As I have mentioned previously, spelling is not on of my strengths. Never has been. Never will be. As a result, having a good dictionary around is important. Here is the thing, though- since my iPhone is light, has search feature and is always with me, it doesn’t make sense NOT to use it as my dictionary. Fortunately there are a number of good options available. There is the American Heritage Dictionary - Fourth Edition for 29.99 (OUCH!)  or the desk version for $8.99. 

While the desk version has fewer entries and functions, the price difference is significant enough to make it the one I have been using. There is also the option to use eReader and download a Dictionary to that.

I was interested to see WordBook released and wanted to see if it trumped the other options. Full featured and just $7.99 it seemed like it might be a good pick.

WordBook has 150,000 entries and is entirely device-resident. It makes great use of the iPhone’s computing power. It is fast, largely intuitive to use, and is chock full of useful word tools. Words are linked/relational. It offers synonyms, definition but, for some reason, does not offer phonetic pronunciations. Hmmm.

A cool little feature is the Puzzle Word Finder. It works for both Crosswords Puzzles and anagrams. For the Crossword portion you input the letters and spaces you know and it offers suggestions. For the Anagram portion you can enter the letters you have and it will make suggestions. A nice little feature and is especially good for the     

S _ N D _ _   T _ _ E S   _ _ _ S S _ _ _ D   _ _ Z Z _ E     

The unique search feature makes this an awesome dictionary. You can search the “traditional” way by typing in the word you want into the search field OR you can use the “Quick Alphabet Selectors” on the side of the screen by tapping and dragging up or down the alphabet. It is an unusual method that words exceptionally well. (It is similar to the new vertical scrolling in the Contacts program)

Once you are in a word’s screen you can see the definition, jump to word links, find synonyms or add it as a favorite. As noted, though, you cannot get the pronunciation.

Navigating/searching for a word is incredibly fast. The app is stable. It works well. It is a definite keeper!!

Quick Take

Value:  High
Would I Buy Again:  Yes
Learning Curve: Low
Who is it for:  Anyone who needs help with spelling, synonyms, word puzzles etc
What I like:  Works well, fast, intuitive, easy to use
What I Don’t:   Not pronunciation

Final Statement: This is an excellent app what does what it says and does it exceptionally well.
 

Version # :	1.0
Date Released:	09/05/2008
Web / Native:	Native
Type:	Reference
Price:	$7.99
Our Rating
User Rating:	Average: Select ratingPoorOkayGoodGreatAwesome Your rating: None Average: 3.9 (8 votes)
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