Franklin Merriam-Webster ((Speaking)) Spanish-English Dictionary (BES-1850)
by Franklin Electronics
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Franklin Merriam-Webster ((Speaking)) Spanish-English Dictionary (BES-1850)
Customer Review: Well done! Don't spend more than $100
Summary: 4 Stars
The Franklin BES-1850 is fantastic! I did an EXHAUSTING amount of research before purchasing an electronic dictionary/translator device. I became so overwhelmed at times trying to figure out what to buy that I scrapped the idea all together a few times. However, I eventually purchased the Franklin BES-1850 and could not be more satisfied.
1.) I am attempting to learn Spanish all on my own. This can be quite a task. I wanted something easily portable that could be used to look up words on-the-fly and was lighter and less bulky than the huge, heavy paper dictionary that I was porting around.
2.) I was completely willing to spend upwards of $600 if the device was something fantastical. However, I did exhaustive research and there is nothing out there that serves a function better than this Franklin device. And the Franklin BES-1850 cost less than $100. It's $100 well spent.
3.) I do agree with some of the comments that the latch sticks and can be a bit hard to open. However, it's a strong latch that protects the device when you throw it in your bag. It's not that great of a concern. However, it is true that the latch can be hard to open.
4.) I don't have much trouble at all in seeing the screen. However, I can see how that comment also is valid. I would imagine that if you're trying to use the device on a park bench in the direct sunshine, that you're going to have trouble (and I'm all for having a device that I *can* use on a park bench in the sunshine). However, the thing costs under $100! The screen is perfectly easy to see in most common circumstances. I really love this device!
5.) My main use of the device so far is to find vocabulary words when I'm attempting to work an assignment in one of my workbooks (BTW: The series "Practice Makes Perfect" Spanish is THE BEST in terms of written grammar). In addition, I commute by public transportation and use the device to look up words when I'm attempting to "read" a Spanish periodical on the train. The device is perfect for this!
6.) One drawback is the fact that you cannot type in an entire phrase and have that phrase translated. (Actually, this *might* be possible. However, if it is possible, I haven't figured out how to do it.) Instead, you have to look up your ideas in the form of single words. I was going to complain about this. However, I have to say that I'm actually impressed. I could not remember the reflexive verb "to put oneself to bed". I assumed that if I typed in "bed" the only option that would be returned was the Spanish word "cama". However, to my delight and surprise it returned both "cama" and "acostarse" (the latter is the verb that I wanted). Good going, Franklin!
7.) IT CONJUGATES VERBS IN ALL TENSES!!!! Oh my gosh is that wonderful. Truly, this thing rocks!
I actually bought two of these. I'm using mine to go from English to Spanish. However the second one that I purchased was for a Spanish-speaking friend trying to learn English. I will attempt to report in with another review once I hear how well the device works in the other direction. My impression is that it is well done in both directions. Thus, if you are a Spanish speaker looking for an English translator, I'd go with this device as well.
Well done, Franklin!
Do not spend more than $100 for this or any of these devices. There is nothing that those other devices can do that warrants the price jump. Buy this Frankling BES-1850 model.
Customer Review: Decent dictionary for the price
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this dictionary along with the German expansion card. I ended up buying a BES-1870 instead, and this thing is sitting on the shelf unused. The BES-1870 (or LIB-1870) is a much better device if you are serious about learning Spanish.
However, this wasn't a bad purchase for the price. Here are my first impressions after a couple of days.
THE GOOD:
1. Vocabulary is extensive in both languages. Verbs conjugated in all tenses. (Keep hitting "CONJ" (Spa) or "BEUG" (Ger) for more tenses.)
2. Turns on quickly: no need to "boot up". In this regard it is better than some much more expensive electronic dictionaries that I have used.
3. Remembers which dictionary you were in when you turn it on.
4. Cultural notes that note when a word is used in Spain vs. Mexico or other countries.
THE BAD:
1. Switching to the next conjugation tense in Spanish is tediously slow. Weirdly, the German expansion card switches quickly between tenses.
2. All the vulgar words seem to have been removed from the dictionary in English and (apparently) Spanish as well. By contrast, the ENG/GER dictionary on the expansion card exhibits no such prudery. All the (at least most common) dirty words seem to be there in the ENG/GER side. For example, "Poop" (which is completely missing in the SPA/ENG side) has in the ENG/GER side translations of "Poop deck", "Did you get the poop", and a child's word for excrement. The more vulgar word for excrement is there in German, too (but not SPA).
THE UGLY:
Everyone says it. I will too. The screen sucks. Don't be fooled by the picture. The text you see on the screen in the picture is just a sticker that peels off that makes it look like a 21st-cent. LCD panel before you turn it on. Turned on, it is more like a 1992 LCD panel. (For comparison, the BES-1870 has an excellent modern LCD.)
THE NEUTRAL:
Form-factor is slightly bulkier than I expected, but serviceable. The top sticks if you pull it head-on, but with a little practice you can open it quickly and easily.
Many have complained about the speaking. I don't really use that, but when I tried it I didn't have any problem understanding the speech.
SUMMARY:
Carrying two languages at once (ENG/SPA plus the ENG/GER expansion card) is a real bonus. Because of the slowness of conjugation tense switching in Spanish and also the lack of vulgar words in Spanish, it may actually be a better ENG/GER dictionary than ENG/SPA. But unless you are watching telenovelas (as I do sometimes) the lack of vulgar words may not be that big a deal.
For comparison, the BES-1870 (or LIB-1870) has a better, more comprehensive SPA/ENG dictionary, a great, contemporary LCD, and it will take the same expansion cards as this device. If you can afford the slightly higher price, it is a much better choice.
