Pleco software

If I remember this correctly I've got the Professional version, which is between Basic and Complete and includes the ABC dictionary. The ABC dictionary is so good that it would be a shame to have PlecoDict and not have that dictionary in your purchased bundle. You don't need everything, but everyone seems to end up wanting the ABC. The new version, which you'll get for free if you buy the current version, has some special new dictionaries that you can purchase as well if you need them. There will also be a bigger better English-Chinese dictionary. Although I have a lot of dictionaries with my PlecoDict, including a few free ones, 90% of the time I find it's the ABC Chinese-English dictionary that is the one popping up with my answers. If you're really skint at the moment and it's a matter of PlecoDict or not, then you could get the Basic and add to it later. Check the figures, that might mean overall you're buying an additional smaller dictionary that you won't use much later on, in return for spreading out the purchases. If you're just unsure about the wisdom of the larger investment option, don't be. You'll get better return on your investment if you get some good commercial dictionaries with it, mainly the ABC dictionary. But you don't need to purchase every single dictionary that's available just for the sake of having them, because doing that won't add much to the value of your investment at all yet it will add substantially to the purchase cost.

I have and use the basic version. I use it as well as a old-school paper dictionary. The only drawback of using Pleco I've found is that PDAs are more likely to get lost or stolen than dedicated electronic or paper dictionaries. I'm on my second Palm purchased just to run this s/w, but have all never lost track of a paper dictionary.

I agree with AuntySue about ABC, not exactly sure which bundle I use, all I know is I have ABC for C>E and NWP for E>C. I started a few years back, when all Pleco had was the Oxford dictionary, which was somewhat limited ifI remember correctly, but its character recognition was a tremendous step forward already. I had a Palm-based PDA then which I loaded with CEDict or whatever public domain dict, also built a few lists of my own. I bought ABC when it became available, I was already familiar with it since it's this same dictionary that powers Wenlin. I ended up using mainly ABC, and NWP too but less often. When I switched to a WM5 smartphone, these are the only 2 dictionaries I took along. I never had a PDA stolen but I did forgot one in a plane and it never was found ;-) And that's when I switched devices. But I still carried a light paper dict with me in Shanghai. For one thing, their batteries don't run out, and on some occasions they can be faster. They don't have any of the real estate or stylus alignment limitations a screen has, no risk messing things up when you fumble ... In China I claimed not to speak any English so I actually carried a French dictionary, with the additional benefit that some multiple words expression that may be hard to find in one language are single words in the other. Back to the point, I agree that Pleco is an investment and you want to get the most out of it. The new version will apparently have an even better E>C and a C>C, but I certainly would recommend to get ABC - it's actually better than Wenlin's in two respects, 1) examples are in hanzi, 2) wildcard character search is awesome

Thanks Sue, James and Yves. Sounds like the Professional is the one I'm after, that's the one that has ABC. It doesn't have the Oxford, which only comes with the Basic and the Complete. It's more expensive than the Basic but not as much as the Complete. But I suppose I have two paper copies of this (the regular and the one with the larger characters). Thanks so much for taking the time to give me such informative answers, I'm always struck by how generous my fellow poddies are with their knowledge and experience.

huasen, you may also check (respectively wait for) the pricing structure for v2 which will come with additional dictionaries. I'm quite eager to get their C>C and new E>C offering.