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Sharp Electronics PW-E550 Electronic Dictionary | 
 enlarge | Brand: Sharp
Category: CE
List Price: $119.99
Buy New: $69.99
You Save: $50.00 (42%)
New (9) Used (1) from $69.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  107 reviews
Media: Electronics
Batteries: 1
Batteries Included: Yes
Operating System: Proprietary
Free Memory Slots: 0
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 9.8 x 6 x 1.3
Warranty: 1 year warranty
MPN: PW-E550
Model: PW-E550
UPC: 074000017818
EAN: 0074000017818
Release Date: July 5, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Full Contents from Best Selling Books | | • | Calculator and Spell Checker | | • | Metric/ Currency Converter | | • | Enchanced Search Function- Quick View | | • | Enchanced Search Function -Super Jump |
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| Accessories:
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
ELECTRONIC DICTIONARY/THESAURUS
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| Customer Reviews: Read 102 more reviews...
 Comprehensive, intuitive and convenient November 15, 2004
214 out of 220 found this review helpful
I had been thinking about buying an electronic dictionary since they first appeared on the market. I knew pretty much what I wanted in a device but until now, I've found them all wanting in some area that was important to me. This device is absolutely perfect for my needs. These are the attributes that I was looking for, in roughly most important to least important order:
It had to be easy and intuitive to use
It had to have a very comprehensive dictionary and thesaurus
It had to show (not speak) pronunciation
It had to be non-invasive (imagine using one of the speaking dictionaries in a classroom or library setting)
It had to be reasonably priced
The PW-E550 meets all of these requirements.
At the time I was considering the PW-E550 I was reading two books: "Being And Nothingness" by Sarte and "How To Be Alone" by Jonathan Franzen (as an aside, if you're not familiar with Jonathan Franzen I highly recommend checking him out). I decided to page through each book and write down a short list of words that I either did not know the meaning of, or was unclear of. I then took that list of words to my local bookstore, found the hardcopy version of "The New Oxford American Dictionary" and looked up my words. With the minor exception of "transphenomenal", I found all of my words in some form (with "transphenomenal" I was able to find "phenomenal", "phenomena" and "trans-").
To give you an idea of what I was looking for I unashamedly present my word list:
nihilates, transphenomenal, ontological, heterogeneity, facticity, thematized, interiorization, objectivation, vagaries, preponderant, exigencies, isolationism, milieu, preemption, multilateralism
When I received the PW-E550 the first thing I did was to recheck my word list. My experience was better than I expected. Not only did I find the same words and definitions, I didn't have to glance at the manual at all to figure out what to do. I just pressed the "DICT" button, typed my word and watched the list of words that matched my typing get smaller until my word (or a form of it) was displayed.
The screen has two zoom settings and the contrast makes the display easy to read. The entire unit could fit comfortably into a shirt pocket (both size and weight). The fact that it uses a single AAA battery (as a previous reviewer mentioned) is a real plus.
There was one feature that I did not think about until I started using the device - it would be nice if, when looking at a definition, I could look up any of the words in the definition without losing my place. That's when I picked up the manual and much to my delight I discovered the device can do this (they call it "Super Jump"). It's not as intuitive as the other features but once you've used it, it becomes obvious. Finally, the hardcopy version of the dictionary has pictures on some pages but the E550 does not. Again, not an issue for me.
I would like to comment on an earlier review where the author gave this unit a one star review. She complained that the PW-E550 is a dumbed-down version of the PW-E500. By dumbed-down, she meant it had fewer words than the E550. This is true. However, the PW-E500 uses the "Oxford English Dictionary" and its corresponding "New Oxford Thesaurus". That dictionary gives both English (as in England) and American definitions, likewise the thesaurus. This would be a personal choice. I don't need to see both "color" and "colour" in my dictionary but that's just me. To me it was like she was saying that she thinks a Jaguar is a better car than a Cadillac therefore a Cadillac is a lousy car. This is a great reference tool.
If you have any doubts about the contents of this unit, go look at the hardcopy versions. I am very impressed and absolutely delighted that I have such a simple yet comprehensive reference sitting on the arm of my chair as I read.
