Ebook reader with mobipocket dictionary lookup

[bernardpar]

Hi

I bought my first ebook reader - EBOOKMAN - 8 years ago and I was more then happy, a few years later I got a Dell Axim and when it died, I got Hx4700 with its huge 4 inch screen , which I am still using.

Obviously I would prefer to have a reading device with a bigger screen - 6 or 8 incher would be prefect. I have been using Mobipocket with its dictionaries and instant look up option for years. I know I would not buy any e-ink reader device which does not have that feature well implemented.

Hence my questions :
Which ebook reader has the quickest lookup option ?

I know Cybook has similar option - but it seems that it takes ages before you get to the word you dont know,then a new dictionary page opens, and then you need to get back to the page you are just reading, I know Kindle lookup is quicker but I live in Europe. Is there any device on the market which would fit my needs or I need to wait until 3rd generation of ebook rearders hit the market (txtr, kindle 3.0 Europe edition , bebook 2 etc).

When I think of my old Ebookman I cannot understand why it is so hard to implement such an indispensable (at least for me) function.

Regards

Bernard

[HarryT]

I find the CyBook's dictionary lookup function extremely straightforward to use, personally.

The only other devices I'm aware of which support Mobi dictionary lookup are the iRex machines - the iLiad and the DR1000. Be warned, though; the implementation of the MobiPocket Reader on the iLiad is terrible; that on the DR1000 is supposedly much improved, although I've not seen it myself.

[bernardpar]

Hi Harry

I have never had cybook in my hands so what I have written about slow lookup is only impression from a short movie on youtube. How long does it take to lookup a word and go back to a book you are reading, can you open a translation as a pop up window rather then a new page

Thanks

Bernard

[DDHarriman]

Cybook no questions asked!

It’s not about the speed of the dictionary lookup, it’s about the best one… and it’s the Cybook hands down.

Best regards,

[tompe]

Originally Posted by bernardpar

Hi Harry

I have never had cybook in my hands so what I have written about slow lookup is only impression from a short movie on youtube. How long does it take to lookup a word and go back to a book you are reading, can you open a translation as a pop up window rather then a new page

I takes around 30 seconds or more. It depend how many books you have in the same directory as the dictionaries. So I use it less than I would like since it takes so long time. I am hoping the txtr reader will be better in this respect. From videos it looks possible to implement fast word selection.

If I open the Mobipocket dictionary on my phone it takes the same time to look up a word there instead so as I see it dicitionary support is not necessary on the eInk reader if it takes 20 seconds to look up a word.

[bernardpar]

Hi

I might not fully understand the e-ink technology and therefore I might be asking for too much. My ancient ebookman needed approximately 1 sec to open definition even if had 5-6 dictionaries installed. My IPAQ is even faster. I know I might be spoilt but I would hate waiting more than 2 sec for a definition. (I read fast - mainly in languages I am learning, I encounter new vocabulary frequently, so a quick lookup is a must for me).

Am I unrealistic in my expectations and should stick to my old PDA ?
I quite like the way kindle 2.0 handles a lookup - pop up window appears at the bottom of the screen, I kind of hope Amazon will introduce their reader s in Europe with English and other European dictionaries.

Regards

Bernard

[Abelturd]

I find the CyBook's dictionary lookup function extremely straightforward to use, personally.

It’s not about the speed of the dictionary lookup, it’s about the best one… and it’s the Cybook hands down.

You gotta be kidding, both of you. Sure, a trained monkey could do that, only it'd have to be a very patient trained monkey. And it's the best all right, but that isn't hard to accomplish, if you're in a category of one.
The lookup function on cybook is designed in the worst way possible. It takes way too many key presses to navigate to the word you want translated (you have to go through the menu first, that's 4 to 5, then you have to select the word, that's between 1 and 15, depending on the position of the word in the text and the number of lines per page). Then you have to press another button to go back to the book you've been reading. So this whole procedure makes your display refresh twice, something you're battery won't be too happy about. That's what I call great ergonomics, optimization and a real timesaver. Moreover, the dictionary searches only for exact matches, not the closest match, what makes it useless half the time you want to look up a word. (I could swallow that, if cybook supported indexes, but it doesn't).
Bottomline: if you occasionaly want to look up a word (once or twice per page) the lookup function is tolerable. Otherwise it's an annoyance.
If you don't insist on mobi dictionaries, you might want to consider pocketbook, which is also a netronix. From what I've heard, it should support two types of dictionaries xdxf (an open xml format,e.g. stardict) and Lingvo (see wikipedia entry), with actual search function (!) (though you better ask the manufacturer to confirm that). They have an icq number on their website, so you can ask them whatever you want.

