Which Chinese e-Dictionary To Get?
About a year ago, I wrote about which physical Chinese Dictionary to get (link here). One year later, we received notification from AJ's school that students at this level can use digital dictionaries now. It got me a little excited because digital dictionary is definitely lighter to carry around and theoretically, it should be able to store more information, though it cost much more.
As I am only looking for the latest models and am more keen with those with stylus, I narrowed down to two choices: Creative's Hanvision PX2131 or Besta All Pass-2. Both are approved by Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB).
Creative's Hanvision PX2131 ($56 school price)
Hanvision PX2131 takes the form of a candy bar, in fact all their models are, which I detest. I find candy bar electronic gadgets are very prone to crack screen. Just ask yourselves how frequent do you see mobile phones with cracked screen these days? I have, thus, discounted this model substantially even before I saw the real thing.
When I went to see it in AJ's school, I was met with another disappointment. The device is really small. Smaller than a Blackberry Classic phone.
The screen is very small and the keypad buttons are so tiny that I think the students will waste more time trying to type correctly than having the device helping them in finding meanings of words efficiently.
So I drop the idea of getting Hanvision PX2131.
Besta All Pass-2 ($45 school price)
Besta All Pass-2 scored here with me because it takes the form of a clam-shell. Lesser chance of crack screen than a candy bar device is what I have presumed.
When I saw the real thing in AJ's school, I still didn't like what I saw, though the degree of disappointment was lesser than Hanvision PX2131.
The let down was, again, the small screen and the tiny keyboard buttons. Although Besta All Pass-2 has bigger screen and bigger keyboard buttons than Hanvsion PX2131, it is still not up to my expectation.
I guess we still have time to wait for more new SEAB models to come on board before we decide so there is no hurry to get one yet. In the mean time, AJ will use the existing physical Chinese dictionaries that he has. I have also decided to share with him this dictionary which I use for my Chinese-English translation work.
As for the digital dictionary, we will continue to use Pleco phone application, which I think is 1 of the best dictionary application softwares for phones.
As I am only looking for the latest models and am more keen with those with stylus, I narrowed down to two choices: Creative's Hanvision PX2131 or Besta All Pass-2. Both are approved by Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB).
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| Creative's Hanvision PX2131 |
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| Besta All Pass-2 |
Creative's Hanvision PX2131 ($56 school price)
Hanvision PX2131 takes the form of a candy bar, in fact all their models are, which I detest. I find candy bar electronic gadgets are very prone to crack screen. Just ask yourselves how frequent do you see mobile phones with cracked screen these days? I have, thus, discounted this model substantially even before I saw the real thing.
When I went to see it in AJ's school, I was met with another disappointment. The device is really small. Smaller than a Blackberry Classic phone.
The screen is very small and the keypad buttons are so tiny that I think the students will waste more time trying to type correctly than having the device helping them in finding meanings of words efficiently.
So I drop the idea of getting Hanvision PX2131.
Besta All Pass-2 ($45 school price)
Besta All Pass-2 scored here with me because it takes the form of a clam-shell. Lesser chance of crack screen than a candy bar device is what I have presumed.
When I saw the real thing in AJ's school, I still didn't like what I saw, though the degree of disappointment was lesser than Hanvision PX2131.
The let down was, again, the small screen and the tiny keyboard buttons. Although Besta All Pass-2 has bigger screen and bigger keyboard buttons than Hanvsion PX2131, it is still not up to my expectation.
So what is the verdict?
I guess we still have time to wait for more new SEAB models to come on board before we decide so there is no hurry to get one yet. In the mean time, AJ will use the existing physical Chinese dictionaries that he has. I have also decided to share with him this dictionary which I use for my Chinese-English translation work.
As for the digital dictionary, we will continue to use Pleco phone application, which I think is 1 of the best dictionary application softwares for phones.
What abut you? What kind of Chinese dictionaries do your children use?
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| Linky |
I bought the Besta All-Pass-2 for my P3 son and he hardly want to use it. The screen was too dark for comfort. And the stylus couldn't write properly on the screen. It was a letdown. I'm considering Han Vision PX2131 because of its back lit feature, supposedly to make the screen brighter.
ReplyDeleteHi Eric! At P3 level, there is really no need to use e-dictionary. In my opinion, it is still best to use physical dictionary. These digital dictionary is gd for examination when the students can't bring in physical one.
Delete1 year later I'm still haven't bought the Hanvision PX2131. My son now in P4 needs the E dictionary. Somehow kids are getting by with Beste Pass2 being the more popular one. And I still felt that the screen is too dark. Unfortunately I have no friends who havd the Hanvision PX2131 for me to test out, and Popular requires the product be purchased before opening the packaging.
ReplyDelete