Still No Searchable Dictionary

[RossTexas]

I reach a lot of dead ends with current low end dictionary. At least an option to search for a word would help these pitfalls. I'm done asking though. I posted this many many months ago with many others feeling the same. Yet B&N did absolutely nothing significant I could see in their 2 updates but address simple programming issues.  I do regret ever buying it and, after new versions come, I will buy the next kindle. I've seen the kindle touch and it has a great "searchable" dictionary and if they still keep it I am game. For B&N, apparently nice graphics and backlights were more important to work on than the actual content and resources for a quality reading experience. 

If others are dissatistifed with the current dictionary quality and features then please join me and post. The more people speak out the higher the chance of B&N realizing it.

[RHWright]

It's rare that a device with multiple features will do everything everyone would like. (Though I agree with you, I would like a better/searchable dictionary or at least options to buy them.)

Sometimes, an individual may get lucky and a particular device will perfectly align with their wants. For you, that may be a future generation of Kindle. If so, so be it and good luck.

But that device will probably not meet someone else's needs. Such is life. We all have different sets of needs. Some overlap, some don't.

Personally, I don't find this to be my #1 frustration. It might crack the top 10. But is definitely below better shelving capabilities, not having SD card items dropped from shelves when you power down and restart, and offline marking of items to archive at the next sync.

[gstone]

I would take a look at Sony's readers.

They advertise two built in english dictionaries, several foriegn languare dictionaries and the ability to look up on Wikipedia.

[MacMcK1957]

I guess it all depends on what you're looking for.  I'm with RHW.  A dictionary really has no value to me, but I'd really love to see improvements in shelving, wishlists, and metadata handling.

[h2oskierc]

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RHWright wrote:

Personally, I don't find this to be my #1 frustration. It might crack the top 10. But is definitely below better shelving capabilities, not having SD card items dropped from shelves when you power down and restart, and offline marking of items to archive at the next sync.

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I don't even put this on my top 10.  Give me a better way to shelve books (via the B&N website, for instance) is definetly number 1 on my list.

[keriflur]

Here's the thing for me - It's been a year since the N2E came out and people started complaining about the shelving, the home page functionality, and the lack of whole-device password protection.  The N1E came out two and a half years ago, and that's when people started complaining about the dictionary not being searchable, and notes and highlights not working well or being exportable.  It's been at least that long that people have been complaining about erotica coming up in every search.

So, if B&N had hired one competent programmer, just one, to do all of this work, it'd all be done by now.  Even if that person only worked part time.  How much is one head count, or a half a head count (for a part-timer)?  Next to nothing for a big company like B&N.

[RossTexas]

The importance of the dictionary features matters on what type of books you're reading and your level of vocabulary. Most well written novels have a lot of vocabulary, where majority of people need to look up the wrods. I see no excuse for not having a dictionary with features that is capable of providing the resources necessary, especially in this day and age when competition does so. Most companies do their best to outperform the competition and that is to be expected of any product. 

I agree with you, the sony has a lot of features and worth looking into. 

[MarkinStLouis]

I've pretty much given up on my wishlist. Better shelving is at the top of the list, with the dictionary being close to the top. I agree with keriflur that this these things should have already been fixed. It just frustrates me that one of the apps that B&N started with (the one that was originally from Palm Digital Media) had the perfect (or close enough to it) shelving system, yet their dedicated e-reader can't have it. Hell, my first gen Sony ereader has better shelving options! Anyway, to get back on topic, it would be nice to have a searchable dictionary, maybe even one that would let you look up words online. Just a thought.

[MacMcK1957]

They had a perfectly serviceable shelving system on the first Nook. The only problem with that one was that downloaded B&N content and side loaded books were in separate libraries.

[lindajm22]

The only time I really need a searchable dictionary is when a word I want to look up gets hyphenated and I can't look it up.  I hate that.

[RJR443]

I hate it too, and when it happens, I solve the problem by resizing the font until the word has repositioned itself so that it's not hyphenated.

[frantastk]

A dictionary, searchable or not, is on the bottom of my list of what I want from my nook. I have never (probably not since elementary school, anyway) read a book with a dictionary next to me. I have never found a need to look up words while I read. I don't know anyone in real life who actually does this. The only time I find myself stumped on a word is when an author throws in words in a foreign language I'm not familiar with and usually if it's latin based I can work it out (I find it fun, really). I understand that others may want this but I'm not sure if the majority of people use a dictionary while they read.

