If you use a pc based solution, don't use edict or anything related to it. Don't use any dictionaries intended for use by westerners either. They are all really bad.

You can buy the Kenkyuusha daiwaei/daieiwa (the so called green goddess - although I think it's a stupid nickname) dictionaries in epwing format and use those with most of the better pda/pc based dictionary readers. That is the best bilingual dictionary in my opinion. For a monolingual dictionary (which you should eventually transition yourself to), get either Koujien (the most complete) or Daijisen (easier to read definitions in more modern language). EPWING dictionaries tend to run 7000-10000en each, which makes a portable electronic dictionary start to look more attractive (PRO: more content for cost, portable CON: potentially harder to use).

I'm the one that recommended the GW-6900/6800 a year ago and it still remains the best model to get. However, it's out of production since January 2008 when Casio updated all the hardware to Dataplus4 but never released an equivalent 国語系 model.

I have the GW-6900. I like the CASIO models. After figuring out more of its functions, searching became really fast and easy. I also like that it stores a history of words I looked up (and I can choose to manually store the word in a list if I want).

Get a dictionary that has support for kanji recognition via writing. Other than that, the rest is up to you. I'd recommend getting one that has better J->J than J->E, but not everyone wants to do J->J. Find out online which models have the better and worse search designs (I think CASIO and SEIKO are recommended for their searching capabilities).

If I could do it again, I *probably* would go for a cheaper CASIO model which has decent J->J and kanji recognition via writing. The extra $100+ could be used for something else in your studies.

Despite that though, I'm still quite happy with my dictionary and it has made studying much easier. I used to be so frustrated when I got to kanji compounds I didn't know -- especially if my Kanji Learner's Dictionary didn't have the compound.

Thanks for the advice everyone.  (And I always welcome more!)

I probably should have stated:  I'm not yet to that point, but I definitely want to do J->J with it. 

For now, I think I'm going to limp along with online dictionaries (and maybe the DS one) and see what else comes my way.  After trying to get shipping prices, I found I couldn't import it from Amazon (ugh) and it'll be even higher in price than I thought.  If I'm going to spend that much money, I'll probably wait until next year's models as you suggest.

In all honesty it's not to hard to find some of the E-J dictionaries online. You can probably find the green goddess to preview.

There's no reason to use EDICT when there are lots of far better dictionaries out there that are just as free as Free Beer if you have a web browser, or if you just use Firefox and use Mycroft to add them to your search bar. (Which I do and love.)

yahoo.co.jp (don't know what it uses, but it's great)
excite.co.jp (uses kenkyuusha)
goo.ne.co.jp (uses sanseido for 国語)
alc.co.jp (weak English translations, but great numbers of word, phrases, and example sentences.)

I don't see the point in subscribing to the kenkyuusha service at these levels of Japanese, to be honest.

And if you buy an electronic dictionary, a lot of them have Genius, which IMO is just as good as Kenkyuusha. It covers a lot of stuff that Kenkyuusha omits or defines poorly, and Kenkyuusha covers stuff that Genius misses. Since I have a hand-held electronic dictionary, it's not a big issue, so I can access both, but I have noticed that one will avoid words that the other covers. No idea why.

Rakubiki Jiten for the DS also uses Genius, BTW.

Also, I agree that EPWING dictionaries are very nice, too, if you can find the software in the US, or somehow import it. It can get kind of spendy.

EDICT is an open-source project which isn't bad in a pinch... but Professionals Who Write Dictionaries For A Living will almost always do a better job, IMO. So since there are so many excellent Japanese dictionaries out there, I don't see the point in using something like EDICT these days.

Yeah, when I took Japanese in grad school, we spent a week or so just learning how to use the Nelson kanji dictionary... which is probably the most brutal way to have to look up kanji I can think of offhand. It has its uses (doorstop, weapon) but ugh.... that's a totally un-fun way to look up stuff.

