Features

Getting ready to travel to another country? Already carrying a handheld device? Don’t buy a book, download SloveEd for your multilingual translation needs and just add the languages to the PDA. Choices include the following languages converted to another: Croatian, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Ukrainian.

Using the Spanish / English dictionary for the review, just select the Folder icon from the top menu to quickly switch from English to Spanish and vice-versa. The dictionary sorts the words according to its native language alphabet and includes special characters like ñ and é.

New entries can be added and existing entries edited. Switch to full screen mode to view the translation by clicking on the icon left of the Folder. Search the history of words previously searched to review words again from the drop-down arrow next to the entry. Multiple languages can be loaded into the PDA at the same time. Save handheld space by loading the dictionaries and even the program onto an expansion card.

A unique feature is the resident module, which gets the translation of word without exiting an application that is currently active. Just select the word you would like to translate and do an up and down motion over the magnifying glass (FIND silk button). The dictionary appears as a pop-up on the lower half of the screen. While it’s open, either scan other words or close it by clicking on X.

It’s easy to immediately start using the dictionary. The software is accompanied with the usual help file, which is likely needed to understand some of its features. It uses all of the handheld’s functions to the fullest including the graffiti area, up and down buttons, and touch screen scroll bars. Some programs make the unfortunate mistake of disabling the up and down button. Not so with this and there are multiple ways to do one task giving the user a choice of what works best. No one can ask for anything more in a handheld dictionary.

SlovoEd is from Paragon Software. The Palm version is compatible with Palm, Handspring Visor, Sony CLIE, HandEra, TRG Pro, IBM WorkPad, and other Palm OS 3.x-4.x devices. Pocket PC and other devices have a compatible version available, see the site for details.