies, isolationism, milieu, preemption, multilateralism
When I received the PW-E550 the first thing I did was to recheck my word list. My experience was better than I expected. Not only did I find the same words and definitions, I didn't have to glance at the manual at all to figure out what to do. I just pressed the "DICT" button, typed my word and watched the list of words that matched my typing get smaller until my word (or a form of it) was displayed.
The screen has two zoom settings and the contrast makes the display easy to read. The entire unit could fit comfortably into a shirt pocket (both size and weight). The fact that it uses a single AAA battery (as a previous reviewer mentioned) is a real plus.
There was one feature that I did not think about until I started using the device - it would be nice if, when looking at a definition, I could look up any of the words in the definition without losing my place. That's when I picked up the manual and much to my delight I discovered the device can do this (they call it "Super Jump"). It's not as intuitive as the other features but once you've used it, it becomes obvious. Finally, the hardcopy version of the dictionary has pictures on some pages but the E550 does not. Again, not an issue for me.
I would like to comment on an earlier review where the author gave this unit a one star review. She complained that the PW-E550 is a dumbed-down version of the PW-E500. By dumbed-down, she meant it had fewer words than the E550. This is true. However, the PW-E500 uses the "Oxford English Dictionary" and its corresponding "New Oxford Thesaurus". That dictionary gives both English (as in England) and American definitions, likewise the thesaurus. This would be a personal choice. I don't need to see both "color" and "colour" in my dictionary but that's just me. To me it was like she was saying that she thinks a Jaguar is a better car than a Cadillac therefore a Cadillac is a lousy car. This is a great reference tool.
If you have any doubts about the contents of this unit, go look at the hardcopy versions. I am very impressed and absolutely delighted that I have such a simple yet comprehensive reference sitting on the arm of my chair as I read.
305 of 306 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I'm a big electronic dictionary geek - I own four of them. Two of them for languages (Japanese and Chinese) and two for English. I'm a writer and I am constantly reading and looking up words, and I like to be able to do away from my computer because honestly, who wants to lug around a laptop when they just want to take a book out to a coffeeshop?
I own both the Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Speaking Dictionary (with a Concise Columbia Encyclopedia card) and the Sharp PW-E550. I owned the Merriam-Webster first, then bought this one, and actually bought the Seiko Concise Encyclopedia Britannica for a while before I returned that one. Here's a comparison between the two, and a little mention of the last one:
- Both have a similar range of definitions. There are some words I could find in the MW I couldn't in the Sharp (McGuffin), and there are some I could find in the Sharp but not the MW (phylogenic, the Bowery). I find that the MW tends to have slightly more in-depth definitions and the Sharp one reads a bit more concise and colloquial. The Sharp does provide examples of usage while the MW doesn't.
- The MW doesn't have a visual pronounciation key, while the Sharp does. That's because the MW speaks out the words. This to me was kind of silly because you don't always want to hear the words out loud (like, in a library, or just about anywhere public), even if they included a headphone jack. What became problematic was that the speaking gizmo on my MW broke after a few months, and now I can't even hear the pronounciation even if I want to.
- The Sharp will list all the words possible with each input of a letter (i.e., if you punch in "a" it'll list all the words that begin with "a," then if you punch in "b" it'll list all the words that begin with "ab" until you get to the word you want. The MW waits until you input all the letters and hit "enter," then it searches until it finds something. It takes about a second or two for it to find something that is in its dictionary, but if you punched in something with the wrong spelling or it just doesn't know, it'll take a while, maybe five seconds, which gets kind of exasperating, especially once you get used to the Sharp.
- The Sharp, when you turn it on, displays exactly what you had when you last had it on. The MW always starts with the same default screen. The Sharp also has a memory feature, that goes back some forty or so of your last entries.
- The buttons on the MW are hard and they hurt after prolonged usage. The buttons on the Sharp are pretty soft, which ends up with the opposite problem, you may not push hard enough on them at times.
- The Concise Encyclopedia that came with the MW is extremely painful to use. It's slower than the dictionary and when you do page up or page down it often goes straight to the previous or next entry. Otherwise it provides some decent amount of information at your fingertips. I'm just afraid of the tediousness of it all.
- The leather flip cover for the MW is really flimsy, while the Sharp is neatly self-protecting. I also like how you can open the whole thing 180 degrees, which is something the Seiko can't do. The Seiko only opens up to about 135 degrees, which might seem adequate until you get used to the Sharp.
- The games that come with the MW aren't so great. I like the idea of creating your own wordlist, but it barely takes any, maybe 20 maximum. After playing with them a bit my first week with the MW, I stopped using the game function.
- The Sharp has a grammar guide that I hardly ever use. I suppose it could be handy, but it just feels impractical.
For a long while I carried around both the MW and the Sharp, with Sharp being my first resource then, if I have to, the MW, and if I really have to, the Concise Encyclopedia in the MW. After a while I just ditched the MW and now I only use the Sharp. It is a far better experience, and it's become an indispensible tool. The Seiko I was really excited to check out, but for the price I was quite disappointed. The user experience, while better than the MW, pales compared to the Sharp. The entries in the Seiko are great, a lot of information and depth, but most of the terms in there are in the Sharp anyway, just not with as much detail. For $180, I decided I could just stick with the Sharp for basic concepts on the proper nouns, and head to my laptop when I want more in-depth detail.
Overall, I recommend anyone with a remote interest in having an English electronic dictionary to go with the Sharp. It's the best portable reference I've found so far.
