Franklin German - English Dictionary Bookman Cartridge

I bought this before going on a 10 day trip to Germany. I don't think I ever used it. It was easier to open a small English->German, German->English dictionary I carried around in my purse. The user interface for this module was cumbersome and thus did not serve much purpose on my recent trip. If I were taking a German course as a student it might prove to be more useful.

Whatever the faults of Franklin's German-English pro dictionary, none can be ascribed to the dictionary per se, but rather arise from a few awkward circumstances in the Franklin hardware. The plug-in dictionary is far superior to the LingvoSoft dictionary, and even to the no-longer available electronic Collins product. Synonyms are rich, as are numerous useage examples. The supporting hardware could be improved in a few minor ways, as screen-to-screen navigation can be cumbersome, I personally would like to store more than 40 new words in the learning list, and sometimes a back light would be nice. Unlike other reviewers, I've had no problems with durability, and I've had to swap out the AAA batteries only once in four months of rather heavy use. I use rechargeables to reduce costs and environmental impact, and as I prepared myself to move quickly, I did not have a problem with memory loss. Ironically, the Spanish-English dictionary that is hard wired in the unit is not nearly as complete or satisfying; the German version closely mimics the hardbound collegiate dictionary that might sit on one's bookshelf, whereas the Spanish one comes closer to the lightweight flexibly bound reference you should more sensibly pack for that Barcelona trip. It's not bad, it just fails to take advantage of the tremendous potential of the electonic format.

It's a good and convenient product for my Franklin SCD-1870. However, it would be better if it had come with some type of back cover/case for the cartridge for when it's not installed in the SCD-1870. Having back covers/cases for the cartridges would prevent scratches or dirt from getting on the exposed contacts when lugging them around while traveling (we're not even supposed to touch the metal contacts with our statically charged fingers).

I have the (speaking) Spanish, Italian, and German (has the best features & tool of these 3) dictionary bookmans, at $19.99 each. I first purchased the German dictionary from J&R with $5.99 shipping and handling; I then later purchased the Italian and the Spanish (which has an annoying tiny & not expandable read screen) dictionaries from AimHi (of IL) and didn't have to pay any shipping and handling (received them on the 3rd day after placing the order). So, the "good-gadget" factor was even greater than the first purchase.

Speedy service of a great product. I wouldn't hesitate to do business here again.

I enjoy this dictionary in reading German literature. I find it very helpful. I am only sorry that there is no button for the verbs conjugations on my bookman model and therefore I cannot use this feature.

This plugin works reasonably well and has very complete definitions. There are lots of examples and it that works well for those of us with a mid level of German. Not all of the menues are tranlated into English after selecting the language, but that isn't much of a problem. The biggest problem is the it is not very secure in its holder and resets the whole Bookman if it is pushed the wrong way. That is likely a Bookman problem and not just this cartridge.