Monday, April 13, 2009

How much would you pay for an iPhone dictionary?


After about six months of use I am at last sorting out the good, bad and ugly applications. Some apps are just brilliant and in daily use such as Oz Weather and Google Maps. Others are nice to use and yet others have been deleted never to return.

One app though seems to me to be extraordinary value for money and that is Dictionary.com.

Dictionary.com is an online dictionary that is up to the standard of a quality home dictionary without the nuisance of taking out several large volumes from the shelf. They have now added a fantastic application to the iPhone and all for the princely sum of nothing. Yes, that is correct, this app is free.

I have been comparing it with the dictionary I would prefer, the AU$40 Oxford dictionary and although the Oxford is somewhat better there is no way I can justify $40 when the Dictionary.com is free. In many cases the entries in Dictionary.com and the Oxford are all but identical.

Not only do you get the dictionary but you also get the pronunciation, the Thesaurus and a word of the day. The WOD does require online access but the dictionary and Thesaurus are both offline. The text entry also does a spell check and suggests similar words just in case, like me, your spelling is less than perfect. It also keeps a history of recent words. If you have a word in one of the three screens, Dictionary, Thesaurus WOD, selecting another screen will perform a look up in that screen.

As far as I am concerned this is going to be my standard "pocket" dictionary unless I can get the Oxford for a substantial discount.

See Whats On iPhone for another view.