English <-> Russian Talking Electronic Dictionary and Audio PhraseBook ECTACO Partner ER800

Being almost the only English-Russian electronic translator freely available on the market with some serious marketing claims associated with it one might get yourselves enticed into the purchase. A big mistake. To keep a long story short this device does not exhibit any of cutting edge marvels promised by flamboyant advertisement. In reality it is an ugly, very heavy for its size, with the worst touch screen available device which represent a mediocre example of 1980s design and technology. User experience is as terrible as its design. The device is seriously slow in terms of search as well as in terms of touch screen response. The software is nothing else but a random collection of dictionaries from different sources of a different standard and layout. Not cross-referenced, not thought through... Speech recognition is a joke, as is a set of "games" and "learning features". It took us 30 min of unforgettable user experiences to archive an easy conclusion to send the fugly creature back... And that's where all the fun started. The business model of ECTACO seems to be based on "sell & run" principle with everything revolving around not accepting the device back. I won't go through worst in my life customer service experience, suffice to say the device was accepted back only after I treated to report a credit card fraud and to file a claim for suspension of Ectaco trading with a court of EU trading standards (we are based in UK). Our advice - stay away at all costs. You've been warned.

I bought ECTACO Partner ER800 dictionary last year . I used it rarely . After each use I put dictionary on charge. Each time when I use the dictionary I am suprised that the battery bar shows empty . And after I fully recharge battery, it only works for about 10-15 min. and then I have o put it on recharge again. One day I took my dictionary for work and battery was empty. I put it on charge but the dictionary battery didn't recharge. When I removed the battery from dictionary I found out that the battery was damaged.I think it is too expensive to buy a new battery each year .

This product shipped from a third party seller listed on Amazon. There was a software problem as well as a problem with the rechargeable battery. As soon as it was removed from the charger, it powered off. Repeatedly. When the seller was informed of this he said there was no guarantee on electronic products and so I was stuck with it. This seemed unfair especially since I had paid over $ 460 for it. I am a regular shopper from Amazon and I find myself at a loss about what to do.

The unit is pretty handy, but beware of this company. They offer "special deals" but do not come through on them when push comes to shove. It takes numerous emails to get any response at all. Great product, but lousy customer service.

Simply put this device is super. And, believe it or not, I credit it with getting me my fianc?e. I bought the ER800 and a Ukrainian MMC card before my trip to the Ukraine to meet my girlfriend and was amazed at how easy it was to use.

As you can imagine, I was really nervous but once I had this little gadget in my hands, I knew I had at least a fighting chance. However, when I found just how useful it was - and how little I really knew of Russian - I was over the moon. It exceeded my wildest dreams.

Probably the most generally useful feature for me was the speech recognition and phrasebook. I think that without it I wouldn't have gotten out of the airport. The translating dictionary was a real help too and let me get around and get things done when I was on my own. All the extras are great too especially the media player and flashcards learning games.

Now I know a bit of Ukrainian thanks to my new best friend (the ER800!) and I am thinking on getting one for my fianc?e so she can learn English!