Customer Reviews
obselete ; buy the new one 
2008-09-30
Got this model about two years ago. It was the only choice at the time that could pronounce words. It worked OK, the vocabulary was limited ; probably OK for spanish intermediate level at the most. It was plagued with poor design though. really bad battery door design resulting in intermittent operation. Hard to use volume control. unreliable connecter in the back for inserting other books, poor contrast made it difficult to read, and my son at one point adjusted it to minimum while playing with it and the display totaly disappeared. Took lot of blind hit and trial to get to the settings menu to get it back. pls designers leave the minimum contrast adjustment at a level that can still be seen. About two years of use the top half of the display stopped working.
It has been replaced by a better model that is thin and smaller. Get that instead.
second year spanish student 2003-09-04
I had great hopes for this machine. Immediately I noticed that the first line of the entry always seemed to be in a dark shadow and I had to try tipping the unit to get light into the inner screen to make it readable. It too often doesn't have the words --- even many very common ones in its database. The voice is extremely fuzzy when you try the audio pronunciation feature. It only has a few forms of many of the the words I am seeking. If this unit really has 250,000 words -- as they tell us---then they should create a new one with a couple of million
Better than a paper dictionary 
2003-01-13
I like being able to find words quickly, in either English or Spanish, with this dictionary. It contains a large number of words, and it conjugates verbs. There have been quite a few times it has not had a word I requested. Its important weaknesses are that it translates only words and does not recognize phrases; also, the speaking voice is fuzzy. I also noticed that it mispronounced one Spanish word (pajaro). On the up side, mine has worked well for 3-4 years, and it does not require frequent battery changes.
Good Translator 2002-11-07
Yes, This is a good translator gave it has a gift to my girlfriend and she loves it and it really helped my spanish writing skills.Only downfall is battery removal & install. The Screen could be better.
extremely helpful for me 2002-06-25
I am a physician and in the summer time I have some migrant patients come to work in our area, I always feel handicap to communicate with them and make them feel we care for them. So I brought some spanish medical conversation books but I can't pronounce it, so it was useless. As I found out about Franklin BES 1840 and brought it. Since then I use the BES 1840 to help me and I can communicate adequately for my patients to understand some simple phases, and they appreciate that I try to learn their language. I highly recommend Franklin BES 1840, it may be sound mechanical, but very adequate and easy to use. I do wish they can expand their vocabulary.
Good Toy for Learning Spanish 
2002-05-14
Franklin BES-1840 Speaking English->Spanish dictionary with an 8-line display. Easy and fun to use. Includes over 350,000 translations, ClariSpeech™, Advanced verb conjugations, Cultural notes, Travelers` phrases, Grammar Guide, TOEFL Test word list, and much more. Translate words instantly and hear how they are pronounced. Conjugate words at the touch of a button. Use the Grammar Guide to learn parts of speech and verb tenses. Listen to a variety of helpful travelers` phrases in human voice. Use the Culture notes to read about Spanish culture. Create your own study list of words. Highlight a word and instantly find its translation. Learn a new Spanish word each time you turn the unit on. Find a word even if you misspelled it. Improve your Spanish vocabulary and spelling using Franklin Learning Exercises. Solve crossword puzzles. Play seven fun-filled games.
I FOUND IT CHEAPER IN OTHER WEBSITES 
2002-04-29
THIS PRODUCT IS GORGEOUS BUT I FOUND IT CHEAPER AT ALKAMOSDOTCOM
conjugator and dictionary 2002-03-15
As a conjugator and dictionary, it is wonderfully portable instead of lugging around a comprehensive verb book and dictionary. Another reviewer said it conjugates for the "yo" form only- which is completely wrong. They obviously didn't read the directions- all you do is keep pressing the conjugate button and it cycles thru the different tenses. The talking aspect helps point you in the right direction as far as pronunciation, but it is not always understandable- it definitely is not in stereo.
I gambled and won! 2002-02-17
I am home studying Spanish with Pimsleur (vol. 3 now) and a few books ("Practice Makes Perfect" series, "Breaking out of Beginning Spanish", etc.). I read the reviews, especially about a difficult to read first line, but I thought this would be great to take to the office, travel with, and more functional then a dictionary. I won the gamble. The first line is just as readable as the rest and there is a tools section so you can alter features like contrast if you are in a brighter enviroment. The bes-1840 has great conjugations, phrases, and you can add and delete from a personal word list . There is a challenging Tesol flash card series (for the advanced, not me yet), and customizable English and Spanish flash cards you make yourself. This translator could easily be used by a ESL student. I have one negative and would have given it 4 1/2 stars if I could. The "Speak" function is only fair, small speakers, tiney voice. Overall I am very satisfied, $$ well spent.
BREAKs-- 2002-01-02
i started out really liking this translator, but one I carried it in my bag for about 2 days the plastic screen started cracking eventually the whole thing and off and now it is almost useless if i want to carry it around. I would highly suggest getting a translator with a flip screen so the screen cannot be damaged and you will not have to buy another one like I have to.
