03-03-2004, 06:30 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 813
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Trancreative's Wordbook v3 Reviewed
Product Category: Reference software
Manufacturer: Trancreative
Where to Buy: Handango [Affiliate]
Price: $19.99 USD
Specifications: 11.4 MB storage memory required, Pocket PC 2000 or higher.
Pros:- Very fast at looking up words;
- Useful lookup feature available in other programs;
Cons:Summary:
A solid, useful application that's both powerful and easy to use. Well worth the money if you're a word-hound and always interested in learning what certain words mean. The ability to look up words in other programs is especially useful.
Read on for the full review!
Okay, so an English dictionary is an English dictionary, you pick one and you're good to go. That would be the case if all dictionaries are created equal, but on the Pocket PC, that is not the case. TranCreative have raised the bar in this particular market with the latest release of their Wordbook dictionary. This, in my opinion, is the best all around dictionary available for Pocket PC. Of course I don�t expect you to take my word for it without some hard and fast facts�
Installation
Installing Wordbook is very straightforward with a simple .exe file providing the option of installing to main memory or any available storage card. I never encountered any issues at all during this process and operation from external storage media proved faultless.
Figure 1: Looking up a word is simple.
How It Works
Upon launching WordBook, you are presented with the main screen, tastefully following the new Windows Mobile 2003 styling. This screen shows the master word list to the right of the menu system and text box where you enter the word you wish to look up. Searching is real time which means as you type, the Index displays a list of matches that is further refined the more letters you enter. As an alternative to this method of word searching, you can simply scroll through the master word list, however, while this is quick, it doesn�t have the same level of precision as typing out the first few letters of the word. Once you've found the word you're looking for, you simply tap it to enter the description view. This display will show you all the available definitions for your chosen word, along with italicised example phrases of how the word is used and also where applicable, any synonyms, hypernyms and further degrees of word precision. Word definitions are subtitled under their respective adverb, noun and verb variations and this simple layout proves to be a very intuitive way of viewing the use of a word. If a word definition has a small chain link icon following it, this icon can be used to pull up further pages of definitions and derivatives of the word under investigation. This system allows the most common definitions and synonyms to be on the first screen with a further expansion just a single tap away.
Figure 2: Tapping on a word brings up the definitions page.
Figure 3: And following the link icon pulls up further detail.
At the bottom of the screen are a few icons to help navigate around the application, the first of which is the eye dropper icon; more on this later. Next up is the hand on keyboard icon which takes you to the main screen where word selection is done. The book icon takes you to the word definitions page, although you are brought to this page automatically when you select a word. The next icon is the magnifying glass which pulls up the word search function and is followed by the stop search icon.
Figure 4: Settings, while not extensive, are practical.
Figure 5: Your chance to get the text just how you like it.
Looking For The Right Words
Word searching is one of the strongest features of WordBook and will be a Godsend for any ardent word puzzlers out there. On the search page there are four tabs which relate to the type of search you wish to perform, the first of which is anagram. Here you can enter a word or a selection of letters and wildcards and find all other possible words using the given combination of letters. Puzzle lets you look up words with wildcards, which is great when looking for the possible answer to a crossword or similar puzzle. Wildcard searching is very powerful in that it allows you to use multiple combinations of wildcards to replace individual or multiple letters as well as grouped choices of possible letter combinations. With a little learning you can quickly look up all possible words with very complex letter combinations. The final search option is phonetic and this quite simply displays all results that sound similar to what you have entered. I was very impressed with this feature as it proved very accurate in displaying words during my testing and is ideal for looking up words you have heard of without knowing the correct spelling. All search results are displayed back on the main screen with the Search Results menu option now highlighted.
Figure 6: I never could spell so searching is a big bonus.
Figure 7: And best of all it works beautifully.
Other menu options include Study list which is a configurable number of random words that can be added to the list automatically each day or added manually by selecting a word and then tapping the small check list icon at the top of the screen. This is a handy way of learning new words and the list can be managed by a small pop-up menu that allows you to clear the entire list or individual words that you have learned. Favourites works similar to Study list, but words are added manually by tapping the star icon at the top of the screen and is intended as a more permanent word list although it carries the same management options as the study list. Last viewed shows a history of words looked up and can be cleared easily at any time using the pop-up menu. Propping up the menu options is the word of the day function. This is another handy feature that is designed to teach you new words by displaying a fresh, random word each day. Should you look up this word � a new one replaces it, meaning you can use this feature to teach you many new words if you have some spare time and is a welcome option.
Figure 8: Study list keeps a record of the words you are currently learning.
Figure 9: Managing any of the custom lists is straight forward.
As You Like It
The Tools menu provides options for configuring word searching and the study list as well as selecting which dictionary file is to be used should you have more than one installed on your Pocket PC. The Text menu allows you to select the size of font and whether clear type is enabled as well and Copy and Select All functions. One other big feature of WordBook is the Word Picker tool invoked by the eye-dropper icon. This allows you to highlight any word and then tap this icon to automatically look up that word. The best thing about this tool is that it can be run outside of WordBook and be used to look up any word in another application that displays standard text � starting up the dictionary and displaying the chosen word at the tap of the icon.
Figure 10: The word picker tool running in the Notes application.
Figure 11: And tapping on lookup displays the highlighted word in WordBook.
So What Does it All Mean?
UK/Canadian and US English versions are both available for words where the spelling may vary. The definitions offered by WordBook are excellent with a good description and selection of usage examples where applicable. There is in excess of 147,000 entries which make this among the biggest, if not the most complete, standalone dictionary for the Pocket PC. Phonetic spellings are on offer as well as a good help file that details how they should be read. It also covers all important aspects of the dictionary.