I own both the Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Speaking Dictionary (with a Concise Columbia Encyclopedia card) and the Sharp PW-E550. I owned the Merriam-Webster first, then bought this one, and actually bought the Seiko Concise Encyclopedia Britannica for a while before I returned that one. Here's a comparison between the two, and a little mention of the last one:
- Both have a similar range of definitions. There are some words I could find in the MW I couldn't in the Sharp (McGuffin), and there are some I could find in the Sharp but not the MW (phylogenic, the Bowery). I find that the MW tends to have slightly more in-depth definitions and the Sharp one reads a bit more concise and colloquial. The Sharp does provide examples of usage while the MW doesn't.
- The MW doesn't have a visual pronounciation key, while the Sharp does. That's because the MW speaks out the words. This to me was kind of silly because you don't always want to hear the words out loud (like, in a library, or just about anywhere public), even if they included a headphone jack. What became problematic was that the speaking gizmo on my MW broke after a few months, and now I can't even hear the pronounciation even if I want to.
- The Sharp will list all the words possible with each input of a letter (i.e., if you punch in "a" it'll list all the words that begin with "a," then if you punch in "b" it'll list all the words that begin with "ab" until you get to the word you want. The MW waits until you input all the letters and hit "enter," then it searches until it finds something. It takes about a second or two for it to find something that is in its dictionary, but if you punched in something with the wrong spelling or it just doesn't know, it'll take a while, maybe five seconds, which gets kind of exasperating, especially once you get used to the Sharp.
- The Sharp, when you turn it on, displays exactly what you had when you last had it on. The MW always starts with the same default screen. The Sharp also has a memory feature, that goes back some forty or so of your last entries.
- The buttons on the MW are hard and they hurt after prolonged usage. The buttons on the Sharp are pretty soft, which ends up with the opposite problem, you may not push hard enough on them at times.
- The Concise Encyclopedia that came with the MW is extremely painful to use. It's slower than the dictionary and when you do page up or page down it often goes straight to the previous or next entry. Otherwise it provides some decent amount of information at your fingertips. I'm just afraid of the tediousness of it all.
- The leather flip cover for the MW is really flimsy, while the Sharp is neatly self-protecting. I also like how you can open the whole thing 180 degrees, which is something the Seiko can't do. The Seiko only opens up to about 135 degrees, which might seem adequate until you get used to the Sharp.
- The games that come with the MW aren't so great. I like the idea of creating your own wordlist, but it barely takes any, maybe 20 maximum. After playing with them a bit my first week with the MW, I stopped using the game function.
- The Sharp has a grammar guide that I hardly ever use. I suppose it could be handy, but it just feels impractical.
For a long while I carried around both the MW and the Sharp, with Sharp being my first resource then, if I have to, the MW, and if I really have to, the Concise Encyclopedia in the MW. After a while I just ditched the MW and now I only use the Sharp. It is a far better experience, and it's become an indispensible tool. The Seiko I was really excited to check out, but for the price I was quite disappointed. The user experience, while better than the MW, pales compared to the Sharp. The entries in the Seiko are great, a lot of information and depth, but most of the terms in there are in the Sharp anyway, just not with as much detail. For $180, I decided I could just stick with the Sharp for basic concepts on the proper nouns, and head to my laptop when I want more in-depth detail.
Overall, I recommend anyone with a remote interest in having an English electronic dictionary to go with the Sharp. It's the best portable reference I've found so far.
100 of 102 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
The Sharp PW-E550 is an excellent product. It is just slightly larger than a deck of cards when closed. It has two font sizes. The smaller one is perfectly readable for me and offers sufficient content on the screen. It performs amazingly well, very quick, and has so far had all the words I needed to look up.
As one person mentioned, spend a few minutes going through the manual as there are a couple of features that are not readily apparent but are very useful. The Super Jump feature being the most notable, which allows you to lookup the definition of a word within a definition.
The Sharp PW-E550 does everything I wanted it to do and more. A great buy.
As one person mentioned, spend a few minutes going through the manual as there are a couple of features that are not readily apparent but are very useful. The Super Jump feature being the most notable, which allows you to lookup the definition of a word within a definition.
The Sharp PW-E550 does everything I wanted it to do and more. A great buy.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Short Lived Device
I have actually had three of these. I purchased the initial one for my son. After a couple years it developed lines across the screen similar to dead pixels that made the words... Read more
Published 2 days ago by Reading Babe
Awesome!
I have owned this item for just about 2 years and never had a problem. I love it. Works great and it's easy to use. Read more
Published 3 days ago by Scott
This thing rocks!
Have had this little device for about four years and finally, with daily use by 4 people, it has sadly died. We love this dictionary so much that we bought a new one immediately. Read more
Published 22 days ago by Lysa Slater
Very handy.
This is the second one I have bought. The last one lasted about 7 years before I dropped it. I'm an avid crossword puzzler and this works great. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Claudi0
Good but there is a better option
Although this dictionary is quite good, it's simply too inconvenient to use and too expensive to own. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Chun R. Luo
american english elettronic dictionary
This is a great product, dictionary, synonyms, calculator and many other function.
the american version of the dictionary i think it's quite straightforward and go to... Read more
the american version of the dictionary i think it's quite straightforward and go to... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Iacopo
Love this dictionary and device
I'm kind of a dictionary snob and was disappointed with several electronic dictionaries before I found this wonderful device. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Kynn
Good, so far
Good purchase. A lot of definitions with word origins. We'll see what happens after the one year mark. Hopefully it retains screen integrity.
Published 2 months ago by Art Teacher
Very Satisfied!
Bought this for my wife for Christmas and it meets our likes and expectations. Not every word is covered but most words that we try are there. Read more
Published 3 months ago by In-process Paul
easy
A pocket sized device w/letters large enough for anyone to read. This is an ideal gift for someone who writes w/o using a computer, poeple who love crosswords, or kids beginning to... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Pj Dupuis
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