[Abelturd]

Originally Posted by bernardpar

Hi

I might not fully understand the e-ink technology and therefore I might be asking for too much. My ancient ebookman needed approximately 1 sec to open definition even if had 5-6 dictionaries installed. My IPAQ is even faster. I know I might be spoilt but I would hate waiting more than 2 sec for a definition. (I read fast - mainly in languages I am learning, I encounter new vocabulary frequently, so a quick lookup is a must for me).

Am I unrealistic in my expectations and should stick to my old PDA ?
I quite like the way kindle 2.0 handles a lookup - pop up window appears at the bottom of the screen, I kind of hope Amazon will introduce their reader s in Europe with English and other European dictionaries.

Regards

Bernard

The actual lookup doesn't take long, it's instanteneous. The difficult part is to get to the word. And then again and again and again, because the cursor goes to the first line on the screen with every new lookup.
I know your situation. I also have a pda and I used mobi dics on it extensively for books with a lot of new vocabulary. Cybook is simply no good for this, as I said two, maybe three words per page, otherwise it can get tiresome.

[bernardpar]

Well , I think I should visit this forum in 6-8 months again and ask the same questions. It looks like I shouldn't expect any revolutionary improvements in the way lookup function is handled any time sooner. Should I ? The dictionary lookup is definitely a missing feature of sony reader. Finger crossed their programmers are working on software update which will make it possible. By the way I am addicted to the forum so I was joking in the first sentence

[Abelturd]

If the lookup function is so important to you, you should definitely wait for a touchscreen eink device with good dictionary support. As of now I'm not aware of any such device on the market.

[bernardpar]

I will try to be patient Thx

[tompe]

Three lookups per page would mean 90 seconds extra per page and would totally ruin the reading experience. I just times a lookup of a word with many hits and it took 6 seconds so it is not instantaneous. But I have never had any problems with not finding a word because the exact form of the word was not in the dictionary but that might depend on the dictionary.

[wallcraft]

The Kindle 2 is a "3rd generation" device, and its dictionary lookup (by all accounts) would meet your needs if it was available in Europe. It only allows one "primary" dictionary, but that is partly why its instant lookup option can work.

I would expect the MOBI dictionary lookup support on the next generation of devices from Hanlin and Bookeen (say) to be similar to that on the Kindle. One difference is that so far only the iRex DR1000 (another 3rd generation device) allows MOBI dictionary lookup from inside non-MOBI ebooks. The Kindle does not have this problem, because it does not provide native PDF (say) support in the first place. This will become an issue for other vendors as they add Adobe PDF/ePub support. It is possible to use MOBI dictionaries for all ebook formats (as iRex has demonstrated), but it may be more work than a small vendor can handle.

[Abelturd]

Originally Posted by tompe

Three lookups per page would mean 90 seconds extra per page and would totally ruin the reading experience. I just times a lookup of a word with many hits and it took 6 seconds so it is not instantaneous.

I agree with you, it does ruin the flow and the reading experience. But what ruins it even more is if you don't know what you're reading about.
And for me the lookup IS instantaneous, but I'm using only one dictionary.

But I have never had any problems with not finding a world because the exact form of the word was not in the dictionary but that might depend on the dictionary.

You misunderstood that part. I also don't have a problem with not finding words, because when I see such a word (past or continuous tense of a verb or some adverb or words with suffixes) I don't use the lookup function on them knowing I would get no hits.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by Abelturd

You misunderstood that part. I also don't have a problem with not finding words, because when I see such a word (past or continuous tense of a verb or some adverb or words with suffixes) I don't use the lookup function on them knowing I would get no hits.

I understood it. For the two dictionaries I use it works for different tense and for adverb and so on. So I think it depends how the dictionary is coded.