Another Angle For The Pandora...

[PoisonedV]

Why market it at as an E-dictionary at all? Once again, thats stupid. Somebodies not going to see the pandora, and then see in a smaller font "Runs E-DICTIONARIES!" and go WOWEE and buy one because of that. Indicating that it could run many common computer software would be enough. Really, this is just a stupid idea. I'm not against porting a dictionary software to it, but having one if its 'angles' as an E-dictionary is just stupid.
What are the popular things nowadays?
HANDHELD GAMING PLATFORMS
MP3 PLAYERS
WEB-ENABLED DEVICES
... e dictionaries?
I don't think so.

Most people getting it are going to be relatively 'in the know' anyway, with computers and Linux and the like, and know that it would be possible to have one. I doubt you are going to be seeing soccer moms pick one up for their Little Billy at the local walmart.

 

[Chip]

Heh...

http://mdictionary.garage.maemo.org/



Well OK then. Fight away.

 

[Svartalf]

Well OK then. Fight away.

ROFLMAO!

 

[nubie]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: andora1: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: h34r: :lol: :lol: :lol:


Wow, I find this just too funny. an "e-dictionary"? Really?

There is nothing stopping anyone from doing this. But then again is there anyone stopping you from buying a used $30 Palm Pilot and using some e-dictionary software on that?

Yes, it has a computer chip and storage in it, yes it can run a program, oh you weren't talking about the DS, or the PSP, or the GP2X, or the GP32, or the Eeepc, or the Blackberry, or the Palm Pilot, or a Nokia, or a Samsung?

There is a $100 version of the Palm Pilot, I believe that it might make an excellent e-dictionary paired with the proper software.

I don't know about this, I really don't. I can't see it being "marketed" as an e-dictionary, not at that price tag.

I think that you would have to take a serious look at features and functionality, and user-base. Would it have voice recognition? Would it speak phrases? Who will spend the development money to write this software? If it exists for handhelds, then I have to believe that those handhelds are available more cheaply than a Pandora.

Trust me, anyone looking to buy a "e-dic" and not exploring those avenues of their already-owned cellphone or a palm pilot will probably be buying a $100 or less e-dictionary.

Maybe I am anal and don't like things that are illogical when it comes to plunking down $320 for a dictionary, or even being involved with a discussion about such a thing, aaaaaaagh, I must leave now!

Multi-functional? Why not get a smartphone with an Omap and a camera and wireless internet, and a built-in laser projector? The Pandora is not going to be any help in that arena. If you are carrying a Cellphone, and a pandora, that is already 2 items.

 

[WarmFluffyUK]

I think an E-Dictionary would be brilliant, it will simply be another add on to the future arsenal of programs the Pandora will have. Which yet again goes to prove what an amazingly versatile device it is!

Pandora: Whatever you want, it will be!

 

[Fishbong]

I´m a translatoion student and i'd love to see some dictionaries on the pandora. When i was using PalmOS (on the Zodiac) i used TomeRaider, which had a decent amout of very in-depth dictionaries. I mean, i got my dictionaries in paper form, but they weigh 2kg each, which is actually not very pocket friendly .
Lots of students have standalone electronic dictionaries by PONS and so forth, but well... monochrome display and no touchscreen is not really what a nerd like me wants.
TomeRaider is not opensource, there´s not even a Linux version of it, so we won´t see it on the pandora.

Bummer.

And to all amerifags who think once you speak a foreign language, you won't need dictionaries: You´re sadly mistaken.

 

[Esn]

Is it just me, or are most of the people who are saying that this idea is ridiculous Americans?

 

[PoisonedV]

Here we go with stupid american hate again.
@Fishbong and Esn, no one said there shouldn't be a dictionary application on there. We are saying, you shouldn't market Pandora as an e-dictionary device, which has been explained for numerous different reasons.
* There are better, cheaper, more focused ones out there
* Nobody would buy it for that one reason anyway
* Most people already know its capabilities as a UMPC type deal

 

[Fishbong]

Here we go with stupid american hate again.
@Fishbong and Esn, no one said there shouldn't be a dictionary application on there. We are saying, you shouldn't market Pandora as an e-dictionary device, which has been explained for numerous different reasons.

Sure. but what good opensource options does a linux user have?

* There are better, cheaper, more focused ones out there

Not cheaper than buying software for a device you own anyway.

