China Romance
General Discussion and Useful Links => Ask An Experienced Member => Topic started by: Irishman on April 22, 2009, 09:06:23 pm
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I've been reading around various sites on the web and I think the cheapest biggest bang for my buck will be to get a Dell Axim 51V (around 80 euro on Ebay) + Pleco 2 (http://www.pleco.com/) software to load on to it ($100 for "Pro" bundle) for a total outlay of about ?180 euro.
This gives me written input - typed plus character recognition (write the character on the touchscreen using finger or stylus), spoken output as well as written , as well as various Chinese learning tools such as flash cards etc which a regular translator device wouldn't. The equivalent in a dedicated translator seems to run $350 upwards.
Of course I get the all the other stuff that comes with the Axim PDA too, not that I'll use them much probably. I wonder if Skype can be put on these things? - could call home for cheap using it maybe, have to look into that.
I'm wondering if anyone else here had tried Pleco and have any thoughts on it?, or indeed has recommendations for other translators, Besta seems to be a popular brand.
This is a topic that crops up fairly frequently on the chnlove official forum, I think it would be good to have one here as a reference on the useful links forum if we get a few suggestions and product reviews by owners here. I'll update with pics etc once I get my stuff set-up with the Axim.
If anyone has a translation device maybe they could give a brief description along the lines of :-
Manufacturer =
- Model -[/*:m]
- Cost -[/*:m]
- Pros -[/*:m]
- Cons -[/*:m][/list:u]
Thanks,
Ronan.
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http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/21269 ... V650_.html
Here's the one Xindi and I have been using. It does a lot more than we've been using it for but it seems to work really well.
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I got the Besta for her. She uses it constantly. I got it there at an upscale store and it cost 1900 Yuan. It also has character recognition translates both ways and it does more but we only use it for the translator. She only has good things to say about it. They had more expensive ones but that works great.
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I took the recommendation from most here and told my lady about the Besta. She said there is a Labor day coming up (lowered price sale)so she'll go shopping for it then. Girl after my own heart. :) Buy the good stuff cheap.
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For translation software for my computer, I use LEC. It does a pretty good lob. One thing about it I really like is it translates into chinese then translates that back into English so you can see what you are telling them. So you can change the words or move them around until you get it right. Saves a lot of misunderstandings. Different sites carry it. I searched a little bit and got it about $20 cheaper than from LEC. It has been so long ago I dont remember where I got it from. Us old guys have terrible memories until it comes to money . lol
Just FYI.Office Depot is now doing passport Photos. They tell me all the stores are doing them. And Vince, I applied and am told I will get a 12 month multiple entry passport. And not because I am getting married. I have 1. A valid passport, with more than a 15 month time remaining 2. I have been to China within the last five years and 3. My other China Visa is in my passport. with a stamp and no other stamps than the Offiicial Chinese one.
My guy at VistaRite says there should be no problem.
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I looked at the besta website and there are many models. Which one do you guys think is the best for the money?
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Kenny,
I've got the Besta CD 869, which is one of the latest models and it does most things you would want, speaks the translation, has a pen to write on the screen and has possibilities to download stuff using a USB connection. Some earlier versions do this too. Mine was about $300 from Ebay.
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Thanks Alex I will check these out on Ebay.
Kenny
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Ronan - did you ever get the Dell and Pleco 2 ? .. if so what are your thoughts on it
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I have the Pleco 2 on my Treo phone its great but not as good as my girls translator
for translating but for learning its good
It works better for going from chinese to english than english to chinese
I also found I like the tuttle dictionary better than the oxford one that the base version comes with
Its a great tool if you are learning chinese though and know a little bit.
Having on the phone is also great as for skype if you phone can do wifi then yes you can install skype and use that on it as well and of course its also a phone to
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Samemeldrum1 , I have used the Besta MD8290 again purchased in China , they are made in Taiwan , can only say great , just a pity in stores there only Chinese directions , but I note on www.Powerdictionary.com they also have the English directions available , and a price of 299 plus postage which is not to bad , regards Robert .
They also have more expensive models now including wi fi , just to confuse .
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We also bought a Besta in April but my Lady was not happy with it... She had an old one from
Shenzhen Koridy Electronic Technology Co., Ltd called V650. She said that the old one was more accurate
in the translation... It have all the things that you have in the Besta that we bought and it seems to be a lot more cheaper that the Besta too..
The only problem is that the menus is all in Chinese..
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Buy a Besta in the USA or Canada and you will have menus and instruction books in English. These modesl are geared for the English speaker learning Chinese and not the other way around though they can be used for that purpose too.
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I have the Besta MT-7000
Fully touch screen, did me great in China. Chinese can write directly on screen, we use a virtual keyboard, you flick languages and menus in an instant, really easy to use (I never touched the manual which does come in both English and Chinese), battery lasts easily a full day and it charges off USB so even off your laptop should you be in need of power.
