Good Chinese dictionary for Blackberry!
GreyPhoenix
April 22, 2008, 10:50 PM posted in General DiscussionHi guys,
I don't know if any of you have Blackberrys or not, but for those who do and who, like me, may have struggled to find a good Chinese-English dictionary that works with an English OS, try this one . It's simple, but seems to display and operate just fine, with no additional language platforms needed. It has native pronunciation of every Chinese word, includes English to Chinese and Chinese to English translation, and has a simple flashcard-like study tool (nothing fancy, but it does the trick).
This dictionary supposedly works on other phones also, but it does require 10 MB of memory to run (I saved it to a removable media card). Enjoy!
user28653
February 10, 2010, 05:21 PMAfter years of Palm loyalty and use of Plecodict (still the best available), I reluctantly became a Blackberry owner.
I tried the mobile site recommended here and found it limited - didn't offer common compound usages for the words I checked, didn't put the definitions in tone order and there's no means of keystroke input. Plus, unless things have changed in the last year, getting a mobile web browser in China is rather complicated/expensive.
The $50 fee before trial on the blackberry app is also a turn-off, and the marketing model suggests a Chinese-developed app -- part of what has made Pleco so successful is Mike Love understands how a native English speaker thinks... it's truly for Chinese-as-a-second-language users.
Does anyone know of a Blackberry app that allows character input?
And for iPhone owners, if you buy anything except Pleco, you're probably making a mistake.
GreyPhoenix
April 23, 2008, 03:24 AMI should probably add here that the above-mentioned program requires pinyin-based input for looking up Chinese words (those of using that method with Windows shouldn't have too much of a problem with that). So... if you're not familiar with (or have an aversion to using) pinyin, you may want to keep searching. Otherwise, this is a great program! :- )
GreyPhoenix
April 23, 2008, 03:25 AM*Correction - "Those of us using that method with Windows..." P.S. Hmm, I wonder if it's possible to get oneself on the active users list by responding to one's own posts... ;- )
RJ
April 23, 2008, 03:58 AMThanks brooke. Something to think abut because I want the email also. the MAU algorithm doesnt count when you respond to your own post btw.
GreyPhoenix
April 23, 2008, 03:22 AMMine is a pearl. While this program is good, if you are buying a phone with a primary focus of having a good Chinese-English dictionary program on it, I would probably go with something else. Don't get me wrong, I love my phone, but it is very limited in its Chinese abilities. My understanding is that pleco only works on Palm-powered systems, and blackberry is something totally different. Keep in mind, of course, I'm not a techie, so this is just from my limited understanding. ;- ) The Pearl is a great phone for making calls, checking email/websites, etc., but if you want the best dictionary out there, I'd probably go with something palm-based. Hope this helps!
mouseneb
April 25, 2008, 12:39 PMI was pretty excited when I followed the link and saw "free download." I downloaded it to my phone, and opened it up. It looked great and I was thrilled...until I tried to look up my first word. The dictionary was locked and it wanted me to purchase an unlock code for about $50. So I deleted it off my phone...what a waste of time. I'm sure it's a great dictionary but the scammy marketing ploy (from the company, not you guys, just to be clear) really put me off even considering purchasing, which I might have done if they'd been upfront about it. Anybody know any decent free downloadable dictionaries for a phone with Windows Mobile, or am I just dreaming?
jrtgv
May 05, 2009, 05:51 AMI've found this to be a useful dictionary for mobile devices -- no installation, just requires mobile web browser. There's also a more complete website for when you're on a real computer.
jake82
December 07, 2009, 03:15 PMI agree with you, Mouseneb. HNHSoft dictionary is a hoax. I installed the "free" dictionary on my curve, only to find out you have to buy a $49.99 liscence key before you can really use the program. What a let-down. Like you, I would have considered spending the money to buy the dictionary if the company had been up-front about the cost instead of trying to bait-and-switch me!
Still looking for a good C-E dictionary!
Andre Reel
December 15, 2009, 10:48 PMI thought I'd mention DianHua dictionary for the iPhone/iPod Touch is absolutely fantastic. I can't remember off the top of my head if it was free but it you do need to pay, its a couple of GBP. I bought an iPod Touch purely so I could have that dictionary on the move. Also there seems to be a whole suite of dictionaries for the iPhone/iPod touch.
goulnik
April 23, 2008, 09:41 AMPleco actually works on both Palm and Windows mobile platforms (they had problems with WM6 which seem to have been resolved). There's been much discussion about BB, UMPC and iPhone support, which is much more likely to happen. Aside from prioirities and where the bulk of their customers still are, I think one of the BB issues is the lack of a touch sensitive screen and a totally different system / programming environment).
RJ
April 23, 2008, 02:35 AMI am considering buying a pearl. This may clinch the deal. Does pleco work with blackberry?