In last November's issue, we took a look at Wikipedia and a few other free references, both online and offline. I'd like to follow up on that by pointing you to some free dictionaries, some free eBooks that help you use your device, and news about updates of some of the top free software and services for Windows Mobile.
Freeware dictionaries
I've seen occasional discussion in the Pocket PC newsgroup about favorite freeware dictionaries.
PocketDict is a free dictionary program based on the Online Plain Text English Dictionary.
PocketDict (http://cellosoft.com/software/pocketpc.php) is one of the more popular choices. You need to download and install the PocketDict application as well as the separate 8 MB dictionary file. Fortunately, these can go on a storage card. The dictionary file is based on the Online Plain Text English Dictionary (OPTED), which itself is based on the 1913 Webster's unabridged dictionary. Because PocketDict and the data file are separate, you can use the application with other dictionary files. The Cellosoft Web site also has a link to a version of the Microsoft Encarta dictionary that has been converted to a data file that will work with PocketDict. These two data sources combine a large corpus of words with a more modern lexicon. The site also has an English-to-Spanish dictionary you can download.
(top/bottom)WorldNetCE is a free dictionary program available for the Pocket PC and Smartphone.
WordNetCE (http://www.ebswift.com/PocketPC/WordNet) is a good free dictionary with some remarkable features. It's based on Princeton's WordNet lexical database, which is organized by meanings. Ebswift.com, the developer of WordNetCE, also has a version online (http://www.ebswift.com/WordNetASPNET/), so you can try it on the Web first to get an idea how it works. WordNetCE's advanced search features make it every bit as good as or better than other electronic dictionaries. These features include wildcard, regular expression, anagram, scrabble, and sounds like. It also has both British and American spelling. It works well with VGA screens and has adjustable font size. The 150,000-word lexicon includes many modern words.
Note that installation is not as straightforward as you might expect. It's necessary to first install WordNet on your PC, then find the dictionary that was installed on your PC and move it to a storage card. Then you install the Windows Mobile version of WordNet.
BDicty Dictionary for Pocket PC.
Like PocketDict, BDicty Dictionary for Pocket PC (http://www.beiks.com/PocketPC) is a specialized reader application that requires you to download a separate data file. The reader application is a free download and the Beiks Web sitehas a number of excellent commercial dictionary data files, including an English dictionary and thesaurus. A number of free, specialized dictionary data files are also available (http://www.beiks.com/palm/Free_dictionaries.htm). Unfortunately, I could not find a standard English language dictionary/thesaurus available for free. BDicty is easy to use and won our 2005 Best Software Award in the thesaurus category.
Online dictionaries: Mobile.Answers.com
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