Excellent product May 5, 2006
46 out of 47 found this review helpful
The Sharp PW-E550 is an excellent product. It is just slightly larger than a deck of cards when closed. It has two font sizes. The smaller one is perfectly readable for me and offers sufficient content on the screen. It performs amazingly well, very quick, and has so far had all the words I needed to look up.
As one person mentioned, spend a few minutes going through the manual as there are a couple of features that are not readily apparent but are very useful. The Super Jump feature being the most notable, which allows you to lookup the definition of a word within a definition.
The Sharp PW-E550 does everything I wanted it to do and more. A great buy.
The best portable reference I've found so far March 28, 2006
97 out of 98 found this review helpful
I'm a big electronic dictionary geek - I own four of them. Two of them for languages (Japanese and Chinese) and two for English. I'm a writer and I am constantly reading and looking up words, and I like to be able to do away from my computer because honestly, who wants to lug around a laptop when they just want to take a book out to a coffeeshop?
I own both the Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Speaking Dictionary (with a Concise Columbia Encyclopedia card) and the Sharp PW-E550. I owned the Merriam-Webster first, then bought this one, and actually bought the Seiko Concise Encyclopedia Britannica for a while before I returned that one. Here's a comparison between the two, and a little mention of the last one:
- Both have a similar range of definitions. There are some words I could find in the MW I couldn't in the Sharp (McGuffin), and there are some I could find in the Sharp but not the MW (phylogenic, the Bowery). I find that the MW tends to have slightly more in-depth definitions and the Sharp one reads a bit more concise and colloquial. The Sharp does provide examples of usage while the MW doesn't.
- The MW doesn't have a visual pronounciation key, while the Sharp does. That's because the MW speaks out the words. This to me was kind of silly because you don't always want to hear the words out loud (like, in a library, or just about anywhere public), even if they included a headphone jack. What became problematic was that the speaking gizmo on my MW broke after a few months, and now I can't even hear the pronounciation even if I want to.
- The Sharp will list all the words possible with each input of a letter (i.e., if you punch in "a" it'll list all the words that begin with "a," then if you punch in "b" it'll list all the words that begin with "ab" until you get to the word you want. The MW waits until you input all the letters and hit "enter," then it searches until it finds something. It takes about a second or two for it to find something that is in its dictionary, but if you punched in something with the wrong spelling or it just doesn't know, it'll take a while, maybe five seconds, which gets kind of exasperating, especially once you get used to the Sharp.
- The Sharp, when you turn it on, displays exactly what you had when you last had it on. The MW always starts with the same default screen. The Sharp also has a memory feature, that goes back some forty or so of your last entries.
- The buttons on the MW are hard and they hurt after prolonged usage. The buttons on the Sharp are pretty soft, which ends up with the opposite problem, you may not push hard enough on them at times.
- The Concise Encyclopedia that came with the MW is extremely painful to use. It's slower than the dictionary and when you do page up or page down it often goes straight to the previous or next entry. Otherwise it provides some decent amount of information at your fingertips. I'm just afraid of the tediousness of it all.
- The leather flip cover for the MW is really flimsy, while the Sharp is neatly self-protecting. I also like how you can open the whole thing 180 degrees, which is something the Seiko can't do. The Seiko only opens up to about 135 degrees, which might seem adequate until you get used to the Sharp.
- The games that come with the MW aren't so great. I like the idea of creating your own wordlist, but it barely takes any, maybe 20 maximum. After playing with them a bit my first week with the MW, I stopped using the game function.
- The Sharp has a grammar guide that I hardly ever use. I suppose it could be handy, but it just feels impractical.
For a long while I carried around both the MW and the Sharp, with Sharp being my first resource then, if I have to, the MW, and if I really have to, the Concise Encyclopedia in the MW. After a while I just ditched the MW and now I only use the Sharp. It is a far better experience, and it's become an indispensible tool. The Seiko I was really excited to check out, but for the price I was quite disappointed. The user experience, while better than the MW, pales compared to the Sharp. The entries in the Seiko are great, a lot of information and depth, but most of the terms in there are in the Sharp anyway, just not with as much detail. For $180, I decided I could just stick with the Sharp for basic concepts on the proper nouns, and head to my laptop when I want more in-depth detail.
Overall, I recommend anyone with a remote interest in having an English electronic dictionary to go with the Sharp. It's the best portable reference I've found so far.