Conclusion
WordBook has established itself as my number one choice for dictionary on the Pocket PC with version 3 proving fast and solid while easy to use. There are decent customisation options, but these really are secondary to the superb features on offer such as the Study list, word of the day and excellent searching. If you only need a simple dictionary for occasionally looking up the odd word, Trancreative�s product may well be more than you need but if you are a regular dictionary user, big on word puzzles or see value in any of the features on offer, I really can�t recommend WordBook 3 highly enough.
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03-03-2004, 07:05 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 361
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Way to have "penis" on the front page, yo. Might want to swap that out. (I personally don't care so much, but I know Jason's a stickler for detail).
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03-03-2004, 07:09 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by kagayaki1
Way to have "penis" on the front page, yo. Might want to swap that out. (I personally don't care so much, but I know Jason's a stickler for detail).
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It's just a word. :wink: I didn't even notice it until you you pointed it out. Let's focus on the software, shall we? :-)
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03-03-2004, 07:19 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,051
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Andy,
Let me add a couple of thoughts to a very detailed and thorough review. First of all, prior to purchasing my 4150, I had Lextionary loaded on my Axim. I was not able to load Lextionary on my 4150 and my experience with their customer service was HORRIBLE. I tried the demo version of Wordbook fully expecting not to purchase it since I already had Lextionary (I would simply have the unenviable task of dealing with their customer service). After 3 days of Wordbook I was convinced that it simply BLOWS Lextionary out of the water. This is a great product and their customer service was great, right up there with LandWare. The Wordpicker option is simply the best and works almost flawlessly. The selection of words and quality of definitions is beyond compare. When I use the Lookup feature in Reader, I often find myself looking up the word again in Wordbook. The quality of definitions are so much better. I wish Wordpicker worked in Reader, but you can't have everything.
The only negative I can find is that I have occassional problems with the Wordpicker application (though to be fair I must point out that I have NOT contacted customer support about this problem). Often I will try to use Wordpicker and nothing will happen. No response. I then have to do a soft-reset and place the Wordpicker icon back on my Today screen. This fixes the problem for a while. I never had this issue with the previous version, only after upgrading to v3. My guess is I will eventually contact customer support and they will tell me what the problem is. They are that good.
Bottom line is that this is the most frequently used application on my PPC. GREAT PRODUCT + GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE = GREAT VALUE in my book. I highly recommend this product.
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03-03-2004, 07:49 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 18
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I don't see etymology with any of the definitions.
I've been using the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate, 11th, which comes on an SD card. When it works, it is a great dictionary. Everything from the paper version is there. Unfortunately, it is very buggy, often requiring reloading the program, and the like. At the moment, it isn't working at all -- some of the files appear to have disappeared from the SD card. Customer service appears to be non-existant.
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03-03-2004, 08:14 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 15
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
Quote:
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Originally Posted by kagayaki1
Way to have "penis" on the front page, yo. Might want to swap that out. (I personally don't care so much, but I know Jason's a stickler for detail).
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It's just a word. :wink: I didn't even notice it until you you pointed it out. Let's focus on the software, shall we? :-) |
Funny, it was about the first thing I noticed (sick mind, I suppose). I guess its cool, though, that the word for the "deep dorsal vein of the penis; tributary of the prostatic plexus" is actually included. I suppose this is to demonstrate the medical applications of this dictionary? 8)
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03-03-2004, 08:39 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 54
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Re: Trancreative's Wordbook v3 Reviewed
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Originally Posted by Andy Whiteford
Specifications: 11.4 MB storage card required
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I hate it when software requires hardware that doesn't exist.
:wink:
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03-03-2004, 09:01 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 713
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Re: Trancreative's Wordbook v3 Reviewed
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Originally Posted by William
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Andy Whiteford
Specifications: 11.4 MB storage card required
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I hate it when software requires hardware that doesn't exist.
:wink: |
Just take a 32 MB card and cut off a little over half. :wink:
On-topic: this looks like a great product. Does it install entirely to the memory card, or does a portion have to be installed in main memory? If so, how much?
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03-03-2004, 11:08 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 1,051
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Lynn
I don't see etymology with any of the definitions.
I've been using the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate, 11th, which comes on an SD card. When it works, it is a great dictionary. Everything from the paper version is there. Unfortunately, it is very buggy, often requiring reloading the program, and the like. At the moment, it isn't working at all -- some of the files appear to have disappeared from the SD card. Customer service appears to be non-existant.
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Are you looking on Wordbook? I just looked up etymology and got the following:
1. the study of the sources and development of words
2. a history of a word
Sorry to say that I can't vouch for the accuracy of the definition, but at least it's there :wink: .
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Jimmy Dodd
On-topic: this looks like a great product. Does it install entirely to the memory card, or does a portion have to be installed in main memory? If so, how much?
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I have it installed entirely on my memory card.
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03-03-2004, 11:24 PM
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Magi
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 2,186
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by shawnc
Are you looking on Wordbook? I just looked up etymology and got the following:
1. the study of the sources and development of words
2. a history of a word
Sorry to say that I can't vouch for the accuracy of the definition, but at least it's there :wink: .
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I think Lynn was hoping for the etymology of a word to be included in the definition. :wink:
Personally, I'd love to have the FULL Oxford English Dictionary (complete with their excellent etymological entries) on an SD card. 8)
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