Chinese electronic dictionary or Android phone + Pleco?

[Crush]

I really like being able to draw in characters at sites like mdbg.net and nciku.com, but i'm not always around a computer. Not being able to look things up away from the computer makes it difficult to read books on the bus and things like that.

I was looking online and saw that Chinese e-dictionaries with handwriting support were super expensive ($300+!) and i was wondering if it wouldn't just be cheaper to buy an Android phone just to use it with Pleco (ie, no contract). I don't know much about phones or dictionaries, so i'm not sure which'd be cheaper/a better deal in the long run.

I'd really rather not spend more than $150-$200 as i just bought a new eReader, and besides i'd only be using it for Chinese study (perhaps other languages, if possible, but still just for study).

 

I'd appreciate any advice/suggestions, thanks!

[耳耳语语]

That was also my choice, and i'm very happy with it.

 

- a Samsung smartphone (149 euros, that's 201 USD)

- many Pleco modules. https://www.pleco.com/androidpricing.html

You need at least Handwriting Recognizer which is said to be "FREE for a limited time" so i guess you will need Basic Bundle (US $39.95)

- In fact in France we also have a phone operator for 2 euros/month

[lechuan]

Pleco app is a lot more versatile. You can add new features and dictionaries when you need them. if you don't need the phone, it may be cheaper just to get a small Android tablet.

[Crush]

Thanks for the response, i was thinking something like this Samsung Galaxy Ring would work just fine for me, and it's only about $100 on Amazon. I don't know anything really about phones, but it seems like it would handle everything i want (ie, Pleco and perhaps Anki) just fine. For twice the price there's also the Samsung Galaxy S II, i doubt the difference between the two is really worth it though.

 

I also didn't realize the handwriting recognizer wasn't included in the free version, but i was planning on purchasing at least the Basic Bundle anyway so i guess that won't be a problem.

 

Thanks again

[abcdefg]

No contest. Hands down the best choice is a smartphone with Pleco. Buy last year's model or one that has been traded in and refurbished.

 

I sold my electronic Chinese dictionary and went to an Android device with Pleco and have never once looked back. It's like trading in your slide rule for a calculator.

[ManManLai]

Another option would be an iPod touch. Lately, we've been running around with both an iPod and an iPhone, testing new features in our software, and the iPod has turned out to be a surprisingly capable mobile device. Basically, it's an iPhone minus the phone, and so there's a wide assortment of Chinese language software available. (The handwriting recognition built into iOS 7 is very useful in its own right, though depending on your needs a dedicated "writing module" or 描紅 feature might be wanted.)

[li3wei1]

You can't make phone calls with your electronic dictionary.

[roddy]

Welcome, Crush, 

 

Nobody on here is going to tell you not to buy Pleco, it has a huge number of fans. The only thing I'd add to your plan is that once you have a smartphone you might find yourself wanting to use it for more things - you could download podcasts and listen to them on the go. Read the news in Chinese. Watch Chinese TV shows during your commute. Etc, etc. So maybe have a think about how else you might want to use the new device, and make sure you get something capable of doing that, if the extra cost seems worthwhile.

 

 

I first got a PDA, back when you could get PDAs, just for Pleco, but pretty quickly was using it for music, email, web, reading. And the most accurate comment on my purchase of an iPod Touch several years later was: "you'll have an iPhone within a year."

 

Also, you say you've just got an ereader - perhaps you'd like to join in here

[Ruben von Zwack]

I got my first smartphone, a Samsung, just a few weeks ago. It's not even fancy, big or new (my sister gave me her old one) and I don't have much clue about phones and tablets and all this, and I was skeptical. But it really convinced me. I use the character writing function all the time.

 

Even if it were for no other reason, I would advise for the Android and not an electronic dictionary simply because with the phone being 2-in-1, it's one piece of electronics less that you have to carry or that you can potentially forget in the restaurant. The only slightly annoying thing, if you're used to a mobile from the last millennium, is, smartphones run out of battery quickly. But if you switch off WLAN, (and all the silly sounds) you'll save battery and they will last longer. Mine lasts a few days when I have it on flight mode.

