Monday, June 20, 2005
LingvoSoft Travel Dictionary for Pocket PC ML11 mini review
While there are plenty text or speech based language translators on the market for the Pocket PC user, a good old fashioned travel dictionary comes into its own when looking up individual words as opposed to common spoken phrases. It is with great interest then that I take a closer look at this multilingual application from Lingvosoft.
The ML11 suffix gives away the fact that 11 languages are supported - you can translate between any combination of English, Czech, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Portuguese.
Starting up the application brings you to the main screen with an entry field sitting atop the word list. Beneath these is the output screen which displays the translated value. Typing a word into the entry field or scrolling and selecting from the word list automatically presents you with the relevant translation below.
If you come across a word that you wish to refer back to at a later point or wish to keep handy for learning purposes, you can select the little red and yellow coloured arrow icon next to the magnifying glass. This will add the current word to the Filtered page on the next tab although I would have found the name 'Favourites' as a more suitable moniker for this view. The final tab brings you to the Query page. This will list the results of a search using the magnifying glass icon by typing a few letters then activating the search to retrieve all possible matches for a word.
Delving a little deeper, we find various options under the Tools menu that allow you to tailor the appearance of the application such as splitting the window horizontally or vertically, changing the size of the font and enabling cleartype. You also have the option of changing the interface from English to German and setting the font options independantly for either language. The Tool Bar at the bottom offers icons for edit functions such as copy and paste on top of the control for changing the from and to languages for translation.
Bonus material comes in the shape of 10 virtual keyboards that make character input much easier for specific languages, and a handy word grabber tool that allows you to quickly copy text from an external application and look up the translation.
I would not consider this travel dictionary as a flashy tool - more of a 'does exactly what is says' type of application with its clear but practical user interface and speedy performance. It would be a great compliment to a phrase book for the more casual of travellers and I would consider it a must have for the more serious minded of adventurers.
With full WM2003SE support and an option to purchase at lower than the normal price point of $39.95 - I would recommend checking out the Lingvosoft website for more details.
The ML11 suffix gives away the fact that 11 languages are supported - you can translate between any combination of English, Czech, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Portuguese.
Starting up the application brings you to the main screen with an entry field sitting atop the word list. Beneath these is the output screen which displays the translated value. Typing a word into the entry field or scrolling and selecting from the word list automatically presents you with the relevant translation below.
If you come across a word that you wish to refer back to at a later point or wish to keep handy for learning purposes, you can select the little red and yellow coloured arrow icon next to the magnifying glass. This will add the current word to the Filtered page on the next tab although I would have found the name 'Favourites' as a more suitable moniker for this view. The final tab brings you to the Query page. This will list the results of a search using the magnifying glass icon by typing a few letters then activating the search to retrieve all possible matches for a word.
Delving a little deeper, we find various options under the Tools menu that allow you to tailor the appearance of the application such as splitting the window horizontally or vertically, changing the size of the font and enabling cleartype. You also have the option of changing the interface from English to German and setting the font options independantly for either language. The Tool Bar at the bottom offers icons for edit functions such as copy and paste on top of the control for changing the from and to languages for translation.
Bonus material comes in the shape of 10 virtual keyboards that make character input much easier for specific languages, and a handy word grabber tool that allows you to quickly copy text from an external application and look up the translation.
I would not consider this travel dictionary as a flashy tool - more of a 'does exactly what is says' type of application with its clear but practical user interface and speedy performance. It would be a great compliment to a phrase book for the more casual of travellers and I would consider it a must have for the more serious minded of adventurers.
With full WM2003SE support and an option to purchase at lower than the normal price point of $39.95 - I would recommend checking out the Lingvosoft website for more details.
Friday, June 10, 2005
z2 Remote2PC
I just had to mention this application after the lack of real success I have had with other remote desktop solutions for the Pocket PC. Some are just too low on functionality or not stable enough but this solution from Z2 seems to fit the bill. It offers great functionality like multiple zoom levels, high encryption, file transfer and clipboard synchronisation. If you are looking for something a little more functional and robust than terminal services then I recommend you check out z2 Remote2PC at Handango.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
HTC Wizard
Well after reading some of the latest reports on new devices set to be released, I'm on the brink of being a convert from a Pocket PC and mobile phone to a single converged device. The HTC Wizard is the first device that has seriously got me considering this move for my next Pocket PC purely because it is physically more in line with a mobile phone but with all the hardware of a good Pocket PC.
The specs are good featuring:
More details and a picture can be found at Pocket PC Italia.
The specs are good featuring:
- Windows Mobile 2005
- QuadBand Gsm/e-gprs (EDGE) 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
- Texas Instruments OMAP 850 Processor
- 128 MB of ROM and 64 MB of RAM
- 2.8"QVGA TFT LCD Display
- Bluetooth
- Wi-Fi 802.11b
- IrDA
- Camera integrated from 2.1 MP with Flash LED
- Double speaker
- Slide Out QWERTY Keyboard
More details and a picture can be found at Pocket PC Italia.
