매튜의 한국어 연습 블로그

I've had this question asked a lot and I figured i should write a small post. The original review was in the KC101 forums and there is still a lot of good discussion about dictionaries there but I will just repost my review of the dictionary I actually use. I wrote this review almost two years ago and I;m still happy with this model. Great product that I whole-heartedly recommend. I'll only edit my post a little, but I must say that it looks like iRiver has discontinued the model but is still keeping the product line.

I would like to have a post about personal opinions on electronic dictionaries. I went through a lengthy trial-and-error process when I was shopping for one mainly because there was not a big wealth of knowledge on the subject (at least, knowledge that was written in English). I hope this post can be a beacon for other potential shoppers.

IRiver D30 (iRiver product page) (review in Korean)
Summary:
- A PMP (Portable Media Player) that has multiple dictionaries and phrasebooks
Pros:
- Korean - English
- English - Korean
- Korean - Japanese
- Korean - Chinese
- DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting)
- mp3 player, FM radio
- 2GB built in SSD
- .pdf and CSD reader
- small, lightweight (same dimensions as Nintendo DS Lite)
- high quality voice acting for phrasebook
- Korean and English keyboard
- Easy to use GUI
- long life battery
- very quick on and off function
- customizable desktop with your own photo
- good sized keyboard and layout - not too small
Cons:
- written for a Korean audience, so menu is in Korean (a con for beginners)
- phrasebooks are not as useful for native English speakers (geared for those learning English)
- DMB not available in America (too bad too, free TV is always a good thing)
- Price (roughly 450 USD) (at time of purchase almost two years ago)
- must charge battery via USB if not in Korea
- Only available in Korea (bought mine on US ebay though - at a slight premium)
- Support is pretty much only in Korean
- Almost too many features (intimidating for non-techies)
- cannot go from English - Japanese
- cannot go from English - Chinese
Overall:
- Fantastic little thing with over 80 different dictionaries that has served me well
- Two years later, still making classmates jealous