Reading eBooks has an advantage that reading paper books doesn’t have: the ability to look up a word without having to reach for the dictionary. With the Point and Click Dictionary from Hammacher Schlemmer, you’ll be able to look up words without having a drag out the Webster’s. You simply lift the integrated flip-up camera to scan a word, and the definition, comprehensive etymologies, and related word forms will be displayed on the 2.4″ color LCD (320 x 240 resolutiion). You can hear the pronunciation on the built-in speaker. The device uses the “500,000 definitions from the Collins English Dictionary and offers translations to and from French, Italian, Spanish, and German using the award-winning Collins foreign language dictionaries.” There’s a lot of punch in this 3 1/2″ L X 2 1/4″ W X 3/4″ D, 2.7 ounce package. It can also be used as an MP3 player, voice recorder, and picture viewer, and it has a touchscreen that you navigate with your finger or the included stylus. The Point and Click Dictionary is $279.95.
Look Up Words in a Paper Book with a Point and Click
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Wow, almost $300. Somebody should whip up an Android/iPhone app that can use the built-in camera and doing the same thing for $0.99.
I had purchased a similar item several years ago (maybe 7?) It was in the shape of a scan-pen and you ran it across the word. It would “READ” the word in a computer voice and you had a display where you could read the definition or push a button and have it read to you.
I got this for my sister who had suffered a stroke and couldn’t recognize some words by READING them, but knew them when she heard them. It helped her with bills/news papers.
And that item was around $150. Color and a big screen must be $pendy….
@MJ: Google Googles can look up words for you, and it’s a free app…
Funny, I am so used to reading eBooks now, that when I read a paper book I find my myself pressing down on an unknown word to get its definition…
That’s funny, Bob! I’ve done that too. Great minds think alike! 😉
What is this? An article from 2002?