Electronic Translator Model Maze Road Map

You've probably noticed a dizzying array of translator devices and are wondering how the heck you are going to sort through all those to figure out which one you need. Help is here!

The translator you want is the iTravl. No ifs, ands, or buts. Nothing else even comes close. The iTravl comes in a few variations:

Single language pairs | Multiple language pairs | Alpine | 5-packs

Translate 9 languages with the 9-Language Electronic Translator iTravl 9C: English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish.

The 9C features full text translation (enter your own sentences), voice output, speech recognition, Language Teacher, and travel guide. 5.2 million words and 63,000 categorized phrases. Color touch screen, virtual keyboards with full character sets.. About the size of a cell phone, similar controls. Buy from us for the best combination of service and savings.

Below is some older text about the models that preceded the iTravl.

Bird's eye view

Let's quickly get an overview, then look more closely at each model series.

For most languages, there are three levels of device:

PB series. Barebones.
TL-2 series. Old.
800 series. Better.

And also, a new one: iTravl (also best--just in a different way). Compare iTravl to 800 here.

What these don't do

People often ask for a device you talk into, and it speaks back out, all translated. There are practical and economical reasons for such a device not to exist.

What these do

Generally, they provide one-word lookups and canned phrases. The variations of how they do this make some models much better than others. Some models do provide sentence translation in specific languages.

There are additional models in various languages. These models include:

TL-2 series (multiple language).
X-5/X8 series.
Lingo models.
400 series.
Translating scanning pens.
Some miscellaneous models.

Additionally, other companies present even more models--ones we don't carry. The reason we don't carry those is we don't believe they provide a good value or a good user experience. We put a lot of effort into determining this, so maybe "believe" is too mild of a word here.

Thumbnail of each model/series

At the top of each category, you will generally see translation devices presented with three specific series in the order of 800, TL, and PB. The reason for that order is we show you the best-value device first. As you go down the list, you get less unit for your money, but you spend less money to get the unit.

Here, we're going to present them in the opposite order to make things easier to understand. Each one can do everything the one before it can do, but more.

PB series. The PB is a pure phrasebook, with voice output. Functionally, it's a (very) trimmed down version of the TL-2, making it an inexpensive traveler's tool. Additionally, you can change to a different language by simply swapping out a $50 MMC_card card that we sell for only $47.

TL-2 series. The TL-2 does everything the PB does, and more. The "more" part includes such things as a massive dictionary (one-word lookups), Speech_input., Sentence_builder, a ruggedized case, and some other touches. For example, it can display possible replies you may hear in response to a phrase it just spoke to the other person. It also allows you to adjust the screen font sizes to small, medium, or large.

800 series. This is the tool you want for business communication. While the TL comes in a ruggedized case, the 800 comes in a more stylish flip-open pocket device configuration. The 800 has all of the features of the TL, plus:

Color screen (with adjustable color schemes), to aid visibility under different lighting conditions. So, you can adjust the fonts, contrast, brightness, and colors to maximize usability (the screens on the PB and TL are black and white).
Physical keyboard (in addition to the virtual keyboard, which is also a TL feature).
WordNet Princeton edition English-English dictionary of modern English, with over 70,000 head words and detailed explanations.

SAT 200 and SAT 5000 vocabularies (to help prepare for English language tests--useful for students of English).
Type in sentences and get them translated, if the language is Polish, Russian, or Spanish.

About commonly misunderstood features:

Multimedia Cards (MMCs). The physical cards themselves are simply media. What's on the cards is what matters. Each MultiMedia Card (MMC) contains the programming and data for creating another device virtually. It just runs inside the hardware you already have.

There's a huge list of available languages. Buy one device, but have many devices very inexpensively. In some languages, the TL and 800 cards have truly massive vocabularies. In other languages, the vocabulary isn't so massive because language itself isn't massive.
Sentence builder. Choose from the huge selection of phrases (all conveniently organized for fast selection, plus you have voice-operated lookup available). Substitute pieces of the phrase to create a new phrase. A "phrase" is actually a complete sentence. It's called a "phrase" out of tradition and to distinguish from the few models that permit typing in a random sentence. This feature is on all 800 and TL models. Once you become adept at it, you'll be able to quickly translate sentences.

Speech input. It's not actually "speak in and get the translation out," so don't assume that. All translation is done text to text, inside the unit. You then have inputs and outputs to the part that does the translating. Speech input is (at this time) a "shortcut" method for looking things up. You will still interact with the screen. See also: Voice on Electronic Translators: Cutting Through the Confusion.
Straps. The PB has a neck strap, the TL has a wrist strap, and the 800 has no strap at all. What gives? The reason is the different form factors of the three devices, and how they're meant to be carried and used. The 800, for example, folds up and slips into your pocket. You can see this same strap differentiation among various other families of electronic devices (e.g., phones and cameras).

More info, below....

After these three (PB, TL, 800), we follow with additional models. Most of these meet unusual needs such as a really tight budget or multiple languages per unit. Many of these are "legacy" models that are no longer at the front of technology and yet are still a great value.

TL-2 series (multiple language). For someone traveling with a multinational itinerary, this is a great value and an impressive tool.
Lingo models. These have 20,000 words per language and 2,000 phrases per language. Lingo provides the best value for the tourist who has a multinational itinerary and needs to do basic tourist functions.
X-5/X8 series. Legacy. These devices provide sentence translation and some other great features. You can't change the language, though. These make the most sense for someone who wants to translate sentences at the lowest cost.
400/430 series. Legacy. A 400 is a dictionary (one-word lookups) and phrasebook. The 400 or 430 initially meant the number of thousand of words in the dictionary. So, a 400 had 400,000 words. That numerical tie is no longer true.
600/630 series. Legacy. A 600 is a dictionary (one-word lookups) and phrasebook. The 600 is a variation on the 400. It's actually an older platform, and we have been phasing these out.
Translating scanning pens. There are two models. The Quiktionary (for French or Spanish users), and the SuperPen Translator. This second one is available for many languages, but its OCR is limited to the English alphabet. So you can translate from any of six languages into a long list of other languages.
Some miscellaneous models. We've got some other models, such as the Franklin eBookman, that provide additional choices for our customers. They generally are not the best value, but they do appeal to people for various reasons so we offer them.