This is a question for users of a Canon wordtank.

I've been held back by the thought of paying so much money for a complex, feature-rich product whose manual I cannot really read, but I finally decided to get one.

The question is which of the several available models to get. As far as I know there are at least 3, maybe 4: C36, M300, V320, and (maybe) V330 (I'm not sure whether the last one is already available). They all have a bazillion features, but since these products are geared for the Japanese market, I figure that some of these features may not be useful toward my goal of learning Japanese (particularly my most immediate sub-goal of learning 漢字).

It seems to me that, for someone with such goals, by far the most important feature is the one that all the models share, namely, the Super Daijirin. How about the other features. Have you found them helpful for learning 漢字, and/or learning Japanese in general?

TIA!

I used to say "get a Casio, Canons are crap", but now I think it's not a good idea to get a denshi jisho at all. A used ipod touch + a few appstore dictionaries are incredibly more useful and cheaper.

My high end $700 (msrp) denshijisho just collects dust now.

Best blog site for dictionary reviews (including the wordtank v330 that
you mentioned):

http://www.quinlanfaris.com

@Jarvik7,

Which dictionaries are you using?
Are you using any EPWING dictionaries?

Thanks.

I have used wordtanks ever since the 80's. I guess you could use an iphone now or something similar, but there are still some benefits to a good denshijisho.

I have one that is discontinued, but it's the BOMB. It's the Sony e-book reader EBR-S8MS.

It is only slightly larger than a business card, and has Japanese, Romaji, and Hangul on the keyboard. It has all the japanese and Japanese-English dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc, and also has japanese-chinese and chinese-japanese dictionaries (good ones that I also have paper copies of), as well as a japanese-korean-english dictionary. The smart card I have also has dicts for almost every european language.

Since I have studied chinese extensively, and some korean, this dictionary simply rocks for comparing kanji/words between japanese and chinese. It is actually insanely sweet. I hope it never breaks...

Even though I have an iPod, I wouldn't give up my denshi jisho even if I got the money back that I paid for it (around $180, I bought it from some akihabara shop marked down from $450 retail). The denshi jisho runs longer without charging or changing batteries, has a larger screen, I can angle the screen so I can set it on the desk and see it well, and I prefer keyboard input to touch screens.

I've played with a Canon G55 a while ago and it was pretty nice. I think its about $250. The G70 is supposed to have a few new features, but you can get by w/o them.

Personally, I use a pda (Dell x50v) w/ Japanese os and all the 'cool' dictionaries. It took me about 2 years to collect them all, and now it has mostly the same dictionaries as the G55.

However, as Jarvik7, I haven't been using it all to much lately.

[Katsuo]

gfb345 Wrote:This is a question for users of a Canon wordtank.

I have five Canon Wordtanks: M300, IDF-3000, IDX-9600, IDC310 and IDJ-9000. The last three are antiquated and haven't been used in years. The IDF-3000 is about ten years old, but was the first of the good modern denshi jisho (my opinion, of course). The only reason I stopped using it regularly is that its J-E dictionary is fairly small.

The M300 is a current model. I bought it because it has nearly all the main functions I need in a small, solidly built case, and it is more portable than most "desktop" models.

But I rarely use it these days because:
1. My iPod Touch is thinner, lighter, has a much better display, has most of the functions of the wordtank, and has vast numbers of other uses too.
2. Kanji search in the M300 is lacking in some ways: it displays only four results at a time and doesn't tell you how many results there are in total.
3. It takes 5 seconds to turn on (most of my other denshi jisho are about one second)
4. The backlighting system is awkward: Goes off after 30 seconds; uses same button as "power on/off" so I often accidentally turn the thing off.

It does have plenty of good features though... and if anyone in Tokyo would like a good-as-new Canon M300 for around half price, let me know!

Regarding the C36, I noticed my local Kays Denki is selling them off at 9,900 yen (or something like that). Good value, I think.

(Btw, One big advantage most deshi jisho have over the iPod Touch is ease of jumping between dictionaries, and also the ability to search many dictionaries simultaneously.)

Many thanks for your comments and suggestions!

I have a Casio EX-word XD-A10000 that I like, but it was fairly expensive. An iPhone is a lot more expensive over time, but if you need a phone, it might be very good. I haven't tried one yet, but will get one soon.

bertoni Wrote:I have a Casio EX-word XD-A10000 that I like, but it was fairly expensive.

Personally, if I were to invest in an actual Denshi Jisho, this is the one it would be. It's got the widest selection of dictionaries that I want in it. Kojien, Daijisen, Meikyo, Kenkyusha, Kanjirin, handwriting recognition.

However, if you're like me, then you'll also enjoy the other apps that come with an iPod/Phone. I got the iPod because I don't need to make calls and/or use the internet all the time. Plus, I always have Anki with me