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IPad vs. Kindle | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| Doitsujin Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5117 days ago 1256 posts - 2363 votes  Speaks: German*, English | Message 49 of 67 21 August 2011 at 4:08pm | IP Logged | ||
BTW, since the native Kindle format is based on the MobiPocket format, most MobiPocket dictionaries will work as lookup dictionaries. However, Russian, Arabic and Hebrew dictionaries cannot be used as lookup dictionaries because of firmware limitations. It's also relatively easy to create or convert your own dictionaries with the free Mobipocket Creator software. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| JimC Senior Member United Kingdom tinyurl.com/aberdeen Joined 5344 days ago 199 posts - 317 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 50 of 67 22 August 2011 at 12:08pm | IP Logged | ||
Although the browser on the Kindle is "experimental" at the moment, I have used it for anki online and online dictionaries Jim 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 newyorkeric Diglot Moderator Singapore Joined 6176 days ago 1598 posts - 2174 votes Speaks: English*, Italian Studies: Mandarin, Malay Personal Language Map | Message 51 of 67 22 August 2011 at 12:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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I recently got an iPad2. For Chinese learners, I think Pleco is enough of a reason to buy one. Ok, not exactly, but pretty close to true. It's so easy to make flashcards in Pleco, the handwriting recognition is great, and you can read documents in it with a pop-up dictionary. It's totally changed how and what I study. Edited by newyorkeric on 22 August 2011 at 12:49pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Ygangerg Pentaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5115 days ago 100 posts - 140 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Arabic (Written), Mandarin, French Studies: German | Message 52 of 67 31 August 2011 at 4:48am | IP Logged | ||
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I have a Nook, made by Barnes and Noble. Same screen size as the small Kindle, but all touch-screen. It takes epub files, which are of the same file time as books on an iPad.
I have an Arabic reader on it. I believe you can use any type of script you want, if you convert it from a pdf. My favorite part is the side-by-side text. I have a copy of "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe in English and French. You can read the English page, click the screen, and boom, you're looking at the same page in French. Not sure how many texts are available like this... 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Dr. POW Groupie Canada Joined 4762 days ago 48 posts - 58 votes Studies: German, English* Studies: French | Message 53 of 67 31 August 2011 at 6:50am | IP Logged | ||
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I think something that fits in your pocket is really neat, but I can imagine that using a
dictionary would be a hassle. Take the dictionary on wordreference.com as an example. A single word could have several different meanings, and the results take up a lot of space. Having a tiny screen would make using something like that really cumbersome work. I know that having about 8 results for 1 word isn't normally the case, nor would one ever actually need so many results, but I'd like to get a translation without having to scroll down a page 5 times longer than my device's screen, or shrink the screen to the point where I can't read the writing anymore, and I don't know if the latter is possible on most devices. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| tommus Senior Member CanadaRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5663 days ago 979 posts - 1688 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Dutch, French, Esperanto, German, Spanish | Message 54 of 67 31 August 2011 at 2:09pm | IP Logged | ||
I have been using the Sony Reader 650 for about a year and I think the dictionary look-up is very good. It provides a pop-up word list which can be expanded if required. Excellent bilingual dictionaries for English <> German, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch. I find that the best way to manage the Reader via my computer is to use the free Calibre software rather than the Sony software. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| dleewo Groupie United States Joined 5615 days ago 95 posts - 131 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Mandarin | Message 55 of 67 31 August 2011 at 2:18pm | IP Logged | ||
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I didn't see this app mentioned, but I recently bought iReader4Study for my iPad:
iReader4Study It will read a ton of eBook formats including ePub and mobi (both must be DRM-free), PDF, pdb, prc, html, txt files, Word documents It includes a bunch of dictionaries and you can simply select a word and get the translation in a popup. I've been looking for an app like this for a while and perhaps it'll be useful for others on this forum. Derek PS: BTW, the author has various apps in the app store that are all variations on this. For example, there is a specific German ebook reader. I think the only difference is the number and variety of dictionaries that are all included. He even has a browser that you use for browsing the web and getting word translations. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Emerald Triglot Senior Member United Kingdom languagedabbler.blog Joined 6042 days ago 316 posts - 340 votes Speaks: Hindi, Gujarati*, English Studies: Spanish | Message 56 of 67 31 August 2011 at 3:22pm | IP Logged | ||
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Comparison between iPad and Kindle isn't really the right way to go, because they are
products for different purposes. iPad is essentially a tablet PC, so if you have a laptop, netbook etc. it's no different to having an iPad. Kindle is to read books, but it also enables you to listen to audio, as well as high- light books and add notes. For language learning on the go, I absolutely favour Kindle. If you are reading, iPad has the same problem all the other computers have, backlight is not easy on the eyes. I hate reading on computers for that very reason. Kindle's technology means it is like reading on paper. (I love actual paperbooks by the way, but Kindle's flexibility can't be denied). You can also transfer your audio lessons / audio books on Kindle for having everything in one place, though I haven't done that, because I like my mp4 player. But I have transferred my Spanish e-books onto Kindle, and it makes life much easier. In terms of ease of usage and flexibility, as well as the simple matter of the price difference between the two, Kindle is the way to go, unless you need a new computer. 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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