* Nobody would buy it for that one reason anyway

I didn't buy a gp2x for the TV-out alone, but i value it and it was the reason i didn't just stick to my PSP.

* Most people already know its capabilities as a UMPC type deal

A LINUX Umpc. Don´t forget most UMPCs do run Windws.

 

[gaterooze]

Think about it this way. Someone is about to travel extensively and requires an e-dictionary. He or she is searching around for the best option. Through google they stumble onto the Pandora which lists among its many capabilities/uses, voila, e-dictionary. First thought: woah, that's expensive compared to the others I've seen. Second thought: wait a sec, it does this AND plays games, movies, MP3s, office software, web browsing, VOIP, has a big screen and decent-sized keyboard, all in a sturdy clamshell perfect for travelling? Sign me up!

I couldn't care less either way, but I think all the OP is talking about is, once the software is there, adding e-dictionary to the list of stuff the Pandora can do as it might attract a few more people to it.

 

[PoisonedV]

Here we go with stupid american hate again.
@Fishbong and Esn, no one said there shouldn't be a dictionary application on there. We are saying, you shouldn't market Pandora as an e-dictionary device, which has been explained for numerous different reasons.

Sure. but what good opensource options does a linux user have?

* There are better, cheaper, more focused ones out there

Not cheaper than buying software for a device you own anyway.

* Nobody would buy it for that one reason anyway

I didn't buy a gp2x for the TV-out alone, but i value it and it was the reason i didn't just stick to my PSP.

* Most people already know its capabilities as a UMPC type deal

A LINUX Umpc. Don´t forget most UMPCs do run Windws.

You didn't understand what I said, did you?

 

[Prophet]

Is it just me, or are most of the people who are saying that this idea is ridiculous Americans?

I'm American and am all for e-dictionary apps on Pandora.

Americans travel quite a lot, and we have a huge diversity of languages and cultures in our cities.

Being Canadian you should know that. Or maybe you don't like Americans and wanted to vent your bias. Hopefully not.

Whether or not people in need of electronic translation aids would embrace the Pandora over other solutions, is another story altogether.

 

[PoisonedV]

To punctuate my point:
http://www.engadget.com/tag/e-dictionary/

Don't even try to compete with half those guys.
Also, if someone is going to get the device soley for the e-dictionary, they are probably looking for ease of use and user friendliness, something linux hasn't exactly excelled in. Nor has GP2X/GP32.

 

[Svartalf]

Is it just me, or are most of the people who are saying that this idea is ridiculous Americans?

Excuse me... I am not saying that this is ridiculous- and I'm an American. I'm kind of keen on the idea, myself, even if it's not one of the main functions on the Pandora. I don't think that we should be selling
it as another e-Dictionary (Heh... Several people pointed out that there's several nice competing devices (Not to mention ETACO's and Franklin's lineup, the bulk of which are cheaper than the Pandora will be...))
as that isn't what this thing is.

It's a pocket computer that is tuned for gaming first and foremost.

Sure. but what good opensource options does a linux user have?

I believe that I pointed out there was at least ONE earlier in the thread...

QUOTE

Not cheaper than buying software for a device you own anyway.



This depends on the depth of the dictionary. It's going to be...difficult...to obtain more than just the software and a basic dictionary in hand from the FOSS community. The software looks good and is decent, but it's at the mercy of the database you can muster- and right now, the commercial people manage a bit more than we can. Moreover, you're going to find that unless the device has the breadth of customer base like something like a DS, Palm, Windows CE device, you're going to play HELL getting someone like Franklin, ETACO, etc. to MAKE you a program that will use their databases. And, again, it's the database that makes these programs useful.

QUOTE

I didn't buy a gp2x for the TV-out alone, but i value it and it was the reason i didn't just stick to my PSP.



I hate to disillusion you on that score. If you're here, you're NOT the norm any more than I or anyone
else in this forum. Your decisions aren't going to be the normative ones any more than mine.

QUOTE

A LINUX Umpc. Don´t forget most UMPCs do run Windws.



Considering that there's at least 5 or so that run Linux out of the gate as an option or the only choice "most" is only in the 60% range- which, while accurate, doesn't really describe the nature of the situation. Moreover, the people that would want to combine functions like you're wanting will tend to want an XP/Vista UMPC over the Linux one- unless they're like us crazies.