[Crush]

Thanks again everyone for the info. I guess it's probably what a lot of people have said before, but i really don't see myself using it for much else. I guess it could be useful for music/lessons, but my mp3 player i'm sure has much better battery life. I've looked briefly at the tablets, too. I really don't want something too big, but the smaller tablets i've seen (in the 4-5 inch range) have all seemed rather cheaply made compared to phones in that range. I'm not really sure why.

 

@roddy: you're right, at first i didn't see myself using much else, but being able to watch TV shows or even video lessons, having an extra few gigs for lessons, etc. would be nice. But right now the main thing i really want is a portable dictionary, everything else is extra And thanks for the link, that sounds really cool and is something i'd really like to do anyway.

[imron]

I guess it could be useful for music/lessons, but my mp3 player i'm sure has much better battery life.

What you'll find is that at some point you'll think "I really can't be bothered carrying both my phone *and* my mp3 player today, so just for today I'll put some mp3s on my phone and use that instead."

 

Then you'll find that battery life isn't really a huge issue because the phone didn't run out of battery during the day, and it's no real hassle to charge it overnight - certainly less hassle than carrying around two electronic devices, and so then you'll use the phone again the next day, and the next day, and the next day, and then 3 months later you'll find your mp3 player in draw collecting dust

[roddy]

Crush, did you decide on what to get?

[APWiseman]

For Android, I prefer Hanping Pro more, I think the definitions are better. The only downside is that it doesn't have sample sentences.

[mikelove]

If you go into Settings / Manage Dictionaries in Pleco, you can put CC-CEDICT at the top of the priority order and get the exact same definitions by default.

[south-961]

Do you speak about this Pleco? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pleco.chinesesystem&hl=en but it seems free! I think to download it or continue to use ctext.org/

[Crush]

I ended up getting the Galaxy Ring and am really happy about it. So far i'm just using it as a tablet and occasionally to watch Chinese series. I just read about some news apps which i'm planning on checking out.

Ah and i bought the basic version of Pleco and am also incredibly happy with that, too. I've been using the flashcard part a lot and even set it up to test me on writing characters, too. It seems that Skritter just came out with a mobile version of their site so i might end up switching back, but it's nice to know i don't have to and that i have an offline option.

Pleco covered pretty much all my needs (or wants) and more, all the sample sentences in the default Pleco dictionary are great, too, even if it seems the CEDICT entries can sometimes be more concise.

One thing i wish it did have was a button during flashcard study to bring up the full definition (with all the examples) to quickly look through the sample sentences when i think i need to. Ah, and see the number of unseen flashcards in the card stats menu, ie. how many new cards are left to see, not just how many unlearned cards there are.

[roddy]

Thanks for the follow-up, Crush. What series are you watching?

[mikelove]

Crush - thanks for your business!

 

Flashcard statistics are definitely due for a revamp. As far as bringing up the full definition with examples, the best way to do that now would either be to highlight the headword and tap on the > button, or go into the Edit tab / Card Info / Change dictionary; you could also set "definition sections" under "card text" to "definition + examples," in which case the examples would show all the time.

[Ruben von Zwack]

There is no good Chinese-German dictionary for purchase with Pleco, is there? I think there's quite a few Germans, Austrians and Swiss learners here. Hint-hint...  

[Crush]

I've just finished watching the Legend of the Condor Heroes series (射雕英雄传, 神雕侠侣, and 倚天屠龙记), which took a long time. I figured after all that 师傅 and 报仇 it was time to watch something a bit more modern, so i've started watching 爱情公寓 (haha!), but if course i'm open to suggestions

And thanks mikelove, the highlight method would work great if i could figure out how to get it to highlight multiple characters. For now i'm just going into the card info screen which is fine, really, it'd just be nice to have a quicker way.

I've tried adding the example sentences in, but on such a small screen i have to do a lot of scrolling to see all the definitions.

Anyway those are just small things and i have to say i was pleasantly surprised by the entire package, and i'm sure there are still plenty of things i haven't discovered yet. And thanks for the response, i really appreciate it!

@Ruben von Zwack: there's the HanDeDict you can download for free, which if it's similar to CEDICT should be nice. Unfortunately it doesn't have example sentences. A Chinese-German dictionary would be nice though, as would a nice Chinese-Spanish one

EDIT: i found the buttons that pop up at the bottom, and that's perfect, thanks!