Sunday 11 September 2011

Electronic Dictionary Bookmark

While at work last week I noticed that we had started selling these electronic dictionary bookmarks in our branch of Waterstone's, but as we were quite busy at the time, I didn't have chance to have a proper look at them. This week however, I did.
They retail for the rather hefty price of £19.99, but for that, you not only get a flexible, but sturdy bookmark, you also get a Collins dictionary with over 38000 definitions built into the device! The bookmark is by 'that company called if' and I think they've done a fantastic job! You can choose between white and grey or white and pink, and they work really well.
Having bought one when I finished working my shift today, I am very impressed. I have of course already had a play with it, and I can report back with very positive comments. You may worry that it might get broken quite easily, but everything underneath the screen has a little flexibility to it, it isn't rigid, so it won't easily snap under too much pressure, and the screen is fairly clear, although it isn't backlit, so you would need a light in order to see the screen.
They also don't stick out too far when placed inside a book - the screen obviously doesn't fit inside the book as the keypad does, but it doesn't protrude too much. The batteries are also easily replaceable - at the back of the screen there is a slide-open battery compartment, and the device takes just one CR2032 battery, which is a lithium battery, so I don't foresee having to replace that in the too-near future.
The only downside to the bookmark that I can foresee, is that if you're at the very beginning, or very end of the novel you are reading, the screen sticking out of the top of the book, may cause the bookmark to fall out of the book if it is being carried in a large bag. I don't however see this as being a common problem (especially as when I carry my books, I tend to put them in the bag spine down and hold them in place with the rest of the contents of the bag!)

This is also a wonderful little product for those who don't own Kindles/other eReaders, as an advantage to these is that if you find a word that you don't understand, you simply click down to it, and the definition of the word appears at the bottom or top of the screen. However, with one of these bookmarks, you can also quickly find a definition for a word without too much interruption to your enjoyment of whatever book you happen to be devouring.

A slightly expensive, but really useful reading accessory!

15 comments:

So many books, so little time said...

wow I am pretty impressed :D

Dani Cotton said...

So was I! It's a really nifty little gadget to have!

Jaffareadstoo..... said...

What a great idea - one of the things I love about my kindle is the built in dictionary so to have one for paper books is very tempting....

Chocolate Chunky Munkie said...

It's a great idea, but not for me. I have a tendency of chewing on bookmarks when I read. x

Dani Cotton said...

Awww Jen! It's probably not a good idea to chew this one!! xx

Books for Company said...

Oh wow!
That is a good idea, very expensive though!

Dani Cotton said...

It is quite expensive. You can get them a little cheaper online though. I know they're available from amazon, and are even cheaper on Waterstones (or were the last time I checked). A hefty price if you think of it as a bookmark, but not so much if you think of it as an electronic gadget!! xx

Patricia said...

Wow that is so neat! Who would have thought a dictionary bookmark. I am visiting via Blogaholic. Love your blog looks like you have a great start. I am your newest GFC follower. Tried to join you via NetworkedBlogs but it has not been working for me lately.

Patricia aka Mamaw

http://itstimetoreadmamaw.blogspot.com/
http://itsabouttimemamaw.blogspot.com/

Patricia said...

This would be a great Christmas gift for a book lover. Great review!

Dani Cotton said...

Yes, I was thinking of getting one for a couple of my friends for Christmas. They're wonderful little things!

sam1978 said...

I will be hinting to hubby about one of these for Christmas! x

Laura H. said...

What a cool product! I have a Kindle and one of my favorite features is the dictionary. I also read paper/hardbacks and there have been many times when I wanted to look up a word and didn't have access to a dictionary. This is something I would love to have! I don't know what the equivalent of £19.99 is in US dollars but I definitely would like to check it out!

Anonymous said...

This looks so cool!

Unknown said...

Its really nice. I really appreciate the blog. I always look for new updated things on Online Dictionary. I like the things you provide us as information. Thanks for it.

Wania Shahid said...

I got it as a gift but when I switched it on I realised the screen is kinda blurry. As in there are grid lines on the screen where the words disapper. How can I fix this?

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