I wanted some clarification on the actual differences between the casio models' GP, GT, and SP, and I guess whatever else there may be. Im at a loss as to what they signify, what are the real differences between, say the GW6800/6900 and a GP6900 ?? Unfortunately I can't find specs in English on the GW series, I suppose thats because its been discontinued as you said.  Also, what will the HW series offer in 2009, is that something worth waiting for, it kind of sounds like it, but unfortunately I can't really browse Japanese sites that would tell me anything about it.

I see where the models boast various dictionaries, and they must be targeted at certain consumer groups, I just cant figure out which is for what target group and where and why I would be better off getting GW / HW.

Casio XD-GP6900
http://store.aikotradingstore.com/casioxdgp6900.html

Casio XD-GT6800 Ex-Word
http://store.aikotradingstore.com/caxdex.html

Casio XD-SP6600
http://store.aikotradingstore.com/casioxdsp6600.html

Those are a few of the models I found on that one site that lists the specs of each in English... Prices vary greatly... And im sure there are better places to buy an electronic dictionary, but the question is which one.

Any additional info on this would be appreciated.

Thanks

Thanks so much for the in depth reply, so essentially you're saying if you need one now go with the GW6800 otherwise wait for the HW series in 2009. I think I'll be able to manage without until next year, do they usually release right into January or will it be 2nd quarter. Not that you'd necessarily know, heh.

Is there a site that details the upcoming HW series? Even if its in Japanese I'll see if I can decode a bit of it. Is there a particular model number I should be watching for in 09, or is that stuff not known yet?

Thanks again.

Thanks for the retailers suggestions rich_f, I've also found some users on ebay who are selling various electronic dictionaries from Japan for much less than aiko trading.

I figure I'll just wait, save up some money, and buy one of the Casio HWxxxx models next year.

That's still not a very good price:

http://kakaku.com/item/20752010362/

Have a look and see. Your best bet would still be someone like PriceJapan, who goes off of Kakaku's lowest price.

For now, if you have DS, just use the kanji sonomama rakubiki jiten.

rich_f wrote:

And if you buy an electronic dictionary, a lot of them have Genius, which IMO is just as good as Kenkyuusha. It covers a lot of stuff that Kenkyuusha omits or defines poorly, and Kenkyuusha covers stuff that Genius misses. Since I have a hand-held electronic dictionary, it's not a big issue, so I can access both, but I have noticed that one will avoid words that the other covers. No idea why.

Is it possible you only have the 和英中辞典 and not the 新和英大辞典? My experience has been that the latter is much better than Genius so I am curious.

No, none of them will ship to the USA (that I know of, anyway), that's why you need either:

1) *Really* good friends in Japan

or

2) Use a service like Conics, PriceJapan, or GeekStuff4U, who will do what your really good friend would do, but they will charge you a small fee for it. They basically buy it for you in Japan, then send it to you. You should also be clear on what warranty services you're going to get from them, too. Some of them will send it in for service for you, but you're going to have to pay shipping all around.

Buying electronics from Japan is a royal pain in the butt, because most Japanese retailers will not ship overseas. If you find one that does, by all means, let me know.

With the Kenkyuusha vs. Genius thing, my experience with Kenkyuusha is based on the online version they have over at excite.co.jp. I'm not willing to invest more than I already have into another J-E dictionary, considering that I won't be going J-E for much longer. It's a good dictionary, but it's not OHMYGOD good. It has weak points. Genius has weak points, too. Yahoo's dictionary is good, but it has weak points as well.

You have to figure out what you want out of a device, what you *need*, and what you can afford. Somewhere in there, you'll find the best solution, I guess.

I prefer having a dedicated handheld electronic dictionary over a DS because I hate waiting for the DS to boot up, and because my dictionary has some extra functions that the DS version doesn't have. (Like a bigger screen and bigger text.) But that's what works for me. Some people don't need the extras, so $40 for kanji sono mama is all they need to spend.

And if you're wondering, yes, I got mine when I was in Japan.