FW 2.4.0 improvment of dictionary handling

[tshering]

There are some issues with the handling of dictionaries. With some of the dictionaries you can edit the searched for expression, but with others (Ja, Fr, Nl definition dictionaries) you cannot. It is beyond my understanding why it has not been fixed for such a long time.
There is only a limited number of dictionaries available, and some of them are not very satisfying. Since it is possible to make your own dictionaries and install them on the reader, there is at least a work around. For some time it was even possible to install dictionaries of language pairs that are not at all offered by Kobo, provided that both languages where supported languages. It was for instance possible to install a German-Italian dictionary and this would be listed in the menu as "Deutsch - Italinano." The only exception was Japanese-English. In this case the device would not access the dictionary, but display

We cannot translate from 日本語 - English. Sorry, but we don't currently offer a 日本語 - English translation dictionary.

This was annoying but it was still possible to install the same dictionary in the disguise of e.g. a Japanese-Italian dictionary to make it work. Not very elegant, but something I could live with.

With FW 2.4.0 things changed a bit. No, Kobo does not offer more or better dictionaries now. The long standing bug has not been fixed either. The developers did something much more amazing. The device can now also say

We cannot translate from 日本語 - Italinano. Sorry, but we don't currently offer a 日本語 - Italinano translation dictionary.

We cannot translate from 日本語 - Deutsch. Sorry, but we don't currently offer a 日本語 - Deutsch translation dictionary.

We cannot translate from Deutsch - Español. Sorry, but we don't currently offer a Deutsch - Español translation dictionary.

etc.

Isn't that great! Whoever had this idea, it must have been a stroke of genius. Thank you so much for that. This was exactly all customers were eagerly waiting for.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by tshering

There are some issues with the handling of dictionaries. With some of the dictionaries you can edit the searched for expression, but with others (Ja, Fr, Nl definition dictionaries) you cannot. It is beyond my understanding why it has not been fixed for such a long time.

Kobo have stated that the reason for not doing this with French is a license issue. The license they have allows only searching for words that have been selected in the text. I assume the same happens for the other languages.

As to the rest, that's a bad move on their part. I can't see any real advantage in doing this.

[tshering]

Originally Posted by davidfor

Kobo have stated that the reason for not doing this with French is a license issue. The license they have allows only searching for words that have been selected in the text. I assume the same happens for the other languages.

Thank you for this information. So it isn't a bug, only an annoyance.

[davidfor]

It's a "feature". A really annoying feature.

[andrusz]

Ok, I can live with the fact Kobo does not offer any Japanese-English dictionary. But I cannot understand why Kobo has disabled installation of custom-built dictionaries, especially the languages not officially supported? I am living in Poland and need Japanese-Polish dictionary (I am working on) to use on my ebook reader. Now I cannot use one!

One of the important reasons buying Kobo reader was Japanese language support. Now without jap-eng (or jap-pl) dictionary support the device is useless for me. I am forced to look for other device.

[PeterT]

This issue was resolved in subsequent releases.

[andrusz]

Originally Posted by PeterT

This issue was resolved in subsequent releases.

Peter, I am using 2.5.2 firmware on Kobo Touch. The issue still exists. Which releases you mean?

[PeterT]

As far as I know any version since 2.4.0 allowed installation of user created dictioanries. You might have more luck in the https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=196925 or https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=194986 threads

[tshering]

Originally Posted by andrusz

Ok, I can live with the fact Kobo does not offer any Japanese-English dictionary. But I cannot understand why Kobo has disabled installation of custom-built dictionaries, especially the languages not officially supported? I am living in Poland and need Japanese-Polish dictionary (I am working on) to use on my ebook reader. Now I cannot use one!

You can still replace the original Japanese-Japanese dictionary with your home made Japanese-Polish dictionary. For my private use I merged the original Japanese-Japanese dictionary with the (edict-) Japanese-English Dictionary. To have those two dictionaries merged into one is actually even more convenient than to have them to access separately.


I am not sure whether you can find an ereader with better Japanese support. Did you try the furigana capabiity? If you did not, have a look at the pictures in this post. I don't think you can have this on any other reader.

[tshering]

Originally Posted by PeterT

As far as I know any version since 2.4.0 allowed installation of user created dictioanries. You might have more luck in the https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=196925 or https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=194986 threads

The point Andrusz is making is that previously it was possible to add custom dictionaries to the Kobo dictionaries. Now one can only replace Kobo dictionaries by custom dictionaries.

[andrusz]

Originally Posted by tshering

The point Andrusz is making is that previously it was possible to add custom dictionaries to the Kobo dictionaries. Now one can only replace Kobo dictionaries by custom dictionaries.

Correct. Thanks tshering.

What we need from Kobo is more open policy of installing dictionaries, not a more restricted.

Let's look at the competition: Kindle. You can buy a dictionary or install your own. New Kindle has two different English dictionaries: Oxford English and New Oxford American English. You can buy more: Collins, Merriam-Webster, WordNet... You can buy PWN English-Polish dictionary or install free Bumato English-Polish - you can have both, of course. You can install as many dictionaries as you need.

Why it is not possible on Kobo's reader? This is not a technical issue, it is a policy. If Kobo's policy does not change, users will just look elswhere.