It also dispenses some Chinese lessons with video animations, has a standard phrases list and can say anything you write. Sound is OK although mp3 compression is noticable, but still usable.
It seems to be solid, I dropped it from 5 feet height on a granite floor, no damage, and the touch screen shows no trace of scratches from the intensive writing on it.
I can only recommend it. Just a bit big to carry in a jeans pocket although it's slim and lightish, it's really the only flaw I can find, well and finger prints love this thing.
There is one for sale here (http://www.prontotech.com/product/besta-mt-7000-mandarin-talk-p_1237480310) for USD 300, but I did get it for less from Singapore, the link is somewhere in another thread
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That reminds me, I must buy a Besta 7000 at some point. If it helps with learning Chinese it would be useful.
My lady had quite a nice translator, I can't remember the brand (meijin or something?). It was all in Chinese, but it appeared to be a rip off Windows Mobile type thing with all kinds of of translator software installed. It's translations were pretty much identical to what Google comes up with.
I have some Windows mobile software. I got a nice dictionary/travel phrasebook shareware thing. The dictionary was really useful for showing my lady the names of things. I've also installed something that allows you to type pinyin and see chinese characters. I'm not sure if I'll buy the full version as it's a bit buggy.
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I got the Ectaco Partner 900. a little more than I wanted to spend. But it has everything. Even voice recognition. You say a phase into it and it says it back to you in Chinese. I looked at these things for weeks I can not even think of a feature this thing does not have. It even has a few I did'nt know the technology was available for yet. The iTravel is also very nice but this unit is better at helping learn a language.
I got this one from Newegg for $349 they sell for $399 on the company site and come with an accy kit that I bought all the same stuff at walmart for $25
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I've just found the pinyin Windows input thing my lady installed on my notebook. I have no idea what it's called in English, but it's much better than the rubbish thing that comes with Windows. I now know quite a few characters so it's a really cool gizmo.
I just rememebered, my lady's translator was a Meijin. It is pretty good for the price.
I might get that Besta from Amazon.com in the new year, maybe they'll have a sale.
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I bought a Noah ND700, does everything needed like type or touch screen with pen, also takes a 2gig micro sd card for playing music or movies, seems to work pretty well and has all sorts of Chinese to English learning on it, it also talks, only problem is it's instructions are all in Chinese, once someone shows you how to use it it's great but buggered if I can work it out half the time, but the girls who have used it seem to be able to handle it no problems, I picked it up in China a few months ago and the standard price seems to be 998rmb.
It will charge off the wall or off your computer & lasts for ages. it will also fit in your back pocket no problem.
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I've been browsing electronic translators and ran across the Ectaco Alpine iTRAVL English to Chinese Translator. A bit expensive, but seems all you have to do is speak into it and it translates. Anyone have any experience with this type of translator or thoughts on it.
Don
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I've been browsing electronic translators and ran across the Ectaco Alpine iTRAVL English to Chinese Translator. A bit expensive, but seems all you have to do is speak into it and it translates. Anyone have any experience with this type of translator or thoughts on it.
Don
It's great for travel it has some CIA data or something. The one I got the Ectaco Partner 900 has all the same stuff except the CIA Data and I got it because it is better if you are going to use it to learn Chinese, or in my case leave it for my wife to learn English. Newegg had them all cheaper than the MFG site
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I heard some bad things about Ectaco.
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I received my Ectaco ITravel translator a couple weeks ago. I must admit I am still trying to figure out how to use it. I have it pretty much
figured out translating everything into Chinese. But cannot seem to change over to Chinese to English. Especially on the text translation. It provides a keyboard to type your words from english to chinese, but I would think you could change the keyboard to Chinese, so the lady could type her phrase and change to English. I swear i got it changed over once, but for the life of me, cannot do it again.
Jimmy, if you read this. Do you have an answer for this? Or anybody have an answer?
Don
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Hmmm, the Besta MT-7000 has a little button, press it and the interface language changes from English to Chinese and vice versa. The touch screen writing makes entering Chinese characters a breeze, although you do need to know how to write Chinese :icon_cheesygrin::icon_cheesygrin: Entering English language can be done on a virtual keyboard with a stylus, or through handwriting recognition, for me the virtual keyboard is faster.
It's a multimedia player as well, and it is able to read SD cards, even my SDHC with 8gb although it was not full, the manual states 2GB max capacity. It seems easier to use because I got the hang of it very fast and only looked at the manual later, and not in detail. It also provides a series of animated Chinese lessons as well as a standard phrase book sorted by situation, I learned a few bits from it. The only thing entirely in Chinese are the video games.
