Recently my SHARP E-dictionary spoilt. If i'm not wrong I bought it a few years ago for about $140 (2nd hand). Though the previous user commented that she only used the dictionary once or twice I think it was most probably a lie as it spoilt in less than a year. With no warranty, to repair the dictionary would cost up to $50 sgd or more plus they will need to send the dictionary over to Japan as it's a japanese modelbbought from Japan.

After talking to my friend and doing some research, I came up with some alternatives to invest in a new e-dictionary. With technology advances, currently NDS and iphone has downloadable/buyable e-dict applications that cost alot cheaper and has similar functions to a normal japanese e-dict.

Of course the pros & cons of which to invest in must be thoroughly researched but I think if it's me I would probably choose an NDS so that I can play games.

NDS

Pros:

• Various japanese learning tools like e-dicts, kanji dict, quiz games, japanese educational apps/games available.
  
  Currently the dictionary that catches my eye is this :
  Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten
  This is a good dictionary and has a good interface to input Kanji words. However apart from not being able to S Jump, it also doesn't have much example sentences that are important in an e-dict. But i'm unsure if they're other dicts that have these features. This seems to be the best NDS jap to eng/eng to jap dictionary available in the market.
  
  This link contains more pros and japanese educational software available for the NDS.
  
• Pen input interface for Kanji dict
  
  This itself is a very useful/critical feature. From what I researched, it seems only the Canon Wordtank e-dictionary and some Casio EX-word e-dictionary (which costs around $300-400) can do this. Since the a DS costs roughly $180-$220. I think it is definately more value for money.

Cons:

• Jumping
  
  However, the main problem with Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten is that it can't do superior jumps. It can only jump between english words but what's the point? People need e-dicts that can jump between japanese words! This is 1 of the most critical feature in an e-dict.

iPhone

I know how crazy alot of ppl are over iphone. It wouldn't hurt to get an iPhone if it has really good japanese dict applications. Considering the price dropped alot already and it has alot of applications. You can facebook, play games and browse the internet on a big screen. It also has a good interface for Kanji input. Furthermore its easier to bring 1 inside class to search for meanings without others thinking that you're playing games like in the case of an NDS =x.

Pros:

• There are tons of really good E-J/J-E iPhone japanese dictionaries with example sentences and explanations
  http://www.mrbass.org/iphone/japanese/dictionary/
  
  Infact, the one I really really like is Wisdom E-J / J-E. It has example sentences in jap (translated to eng) and very in depth explanation.
  
• Pen input interface for Kanji

Cons:

• The best dictionary for iPhone is not free -.-. Wisdom E-J/J-E is available at the iTunes store for $23.99 usd. But after reading the reviews of purchasers, even though most of the ppl were overall pretty satisfied with the product, some were complaining that it has a good Japanese to Eng dict but is in actual fact not an Eng to Japanese dictionary o_o and there's no romanji included which makes it useless for ppl who don't understand kanji. The romanji part doesn't really matter to me, but eng to jap dictionary is really important -.-. It would seem that Wisdom is more suitable for ppl who understand japanese at a higher level. Some even complained that the app will cause huge problems to the iPhone and failure.
  
  Some other dicts that also catch my eye is Kotoba! and ShinKanji-Lite.
  
  Kotoba! is free and looks like a simple dictionary used for quick look ups. It might be useful however the explanations are not indepth.
  
  ShinKanji is free too and also looks not bad for inputting Kanji words and looking them up to check their readings. However it seems the updated version has removed a search function which makes this app useless.

Now definately, I won't be getting another actual e-dict. I would have to decide on either NDS or iPhone. Both has their pros and cons which are very dependent on the jap apps that they use. Perhaps in the future there could be better apps that have the features missing.

* Value for money - usability

Comparing the cost, value for money and features available.

An iPhone can be buyable now for $98 with a mth subscription fee of $56 in a 2 years contract (for m1). That will definately increase my monthly phone bills T_T and its pretty costly to maintain in the long run. Plus I will need to wait 1 more year until my own hp contract expires. I don't really have the need for most iPhone applications anyway.

As for the NDS, only the dictionary and games appeal to me. Since I've been using No$Zoomer/GBA for a long time already and already own a PSP. I don't actually need a portable DS. No$Zoomer also provides so many more better features compared to a DS like full screen and increasing the speed, a normal DS truthfully doesn't appeal much to me other than its portability.

Hence the question now is wait or invest in an NDS which could prove a good investment in the long run?