Seiko ER8100 Britannica and Oxford Reference Library

As a learning tool and handy crossword helper, this is great! People say using these machines is cheating..truth is, I would not do crosswords or the like if I did not have such a useful tool. Of course, you can look up on internet now, but there are many occasions when on train or I am away on holiday that I do not have access, so this is the tool to use. It gives you daily facts each time you start it up, and there are some good games, including a Britannica quiz. It solves anagrams and there are different ways of obtaining facts and answers. It is very compact so slips in the handbag or pocket very easily, and it has a nice feel to it - quite solid. I know it is a lot of money but I am very very pleased with it.

This product contains the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Concise Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus, a dictionary of idioms and crossword resources. I bought this particular model because it has a folding lid which doubles up as a screen on the inside, as well as having a dictionary of idioms which I require for my work. This is the second SEIKO electronic dictionary that I have ever owned - I bought my first in Japan some ten years ago which was stolen a few years later in China. This one is lighter, somewhat smaller and not as well-built or -designed as my previous model although both had similar display screens. The Japanese model had better contrast than this one and the font size was larger. This model enables the user to change the contrast, but the best contrast is set as the default in any case. You can also choose between three font sizes : small, medium and large. However, the large size is still somewhat on the small size due primarily to inadequate contrast. This is why some other reviewers have mentioned that the screen is of poor quality. However, size and contrast are the issues. My Japanese model did not have these problems. The design has such rounded edges on this model that I managed to drop it once and nearly dropped it a second time since it easily slips out of your hand. I didn't drop my Japanese model even once despite using it for several years and only using this one a few times so far. As a summary, I would say the model is adequate as long as you have fairly good eyesight and you take care not to drop it.

I never thought I would ever be able to replace my marvellous Seiko Er8000 that failed to turn off two days ago. This ER8100 is more complicated but has a wonderful collection of information and challenges containing all that I enjoyed before. It takes me longer to get the answer but worth the wait. Well pleased.

On the whole I'm very pleased with the capabilities of the ER8100 although mine looks a bit different to the one pictured here. My one gripe is that it is so small. The buttons are really tiny but do have space between them so hitting two together is less likely than on some machines where the buttons adjoin one another. The small screen is crying out for a backlight but with careful adjustment of the contrast an acceptable visibility can be achieved. This is a well made item, pleasant to the touch but oh so small. Please somebody make a desktop version.

Bought this for my Father in law as a helper for his crossword obsession and he absolutely loves it, Has everything he needs but as others have said the screen could be clearer but is still going strong 6 months later and has well and truly been well used...

I'm very sorry to say that this product is NOT worth the money! I would like to be able to say something positive, but in all conscience I can't. If I had the chance to try it before I bought it then I wouldn't have gone ahead. My main reason for buying was for crossword solving assistance and Thesaurus. This product is very, very, very poor when compared to my old Sharp, which I am sad to say is now defunct after many years of good service. I have a long list of criticisms, but I will dwell on just a few. The screen is small and extremely hard to read in normal light - it needs to be backlit. The controls for entering the text are appalling, no ability to backtrack and correct. Thesaurus and Encyclopaedia links are poor. Complete lack of lists. etc. etc. Some of these criticisms are reflected in comments by others. My advice is do not buy.

This is a very shoddy replacement for the previous version - the N681 - which lasted for years and worked perfectly until it was knocked off the table ( a few too many times) onto a tiled floor! This model, the ER8100, lasted almost a year before the keys began sticking and some stopped working. It's smaller, lighter and, at £108.00, is not worth buying.

I am very pleased with this product. For me (a senior citizen) it gives me a vast amount of information in a small light package which is easy to handle. I would recommend it for anybody who has difficulty in handling heavy reference books

Good

Excellent help for my kids in study.

My son’s 7th grade vocabulary scores on state testing are off the charts. He and my daughter love these handy dictionaries, encyclopedias for quick lookup. Well-made. I put in new batteries about every six months. Worth every penny!

no dislikes, i use it for general knowledge, etc...

Do to some medical issues and the drugs that I have had to take for them, I get some very strange memory things happening. I will be writing along and suddenly cannot remember how to spell a common word that I have used numerous times, perhaps even in the last few minutes. When this happens, it is a true mental blank. I can pronounce the word, but the spelling just won't come through. This little device has a feature in which you can type in the pronunciation and get the correct spelling back - fantastic! This device also has very reasonable definitions of words. I have had other electronic dictionaries and the definitions are generally pretty poor. Poor as in one or two synonyms or a few words. This device gives very reasonable definitions. The thesaurus is also quite good. To be honest I have not used the other features extensively but the few times I have, they have also seemed quite good. Having had the benefit of this device sitting next to my computer, I would never want to be without it.