It's been used extensively on 2 trips, what's nice is that Chinese who don't know it can use it instantaneously to write to you, it dropped from 3-4 feet on a very hard floor and still works, the battery seems to last several days if you don't use it all the time, the screen's display quality and backlight are excellent, it seems to be very scratch resistant and it charges off USB ports so no need for a charger in the bag. Charge time to full is over 3 hours, I usually plug it in when going to sleep.
In short, I can only recommend it, and I am not affiliated with Besta. The only downside is people will want to keep it because it's so nice ...
Frank
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Could not agree with you more Frank , our Besta brought out the besta in my fiancee , he he , regards Robert .
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I'd quite like one of these although I got 60% in my Mandarin test so maybe I won't need one for my next trip lol.
I like the look of the CD-637P - I think it is the same as the 7000 (but for an extra $100 you get a keyboard).
Does anyone know if you can get translator software for Windows XP/Windows Mobile? It would be useful to have something available offline for when Google's translator becomes unavailable (quite a frequenty occurrence when I was there!). I have a Windows Mobile phrasebook and dictionary, but an offline translator would be cool as well.
Thanks!
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That's pretty expensive for a keyboard ... considering it will be tiny as well. I found the touch screen entry very convenient, although if ou write a novel then :angel: I would be worried by the size of the unit as the MT-7000 is already not small without a keyboard. To give you an idea, it's a good bit bigger than an iPhone.
I attached some pics, note the keys on my keyboard are standard size, just the layout is compact.
The Besta keyboard would be a wide as the distance between Q and U including those letters on a QWERTY keyboard, quite small.
[attachment=1357][attachment=1358]
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Frank, Robert....Did you buy your Besta in China or elsewhere? if I can't figure out this Ectaco, I may have to buy Sha one when I get to China. Probably cheaper there anyway. I assumed you could write text on this Ectaco also, but that is something else I have not been able to do. Maybe I'll read the manual:icon_biggrin: Just kidding...already have...sort of.
Don
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Frank, Robert....Did you buy your Besta in China or elsewhere? if I can't figure out this Ectaco, I may have to buy Sha one when I get to China. Probably cheaper there anyway. I assumed you could write text on this Ectaco also, but that is something else I have not been able to do. Maybe I'll read the manual:icon_biggrin: Just kidding...already have...sort of.
Don
Don, I bought it online in Singapore, it came in 5 days and the price was really good. This is where (https://www.iknow.com.sg/Default.aspx). The MT-7000 is at 399 Singapore dollars, the SGD exchange is around 1 SGD to 0.72USD, so around US$ 287.
Frank
PS there is a special offer for 372 SGD now ...
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Don , I fluked my top of the line model on Ebay , was only 3 months old when i bought it cost me about 300.00 US$ and is magic , Ying could not speak much English at all , now it is hard to shut her up , not that I want to , I love the mix of accents , we use a Besta 637p , regards Ying and Robert .
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its hard to shut my wife up also
i love it when she gets excited tslking and goes from english to chinese to english
makes for quite a funny conversation. someone once told me wow you go thru a
lot in these relationships. they dont understand that i think we both go thru a lot
in these relationships and i think its even harder for the lady who leaves china after living there
all her life. quite a sacrifice to be with us on her part
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Frank, Robert....Did you buy your Besta in China or elsewhere? if I can't figure out this Ectaco, I may have to buy Sha one when I get to China. Probably cheaper there anyway. I assumed you could write text on this Ectaco also, but that is something else I have not been able to do. Maybe I'll read the manual:icon_biggrin: Just kidding...already have...sort of.
Don
Don, I bought it online in Singapore, it came in 5 days and the price was really good. This is where (https://www.iknow.com.sg/Default.aspx). The MT-7000 is at 399 Singapore dollars, the SGD exchange is around 1 SGD to 0.72USD, so around US$ 287.
Frank
PS there is a special offer for 372 SGD now ...
Does the cost include postage and duty?
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PS there is a special offer for 372 SGD now ...
Does the cost include postage and duty?
No, but I paid less than 200€ in total (simulate a basket for the shipping, it was cheap), duty did not happen in France as they ship per EMS, and I don't pay sales tax as it gets billed to my company which is exempt, not that anyone claimed anything anyway, but that could vary depending on where you are. (Oh no, saying that will cost me another round of drinks I guess :icon_cheesygrin:)
You could ask them to put a lower face value on the parcel and mark it as gift if you worry about that.
Frank
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PS there is a special offer for 372 SGD now ...
Does the cost include postage and duty?
No, but I paid less than 200€ in total (simulate a basket for the shipping, it was cheap), duty did not happen in France as they ship per EMS, and I don't pay sales tax as it gets billed to my company which is exempt, not that anyone claimed anything anyway, but that could vary depending on where you are. (Oh no, saying that will cost me another round of drinks I guess :icon_cheesygrin:)
You could ask them to put a lower face value on the parcel and mark it as gift if you worry about that.
