Job Discussion Forums

[unsung]

Do you own a JAPANESE/ENGLISH electronic dictionary?

...and if so, do you like it?

[guest of Japan]

Yes and Yes.

[Gordon]

yes and no

[Synne]

no and yes

[wintersweet]

I plan to get one; however, I'm saving up until I can afford the one with the stylus where you can write in a kanji to look it up, since it's sometimes impossible any other way. (This feature was practically standard in Taiwanese electronic dictionaries, but it's pretty hard to find in Japanese ones. Grr.) Here's a page with some reviews and comparisons:
http://www.bornplaydie.com/japan/dictionary/dictionary.htm

[osakajojo]

my new cell phone has one. it's nice.

[joncharles]

I'm looking for an English/Japanese one. I will probably have to leave Japan and bring one back with me. It is difficult to get Electronics in English here. There are a couple places in Tokyo, but you have to pay duty.

[Rorschach]

I own a Canon G50 Wordtank, probably the best, cheapest dictionary on the market at the moment. I know it is currently retailing for about 20000yen (down from 38000 last year). The dictionaries on board are fairly standard but what sets it apart is the kanji reader. You can search by radical index or the number of strokes in the kanji and bring up the word you're looking for. Once you have found the kanji you can display the stroke order (extremely useful). If I was buying a dictionary now in the 20-25k range I'd get the Canon G50 Wordtank. The stylus dictionary looks cool but it's just too expensive at the moment.

[Dominique]

I bought a cheesy Seiko one for 2000yen

It's not very good.

[unsung]

[bluefrog]

I can vouche for the G50. I own one myself.