MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Using a lexicon / encyclopedia on the Cybook

lindemaximilian · 11-08-2007, 10:17 AM

Having just received my Gen3 I tested the lexicon / dictionary capabilities with the following results:

One knew of course from the specs that there is no possibility to enter words directly. However, the big deception for me was that one cannot browse through a dictionary by using chunks of words because there is no index (i.e. the alphabetical order of words without explanation or translation). In fact, one receives the message: indexes of words are not supported in this version.
The implication of this lack of indexes is quite devastating both for (a) using a dictionary as a stand-alone device and (b) for the lookup function of the Gen3.

Concerning (a):
With an index, it would have been possible to stroll through the words of a particular letter by using the page turn and make a bookmark when a new letter starts. After that you would be able to start your search at a particular bookmark i.e. letter. Each page turn would advance you by some 25 words, that is the number you normally have for the indexes of mobipocket dictionaries. By reducing the font size it would be possible to increase this number, maybe quite significantly, I have not tried it. By contrast, in the current version of the Gen3, there are only 1 to 3 words per page and tabbing your way page by page through the whole volume or just one letter is virtually impossible.

Concerning (b):
When using the lookup function and the word you have selected is not in its standard form i.e. the infinitive for verbs and the singular masculine nominative for nouns or adjectives the Gen3 is not able to show you any result. If there were an index at least you would be offered a page with some 25 words (or more, see above) which start with the same letters and in 80 per cent of cases (depending on the language and your knowledge of the grammar) you would find the word you are looking for.
This said, depending on the quality of the dictionary, there are some non-standard forms for some words supported. However, this is very rare, although this may change in the future; for a discussion of these issues look here .

For me the big question thus is, why the indexes of the mobidictionaries are not supported in the Gen3, it would make a difference like night and day.

11-08-2007, 10:17 AM	#23
lindemaximilian Member Posts: 22 Karma: 22 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: cybook	Having just received my Gen3 I tested the lexicon / dictionary capabilities with the following results: One knew of course from the specs that there is no possibility to enter words directly. However, the big deception for me was that one cannot browse through a dictionary by using chunks of words because there is no index (i.e. the alphabetical order of words without explanation or translation). In fact, one receives the message: indexes of words are not supported in this version. The implication of this lack of indexes is quite devastating both for (a) using a dictionary as a stand-alone device and (b) for the lookup function of the Gen3. Concerning (a): With an index, it would have been possible to stroll through the words of a particular letter by using the page turn and make a bookmark when a new letter starts. After that you would be able to start your search at a particular bookmark i.e. letter. Each page turn would advance you by some 25 words, that is the number you normally have for the indexes of mobipocket dictionaries. By reducing the font size it would be possible to increase this number, maybe quite significantly, I have not tried it. By contrast, in the current version of the Gen3, there are only 1 to 3 words per page and tabbing your way page by page through the whole volume or just one letter is virtually impossible. Concerning (b): When using the lookup function and the word you have selected is not in its standard form i.e. the infinitive for verbs and the singular masculine nominative for nouns or adjectives the Gen3 is not able to show you any result. If there were an index at least you would be offered a page with some 25 words (or more, see above) which start with the same letters and in 80 per cent of cases (depending on the language and your knowledge of the grammar) you would find the word you are looking for. This said, depending on the quality of the dictionary, there are some non-standard forms for some words supported. However, this is very rare, although this may change in the future; for a discussion of these issues look here . For me the big question thus is, why the indexes of the mobidictionaries are not supported in the Gen3, it would make a difference like night and day.