Useful Little Gadget November 20, 2006
31 out of 33 found this review helpful
I use the Sharp PW-E550 when I am out reading at a cafe, it is a great little tool and it has proven to be quite indispensable!
PROS:
1. Relatively compact (size & weight) as compared with comparable Franklin models. It is not small enough to carry in a jean pocket (or a shirt pocket unless you are one of those that wears a pocket protector), but it's much better than having to lug a dictionary around
2. When you turn the unit on, it will be where you last left off, not the main screen - you'll come to appreciate this feature
3. 8-line display makes it easier to skim through definitions without scrolling
4. Fast retrieval of dictionary/thesaurus entries - almost instantaneous
5. Spell checker is very good at finding the word you are looking for
6. The Super Jump feature is very handy (as mentioned by many other reviewers)
7. The keys are well laid-out and intuitive to use
CONS:
1. The unit is made in China, and the built-quality suffers a bit, but it is sturdy enough to take some beating
2. Soft buttons are comfortable, but occasionally enters one-too-many characters, this coming from a Blackberry user who's comfortable with even smaller keypads
3. A backlight will be a nice addition to the feature set but not a necessity
4. In addition to the History which is marginally useful, it'd be nice to have more memory to store words of your choosing on the unit -- electronic flashcard?
Easy-to-use, high-quality electronic dictionary, with a few minor flaws January 25, 2006
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
It's amazing how so many reviewers give this electronic dictionary five stars. For the most part I agree. This is an easy to use electronic dictionary with a deep vocabulary database and a comfortable thumb keyboard. The dictionary itself is a good one not only because of its coverage but because it lists a word's most frequently used core meaning first, unlike the Franklin English dictionaries where definitions are listed in chronological order, from oldest to latest (how stupid is that!). So whenever you look up a word in this Sharp dictionary, you'll know which definitions are the most used ones. The included thesaurus is also pretty good and the grammar guide is fun to read.
Unlike my Franklin 11th edition speaking dictionary, which had a lousy keyboard, this Sharp has large-sized keys that have the right tactile feel to them. There are also dedicated page-down and page-up keys, a very good feature. On the down side, the placements of Enter and Esc are unconventional and stupid and take quite some time to get used to.
The multiple-line black and white LCD screen is sharp and you can view contents in one of two fonts and change the font size on teh fly via a dedicated Zoom key. (The Franklin, in contrast, requires a trip to the setup menu.) Unfortunately the LCD screen is not backlit (nor are the keys), making it impossible to use this in the dark when you, say, have a sudden craving for enlarging your vocabulary while lying in bed. Given that most paper dictionaries (and the Franklin electronic ones) suffer the same problem, and given that a dictionary is usually used as a companion to reading something else, this may not be a big problem. Still, I wish it had a backlight option.
Nicely, the Sharp uses just one AAA battery and has good battery life. The clamshell design protects the screen and keyboard and the size is small enough to carry in a pocket. The build quality stands in stark contrast with the Franklin 11th edition collegiate speaking dictionary: whereas the latter feels cheap and flimsy, the Sharp feels solid and well built. I really hate myself for wasting $90 on the Franklin before discovering a much better value in this model.
On the other hand, the Franklin model has lots of learning tools (like an SAT word list as well as the ability to make your own vocabulary list) and games but the Sharp PW-E550 doesn't have any. But given the Sharp cheaper than the Franklin I guess this is not a big deal.
The biggest difference between the two is this Sharp has pronunciation keys but no spoken pronunciation, whereas the Franklin speaking dictionary is the opposite: spoken only but no written keys. It would have been nice to get both in one dictionary, esp. for foreign words (how exactly do you make those damned French sounds??) I got tired of Franklin's synthesized speech quick so I don't miss not having it. When I travel to Hong Kong a few years ago I saw electronic dictionaries with natural speech (American accented, no less!) selling for a few dollars. I don't understand why nobody has one here. Maybe the market is just too small as native English speakers usually don't need or care for this feature. (Who cares about how the French pronounce their words? We have our own way of saying them!)
Ok, in short, whether you are a student or an adult or something in between, this Sharp makes a great reading companion. Too bad it cannot be be updated to include new words like "blog" -- but then, who really cares for these new words anyway?
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