Frankly, I wish B&N would concentrate on library management and their website/store. Ironically, the reader I'm considering for my next reader has a virtaully nonexistant library management (no shelving feature at all as far as I can tell) and an even worse website than B&N . 

[keriflur]

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frantastk wrote:

I have never found a need to look up words while I read. I don't know anyone in real life who actually does this.

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I do this!  But, I'm weird.

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frantastk wrote:

Frankly, I wish B&N would concentrate on library management and their website/store. Ironically, the reader I'm considering for my next reader has a virtaully nonexistant library management (no shelving feature at all as far as I can tell) and an even worse website than B&N . 

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So... Sony?

[MarkinStLouis]

When reading dead tree books, I don't generally stop to look up words in a dictionary mainly because it is too much of an inconvenience. The only time I do stop to look up a word while reading a paper book is if I really can't figure out what the author means without doing it. Now, in the digital age, I find myself looking up more words, as the inconvenience is effectively gone. Seeing as I'm not the most literate person in the world, I need all the help I can get!

[RJR443]

Not so very weird, Keriflur.  Maybe because I have advanced degrees (in English /linguistics), I'm always clicking on a word, mostly to find out its etymology ( and to discover along the way some of the unlikely words it's related to) and its approximate time of entry into the language.

Now that's weird.

[frantastk]

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keriflur wrote:

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frantastk wrote:

I have never found a need to look up words while I read. I don't know anyone in real life who actually does this.

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I do this!  But, I'm weird.

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frantastk wrote:

Frankly, I wish B&N would concentrate on library management and their website/store. Ironically, the reader I'm considering for my next reader has a virtaully nonexistant library management (no shelving feature at all as far as I can tell) and an even worse website than B&N . 

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So... Sony?

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Yeah, I'm pretty weird. I actually read through our entire dictionary and encyclopedia set when I was a kid, for fun. I can still (and do sometimes) sit and read through the dictionary. It's fun for me! But I just don't like to look up words while I read. I understand people who do, it's just that for me, it is too much of an interuption to the story (and I get enough of those in the form of 3 little people).

Oh, and I'm actually looking into the Kobo.  I have no plans for a new reader in the immediate future but I like to know all my options just in case. 

[keriflur]

I actually like the Kobo site.  I don't browse it ever, though - I always know what book I'm looking for when I go, and I'm only there for the time it takes to find and buy the book.  I used to use it for reading, back before they had PC software and you could read the books online, but now I pretty much buy and run.

Their Android app used to be really good, but they're trying to make it a goodreads-type social network, and so there are a million "notifications" that just get in the way of the core functionality.

Also, their customer service is really poor.  Just a heads up.

[kamas716]

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frantastk wrote:

A dictionary, searchable or not, is on the bottom of my list of what I want from my nook. I have never (probably not since elementary school, anyway) read a book with a dictionary next to me. I have never found a need to look up words while I read. I don't know anyone in real life who actually does this.

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*raises hand sheepishly*

I use the dictionary quite a bit, more so for eBooks because it's handier when it's right on the device, but also for DTBs.  At work I tend to use online dictionaries more than physical ones.  But at home, my pocket Webster's sits on my night stand next to my DTB I'm reading.

[DrCharlie]

I'm late on this thread but I do agree a better dictionary is needed. Sorry I'm not as smart as other people on this thread who dont care about dictionaries or dont know real life people but the real life people I know aren't walking dictionaries and like to know what some words mean. Whether you want a searchable dictionary or not the point is this: the tablet and color have it so it would not take much to have it on the ST and NSTG. And the Kindle has it too. Come on B&N, I really want to support you but if you want to reach the top, look at your competitors. You've got a great product but you've got to keep it the best.

[SusieLMNOP]

My #1 reason for wanting a searchable dictionary is to look up words that are used in other definitions! The built-in dictionary is full of vague definitions and often I want more info on the root word or other related words.  (For the record, I'm mostly interested in shades or meaning and the author's word choices, but yeah, I use the dictionary a lot!)