Hi from new member!

[阿童木]

Hi guys

To introduce myself briefly I have been studying Chinese for 2 years through a university distance program from Australia. I am Australian but am living/working overseas(but not currently in China), so it has been the most useful way for me to learn Chinese. Although I will receive a qualification (eventually!) in Chinese from the uni,　I really feel like I am self study learner, as podcasts and uni forums can only go so far.

I have just finished NPCR3, which gives you some idea of my level, I guess around 1000 characters.

So now I feel the need to be able to look up characters by writing electronically, and so my question for everyone is about whether I should invest in an electronic dictionary or buy an itouch and find an app which allows me to write characters. I really dont feel the need for an itouch particularly as work at a computer all day, so dont feel the need for net surfing, apps etc when I am out and about, it is really just as a tool for learning Chinese.

This is the dictionary that my language partner recommends. So its price vs a basic itouch is about the same.

http://item.taobao.com/auction/item_detail.htm?item_num_id=6057390409

For those of you that have already using one or the other (or neither!) I was wondering if you could give me any advice on which way to go.

cheers

阿童木

[across]

I've never tried it, but I think Pleco is going to be the standard response here.

[renzhe]

You are asking about portable electronic dictionaries, but say that you work with computers all day, so don't need an iTouch.

If an online dictionary is an option, www.nciku.com allows you to draw characters with a mouse. For portable stuff, I've also heard good stuff about pleco, but really have no experience (I use paper dictionaries when not near a computer).

[feihong]

I personally use an iPod Touch in conjunction with Pleco. I really prefer it over using paper dictionaries, but I don't know how it compares to dedicated electronic dictionaries. In terms of cost, I think you may be overlooking the fact that some features of Pleco are not free. The base dictionary software is free, but the handwriting recognition, Chinese-Chinese dictionary, annotated reader, and other optional modules are not.

So, depending on your needs, iTouch + Pleco might set you back more.

[mike39]

Pleco + I touch. I had previously purchased the Ipod touch so it was an easy decision for me to go for the Pleco dictionary instead of buying a separate dictionary.