Electronic Talking Dictionaries

[Upcountry]

You may have seen Thai students, doctors, etc., using electronic dictionaries, including those that are "talking dict" units - with an electronic or human sounding voice that pronounces English words.

I got the idea that maybe one that pronounces Thai would help me get words down right, as I try to improve my Thai, and also help in situations where my speaking partner doesn't know the English word I'm trying say in Thai. Obviously the standard printed English/Thai dictionary helps (point to the word), but being able to hear it pronounced is invaluable.

Talking dictionaries seem to have progressed a lot lately. I saw one at Lotus (Besta brand?) that cost 16k Baht. It includes a video movie type player (for dialog examples), which seems like overkill. This was they only unit they offered with the Thai pronunciation voice feature.

Big C has the "E Dict" Language Translator brand. Again, only the top end model does Thai. It's the 401N, and it also does Chinese and Japanese. It's a bit thick but otherwise compact, one small speaker that puts out a "human voice". The regular price is supposedly 7900 baht, but it was on sale yesterday for 5900 baht.

I wonder if this is the best choice. Do you know of a better one, or where I can get the 401N at a vastly better price? 6K is a chunk of change, but considering the price of mobile phones, not too out of line.

[pgs]

You may have seen Thai students, doctors, etc., using electronic dictionaries, including those that are "talking dict" units - with an electronic or human sounding voice that pronounces English words.

I got the idea that maybe one that pronounces Thai would help me get words down right, as I try to improve my Thai, and also help in situations where my speaking partner doesn't know the English word I'm trying say in Thai. Obviously the standard printed English/Thai dictionary helps (point to the word), but being able to hear it pronounced is invaluable.

Talking dictionaries seem to have progressed a lot lately. I saw one at Lotus (Besta brand?) that cost 16k Baht. It includes a video movie type player (for dialog examples), which seems like overkill. This was they only unit they offered with the Thai pronunciation voice feature.

Big C has the "E Dict" Language Translator brand. Again, only the top end model does Thai. It's the 401N, and it also does Chinese and Japanese. It's a bit thick but otherwise compact, one small speaker that puts out a "human voice". The regular price is supposedly 7900 baht, but it was on sale yesterday for 5900 baht.

I wonder if this is the best choice. Do you know of a better one, or where I can get the 401N at a vastly better price? 6K is a chunk of change, but considering the price of mobile phones, not too out of line.

These are pretty good. A lot cheaper in BKK than the US or Oz. Try also Pantip Plaza (L2).