Customer Review: Too high a premium for poor speach synthesis
Summary: 2 Stars
I returned this device almost immediately after trying it out. So I imagine that there were lots of features that are great but here is what I didn't like:The speech synthesis was terrible and adds $... to the price of the same device without the speech capability. Remember the earliest devices with speech synthesis and that is what you are getting here. I thought that I would be able to use it to get the correct pronunciation of Spanish words I was unsure about. But forget that. There are recorded real voice phrases that are supposed to sound true to life but I can't see how that would be useful unless you aren't interested in learning Spanish. And then, why buy a $... electronic dictionary?
There is a feature that gives you a list of possible words if, for example, you type in an English word with multiple meanings and translations in Spanish. So, maybe you'll get a list of three or four choices for the Spanish equivalent. There does not seem to be any way to select the one you want and jump to the dictionary entry for that word. Instead you have to scroll down through all of the definitions of all the words until you get to the translation of interest. A real pain.
This device is HEAVY and will not fit in you pocket, at least not comfortably. I found the keyboard an awkward size. Too small to use like a typewriter but large enough that it took a lot of hand/finger movement to enter words. The large keyboard is possibly an advantage for someone with very large fingers or poor hand-eye coordination but I found it unpleasant to use.
There were other features that appeared to me to be awkward in one way or another. It may be that I just didn't figure out the best ways to do things. I just didn't spend a lot of time figuring out all the features once I decided that the devices speech synthesis was lousy and that it was just too big and heavy to satisfy my needs for a pocket electronic dictionary.
If what you want is a device that will speak some standard travelers phrases for you, I believe you can spend much less and get a device designed to just do that and do it well.
If really want all of the features that the Franklin BES-1850 offers, I think that you may as well save yourself $... and get the Franklin model without the speech synthesis or buy one of the other electronic dictionaries out there.
Customer Review: Pretty good!
Summary: 4 Stars
This dictionary is definitely pretty good. I have no problems with the translations or the speaking aspect of it. As a Spanish III PreAP student, this is extremely helpful. Rarely does it ever return no results, and even then, usually you just need to dissect the word a little (i.e. take off attached direct objects) and then it finds the word. You can search misspelled words, conjugated verbs, etc. If you're doing a crossword puzzle and you only know two letters of a word, just type in "???b???o?" and it will give you every single word that meets those requirements. Games (not that fun), word lists, and a slot for installing Franklin Bookman cards (I have a speaking Merriam-Webster English Dictionary/Thesarus) are included too. Never tried syncing to a computer, so I can't comment on that.
Now, some gripes:
-The verb conjugator is not very intuitive. To get to, say, imperative, you have to go through present, imperfect, preterite, present progressive, present progressive II, future, present pluperfect, past pluperfect, and about 5 more. Each tense is presented as a seperate screen. Now, this wouldn't be so annoying except for the fact that it takes the dictionary about 4 seconds to pull up each tense, so it takes a while to get to the tense you need. Be careful not to overshoot it, or you'll have to start over once again! You can't jump to the tense you want immediately. Having said that, the verb conjugator can conjugate any known verb; I haven't had any problems with it so far.
-The cover/lid is rather cheap and flimsy, and it will break off if you drop it while open. It's also not that easy to open, but just push the lid towards you and it will open fine. It does feel rather cheap, though, but it IS made in Malaysia.
-The screen is not that great. You have to strike a balance between actually being able to easily read the text and having to scroll a whole bunch of times to see everything. By the way, the contrast settings SUCK.
So why am I still giving it 4 stars? Because it's helpful, it's portable, and the Bookman slot makes this unit very expandable, which is just what I need. After you get used to the screen, it's fine. The major gripe I have about this is the verb conjugator interface. Otherwise, this unit would have been (essentially) perfect for me. Definitely worth it!
Customer Review: device works fine for me
Summary: 5 Stars
I have very little spanish background. I bought the device before going to Guatemala for a month for spanish lessons. Worked fine, no defects, all the buttons worked. The speaker works well enough to tell you where the accent on the word is, which is really all you need to know once you've grasped that all the spanish letters make the same sound with all the exceptions in the english language. No one in my spanish class laughed at me for having the device because I could look up words faster than anyone with the old-fashioned paper dictionaries. Sometimes my spanish teacher who spoke spanish as a second language would blank on a word - guess who everyone turned to? yeah that would be me. The friends that I made in Guatemala only spoke spanish, so I took this device with me everywhere and when they said a word I didn't know or I couldn't think of how to explain something, I used the dictionary. I admit that the screen is dull, it's certainly not as clear as the Franklin English dictionary. That makes it somewhat difficult to read at times, but never impossible for me. I used this device so much while I was in Guatemala that I burned out the batteries in 2 weeks - obviously, if it were impossible to read I could never have accomplished that. I was disappointed that the dictionary lacks profanity. Profanity is as much a part of the english language as it is the spanish language, thus you will hear it spoken in spanish speaking countries - surprised?. Most of us will agree that it is important to know when someone is using such language towards you. Is Franklin/Merriam-Webster on some sort of crusade to rid the world of profanity? Nevertheless, I strongly recommend this product for anyone learning spanish. The really awesome thing about it is that it conjugates the verbs - you won't find that feature in paper dictionaries, unless you get the really big ones. Once, while in Guatemala, I dropped my Franklin - that was when I realized how useful it was to me because I started thinking how am I going to keep increasing my vocabulary, how am I going to translate my assignments, how will I talk to other people? Fortunately, it still worked, and I was still able to function as well.