 

[fishybawb]

Americans travel quite a lot, and we have a huge diversity of languages and cultures in our cities.

So that's why only ~20% of Americans have a passport!

I'm not intending that to be US-bashing before anyone gets excitable - with the cultural diversity (and size) of the US, technically you can experience many different cultures without leaving the country.

I'm not sure why e-dictionaries are causing so much fuss, but yes, it'd be possible, and seeing as there are people interested in the idea, I'm sure there will be one at some point

 

[Svartalf]

So that's why only ~20% of Americans have a passport!

Considering that we've got a large population, ~20% isn't all that small a group of people. Heh... I need to remember to renew mine- I would like to go back over to the UK at some point and visit more of the countryside there.

QUOTE

I'm not intending that to be US-bashing before anyone gets excitable - with the cultural diversity (and size) of the US, technically you can experience many different cultures without leaving the country.



Heh... All you need do is go someplace like Dallas... Spanish is as common around here as English.

QUOTE

I'm not sure why e-dictionaries are causing so much fuss, but yes, it'd be possible, and seeing as there are people interested in the idea, I'm sure there will be one at some point



Yeah, I'm not quite sure what all the fuss is on this one... It's an app. If you can convince a dictionary vendor to MAKE one for us, great- but I'm not holding my breath on that one yet. Perhaps those of you out there wanting this so bad could work on making the Maemo version work for the Pandora and get better dictionaries available for it...

 

[Gilrad]

First off, to everybody saying that nobody would buy this as an e-dictionary alone, you're right. Also, nobody would buy the P as only an MP3 player, or as only a web browser, or as only an emulation and video game platform. The main attraction is in it's ability to do ALL of that, so saying that nobody would buy it as only an e-dict is like saying the ocean is blue. Good job on coming to basic logical conclusions!

Now with that said, the fact that there are not a whole lot of open source dictionaries out there isn't as bad as it sounds, because there are certainly a lot of open dictionary databases out there. It's just a matter of coding a little program to interpret the databases for use with the P.

And while I did say 'market it as an e-dict', I meant that in the same sense as 'market it as an emulation system' or 'market it as an mp3 player' or any other of it's features. Make it an officially recognized feature, and maybe add in some multi-language support and get some international sales.

 

[PoisonedV]

sdjfliudshgkl;okgyhj,gh[jyghkj
Fuck, Gilrad, you still aren't getting it- This essentially evolved from a gaming platform, and I am sure many people would still get it for that reason alone. All the other are popular features- not to mention applications/pda features, you would EXPECT an e-dictionary along with those. The people who are going to be buying the Pandora are people who already know the deal anyway. 'Open source, linux. That means it can port applications easily, I bet it would have an e-dictionary.' Why add more useless babble? Hey, it could have a sketch program too! And spreadsheets! Scientific calculator!


PANDORA!
THE NEW E-DICTIONARY/SPREADSHEET/SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR!
Oh yeah, it plays games too!

You guys don't seem to 'get' what we are saying.

 

[Insanemal]

sdjfliudshgkl;okgyhj,gh[jyghkj
Fuck, Gilrad, you still aren't getting it- This essentially evolved from a gaming platform, and I am sure many people would still get it for that reason alone. All the other are popular features- not to mention applications/pda features, you would EXPECT an e-dictionary along with those. The people who are going to be buying the Pandora are people who already know the deal anyway. 'Open source, linux. That means it can port applications easily, I bet it would have an e-dictionary.' Why add more useless babble? Hey, it could have a sketch program too! And spreadsheets! Scientific calculator!

PANDORA!
THE NEW E-DICTIONARY/SPREADSHEET/SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR!
Oh yeah, it plays games too!

You guys don't seem to 'get' what we are saying.


PANDORA!
THE NEW HANDHELD GAME DEVICE
OH YEAH!!! IT'S AN E-DICTIONARY/SPREADSHEET/SCIENTIFIC CALCULATOR TOO! NOW YOU HAVE AWESOME EXCUSES!
tl;dr i win

 

[Tobriand]

Ok, typical warning post before thread closure: everyone BE NICE and stay on topic.

If I get any more hints that this is degenerating into a test of who has the bigger can of napalm, then this whole thread is getting the flaming padlock of doom attached to it.