Where can I buy used denshi jisho in Japan?

[Adhesive]

I'm trying to find a used denshi jisho, but I'm in Kyushuu and all the newer models cost more than I want to pay. I don't mind looking up kanji by radicals, and I don't need any fancy features...well, some furigana or romaji capabilies would be nice. I'm used to finding virtually anyhting I want via craigslist in teh States, so I'm having a hard time figuring out what Japanese use to sell last year's model. Do they just throw the stuff out? I don't want to play the auction game either...aren't there any free web classifieds?

[GomiGirl]

Why buy an expensive dictionary when you can have a fab one for just 315 yen a month on your phone. Has everything you need for looking up Kanji by radicals, parts etc as well as the readings and romaji options too.

However, if you simply must get another thing to carry around, you can always try the second hand bookshops like Blue Parrot in Takadanobaba as I think I have seen used ones there before.

Edit - sorry - just saw that you are in Kyushuu - do you have used bookshops in your area? Even more reason to use TangoTown as this can be used anywhere in japan and even outside Japan on a roaming contract. Great for the new 60 language multilingual machine translation feature we have just added.

/ shameless self promotion

[Adhesive]

Why buy an expensive dictionary when you can have a fab one for just 315 yen a month on your phone. ]must[/I] get another thing to carry around, you can always try the second hand bookshops like Blue Parrot in Takadanobaba as I think I have seen used ones there before.

Edit - sorry - just saw that you are in Kyushuu - do you have used bookshops in your area? Even more reason to use TangoTown as this can be used anywhere in japan and even outside Japan on a roaming contract. Great for the new 60 language multilingual machine translation feature we have just added.

/ shameless self promotion

Would love to have that, but I'm not staying here permanently, just visiting the in-laws...I'll be back home soon. I couldn't use that service with an American carrier could I?

[Greji]

/ shameless self promotion

Spam?

[ttjereth]

I'm trying to find a used denshi jisho, but I'm in Kyushuu and all the newer models cost more than I want to pay. I don't mind looking up kanji by radicals, and I don't need any fancy features...well, some furigana or romaji capabilies would be nice. I'm used to finding virtually anyhting I want via craigslist in teh States, so I'm having a hard time figuring out what Japanese use to sell last year's model. Do they just throw the stuff out? I don't want to play the auction game either...aren't there any free web classifieds?

Online,

How much are you looking/willing to pay? I can't find any used stuff online anywhere, although I know I have seen used dictionaries for sale in second hand shops. But if you don't want/need a ton of fancy features, you can probably find something new within your price range (unless you're looking for really cheap, in which case you probably won't find it used either, this is Japan afterall... where I still see them selling 400mhz used pcs for hundreds of dollars...)

[hundefar]

How about buying a Nintendo DS and that kanji dictionary software? I have it and it works fine, though it is far from perfect.

[Adhesive]

You know, I'm seriously considering just getting a phone with pda abilities like the palm trio and loading up some translation software. This seems more practical and a better bargain. Anyone have any cautionary advice against this?

[omae mona]

Adhesive - unfortunately I really don't know anything about translation software that can be loaded into a phone. But my only advice is that the quality and size of the underlying dictionary database makes a big difference. e.g. my denshi jisho sports the koujien dictionary for J-J lookups, Kenkyusha's New College dictionary for J-E, etc. I'm very happy with it.

[CrankyBastard]

http://search.kakaku.com/ksearch/search.aspx?l=l&n=20&query=%93d%8Eq%8E%AB%8F%91&s=popular&p=2&a=2,2

click your desired price range left hand side.

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

You know, I'm seriously considering just getting a phone with pda abilities like the palm trio and loading up some translation software. This seems more practical and a better bargain. Anyone have any cautionary advice against this?

You could try a Edict. I've run it on a Cassopeia and recently on an X01HT phone Mini Japanese Dictionary (MJDict). Also tried Ookii using the same dictionary files but had some issues with it.
Advantages: Handwriting of kanji.
Disadvantages: Radical lookup and usage examples not as strong as a dedicated jisho.

[ttjereth]

You know, I'm seriously considering just getting a phone with pda abilities like the palm trio and loading up some translation software. This seems more practical and a better bargain. Anyone have any cautionary advice against this?

Caveats
1. If you use free software, a lot of it is severely lacking when compared to any type of commercial dictionary (the only exception I can think of is PDIC with Eijiro, although the newest version of eijiro costs a minimal amount of money, however since the dictionary is made up of contributions from users and a great many of the users are Japanese, there is a great deal of "Engrish" there).

2. Most of the software available is straight "look up a word" or "translate a section of text word for word" (generally shit, but can occasionally be helpful) and has no kanji lookup capabilities whatsoever, or if it does have it, is extraordinarily clunky and difficult to use. The upside here is that if you have it on a mobile device of some sort and you are trying to translate something from the device you can simply copy+paste it without having to be able to read the kanji, if you're trying to input something from say a sign or book you are looking at and don't know the reading however, then things can get tedious.

3. The phone, obviously, needs to have support for Japanese character display and input.

[GomiGirl]

Unlikely that you will get translation software as a discrete app for a mobile device. Memory is way too limited. Unless Systrans (who I really think are the best overall) has a mobile app. Most of the serious translation stuff is server based but the PC stuff is getting better. Still not perfect for asian languages but they are improving in leaps and bounds.

For a dictionary - it really all depends on your needs and your language skill level. For basic stuff the freeware (shudder) will get you out of trouble but they are usually just knocked together in somebodies basement for their own personal use. If you are really wanting serious kanji tools then you will have to pay for it. This is the incentive for companies to keep working on these tools to improve them - which benefits you in the long run.

[ttjereth]

Unlikely that you will get translation software as a discrete app for a mobile device. Memory is way too limited. Unless Systrans (who I really think are the best overall) has a mobile app. Most of the serious translation stuff is server based but the PC stuff is getting better. Still not perfect for asian languages but they are improving in leaps and bounds.

Translation memory (or integrated apps) tends to be server based, but machine translation is most often a stand alone app, and phones that can run windows ce should be able to run a fairly large chunk of the more basic apps out there as long as he doesn't want fancy features. A simple app using copy and paste to translate (or that reads from the "clipboard") shouldn't be too bad. I have several right now which all come in well under 1mb in memory usage.

If he wants fancy features (like some of the systran options, translation as you type, etc.) then he'd be out of luck, but since he's looking for something economical I doubt he's going to be buying any of the systran suites anyway ]Babelfish [/URL]is a slightly older version of Systran, try it and you will see why I am not terribly worried about job security as a translator ).

[GomiGirl]

Of course using any sort of machine translation you should have an understanding of the original language for it to be of any use - and use as a guide only. However, for very basic sentences using simple grammar they can get ou out of trouble - eg in Russia I was able to get myself around and fed and bribe a police officer without too much grief. But anybody who uses machine translation for real language work is an idiot.

So yes your job as a translator is certainly safe - as it should be. I really don't see a time where there will be any sort of substitute for the human touch.

[Adhesive]

Well, I'm not really looking for something that will translate sentences, especially considering how bad most translation programs typically do their job. I understand Japanese grammar fairly well, having studied Japanese at the University level for 3 solid years, so what I really need is a dictionary capable of recognizing kanji input and giving me basic word trasnlations.

I'm seriously considering using this: http://padict.sourceforge.net/?page=walkthrough

on something like this:http://www.palm.com/us/products/smartphones/treo680/

This will allow me to have a single device for all of my basic day-to-day needs for under $100.



I found this thread useful in explaining the benifits of a PDA (second to last post):http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+24804

I think even some of you who already have denhi jisho may want to check it out.