*warning: PDA newbie alert*
Hey all,
I'm looking to buy my first PDA in the very near future. However, I really don't know very much about them, and the research I have done myself still leaves many unanswered questions.
Anyway, here is what I need my PDA to be able to do: recognize handwritten kanji input, and at the very least return the "on" and "kun" pronunciations, and at the most (and preferably) alse return an English definition. Also, individual kanji would be great, but being able to input words with multiple kanji would be even better.
The purpose is because I may be moving to Japan in a few months, and my Japanese isn't as strong as it should be (especially reading anything more than the kana). A device that can fulfil this function
quickly would incredibly convenient and useful. My vision is to be able to be walking down the street, see a sign that I am unable to read (or an ad or anything else), input it into my PDA, and get a definition.
So, I have been looking for things to do this, and here is what I have found so far that may be useful to me.
For the Newton:
nJIM - The Newton Japanese Input Method. The english documentation to this is pretty slim, so I am not completely sure if this will fulfil or help fulfil my needs.
Izumi - From what I can make of it, this seems a lot closer to what I am looking for. However, it does not appear to handle direct handwritten kanji input. And I don't know if it gives defintions.
For the Visor(PalmOS):
KanjiPad - This is a PalmOS port of the *nix Japanese HWR program Kanjipad. It seems to pretty much do exactly what I am looking for. However, I don't know how well it works. Does it store the J-E dictionary on the PDA, or does it need to be hooked up to a computer to be used (the page said something about synching some of the files). How much memory is needed to store a J-E kanji dictionary? At least on that holds the definitions for the 1945 jouyou kanji?
Ok, so it seems the Visor has what I want. But I am still not sure because I have no idea about PDAs. I have been told great things about the Newton (such as superior HWR) and it has features that I like (PC card expandability, connecting to my mac over ethernet w/ the proper PC card, rechargeable, made by Apple so it has that Apple "feel"). Also, I have seen Newton MP2100s w/ 32MB flash card for under $400 and I have seen ethernet PC Cards, such as those by 3com for very cheap.
However, the Visor seems to have its niceties too. Smaller form factor, plugs into my G4 right out of the box via USB, also expandable (using the springboard stuff), etc. I can get one brand new w/ a 16MB flash card for ~$350.
So, what do you all think? How much memory do I need to accomplish my goal here? Where can a newbie learn more about this sort of thing? Does anyone know of any more software solutions that would help me accomplish this?
Also, I need to keep in mind MacOS X compatability. I'm guessing that neither of these devices will be OS X ready by the 24th, but which has a greater chance of being supported sooner (or does accessing a Newton over ethernet make OS X compatability as easy as networking to another machine?).
I greatly appreciate any help that you all can offer.
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It's your music. Burn it on a Mac. Dig?" - George Clinton
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