Frank
Is it dual voltage 110-220V? Also the electrical plug is for Singapore so do you have to buy an additional adapter plug for your country?
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It came with a dual voltage plug for Europe, it looks like they will send what fits your location. It charges off USB anyway, I never use the adapter ...
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I don't have a laptop so I have to use the adaptor. Looks like I have to buy a HK and China adaptor. It is a bit more expensive in Canada by about $30-50 depending if I get charged duty so I think I will buy in Canada as my time is short . I get a 1 yr warranty in Canada anyway.
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Don't hassle with adapters all hotels I've seen have wall sockets that accept Chinese/US/Euro plugs ... and if you find a place that doesn't, an adapter will cost next to nothing. For 30$ difference I wouldn't hassle over it, I bought it there because it can't be found in Europe ...
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So I get this EMF from my lady and there is a sentence in chinese in it. Does anybody have software suggestions or a proceedure to translate it? :huh:
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Google Translate
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Yea, I tried that. I have never been able to copy and paste. I guess that I need a computer course before I go any further. Found a trial software that is interesting though, just put your cursor on the word, hold down the control key and right click for translation of the word or phrase. It will do the entire document too. But this translation was confusing to me. I know that it may be close to what she is saying though. I noticed that some of the characters were a little differentfrom what was written. I will continue with the google translate. I liked the google translate for the web pages.
Ok, I figured out the google translate. Now, if I could only remember how to tile two open tabs.....
Thanks everybody for any and all help. Some forums don't have patience for newbies.
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one of the benefits of this forum is everyone is helpful and patient
because we have all been there at one time or other. you can find a vast
majority of topics here that are helpful and you can also find the humorous
ones like the for the laugh that David keeps us in laughter with. and every once in
a while a few members get into a heated conversation which keeps it interesting here
enjoy your stay here and may your journey be a successful one Bee 964. by the way
what does bee964 stand for??
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Ahhhh someone asked. Well I have had some problems with my memory. Where I worked, automobile manufacturing, they wanted us to go paperless and log every entry into the mainframe. I don't have a problem with this at all. The problem was they wanted you to use your ID, of which they gave me 2 of for some reason, and a password. The password had to change every month and you could not use the same letters, numbers sequence,... in 2 years. So to help me remember I used my car. I had used my pets names, my kids name, even the 7 words. You had to write down the user ID and password to remember most times. Not too secure. The car is a numbered car, #964 of 1000. I am canadian. Of the 1000 they only built 75 canadian ones. The last year they only built 425. They built those cars for three years. Only 75 the first year, 75 the second year, and about 37 the third year. With only 187 of them over three years it may very well be a thing of value. I have to put it away soon. I love driving it. Every notable place I take it, I take a picture of it. Anyways, to make a long story short, I just started using my car and its number for everything. Yes, my e-mail, superbee964@hotmail.com. or gmail.com. When I retired I asked them, since I have 2 corporate ID numbers, do I get 2 pension cheques every month? They just laughed. :icon_cheesygrin: As a side note, the car gets about 26 MPG. Just drove to florida at christmas. From detroit to sarasota to st. augustine to sarasota to detroit, $251 in gas. If I havn't cleared the trip odometer I will tell the you kilometers in total. I have only taken it for an oil change and back to the dealer to fix a leak and check the car over. I drive an old pick up truck in the winter.
Hows your chinese classes going? I had signed up for them here but because the class only had a couple students they cancelled the class. I have been experimenting with google translate but I have noticed the characters are a little different sometimes.
Dave C
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super bee i remember the older ones very well as i almost got killed in one
many many years ago hot rodding around racing:huh: a lot biger back hen and fast
was a good car until the pole got in front of it. the chinese classes are on hold until
after the new year the progress is slow but will get better, as i said before i am learing
shorter phrases so i can eventually put sentences together. learning 1 word at a time
wasnt working that well as far as talking normal sentences so we will see were i am in
the end of the year. as far as memory thats another story hahaha but i do wake up each
morning thankful for what i have and were i am at:icon_biggrin:
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I wish I was in your position. I would love a change of scenery and attitudes. I would easily give up the car for that. the programs I told you about, the living language one tries to teach you by starting off with individual words and progresses to sentences. There are 4 discs. I am almost done the second disc. They are into conversations by then. I found it great for learning the pronounciation of the words. I could never get the little accents on a word for pronounciation, most anyways. I would put a disc in the radio of a vehicle and listen to it as I repaired it. I did have one unit try to keep one of my discs though. I had to replace the radio and take the other one apart to get my disc out. I had since made copies of the originals and keep them in a safe place. The guys I worked with thought I was nuts for trying to learn. There were a couple that have eastern wives. They had been through this process. Thats what got me started on this route.
I gotta stop these long winded posts. And stay on topic.
Dave C