Android phones are expanding their horizon of capabilities so fast that it becomes sometimes harder for us to even keep track of their abilities. Admittedly, we were taken a bit by surprise when we discovered this wonderful app that works even better than its Desktop counterparts, and the paid ones of its ilk from the android market.
We’re talking about the Fora Dictionary app that brings a full featured dictionary to your pocket for FREE. Don’t let you fool yourselves by thinking that it is making compromises for being without cost. No. Rather it has functions that even the paid ones in the Android Market keep you thirsty for. Read On to know more about it.
Fora Dictionary
Follow the Market Link / QR Code given below using barcode scanner app on your android phone to get to locate the app in the android market. Install it for free. The app in itself is only a platform to read and run dictionary files for which separate downloads would be required — don’t worry, all of them are free too. The app will access the dictionary apps/files to become a full featured dictionary.
Basically, this app is your dictionary manager. It supports tarDict, XDXF, DICTD and Plain (TSV) formats and can suggest you words as you type into the app’s search bar. Quick integration with the dictionary packages is also provided for smoother installation of a complete dictionary. Moreover, your data is saved in SD Card, so it never burdens your oh-so-low internal memory space.
The UI of the app is smooth and easy to work with.
Features:
History
The app saves your recent look-ups in history for quick bouncing back to words, whose meaning you thought you remember well now.
Clipboard Monitoring
You have the option to let the app monitor your clipboard. If selected, the app will simply throw a message in the phone’s notification bar telling how many matches it found of the word(s) you just copied over. Amazing it is! It does not disturb you in case copying was not intended for looking the meaning thereof. And if you meant it, just click the notification in the bar above and get the meaning of all the words you just copied right in front of you. Yes, you read it right, it shows meaning more than one word on a given page.
Select and Lookup
The app has one more soft-accessory. It often happens that you want to see the meaning of the word in the meaning itself. No? But with Fora, it’s damn easy to surf between words without breaking flow. For this, you don’t need to type every word into the search bar of the app. Simply select the ‘Select and Lookup’ from the option menu. Then, select the word or more than one word (it got that capability, remember!) by sliding your finger and it will display the meaning of the selected text, once you lift your finger off the screen.
Overview ability
Now, suppose you selected a long sentence by copying it in the browser (or in the dictionary using the ‘Select and Lookup’ function). The Fora dictionary app will get you the meaning of all the words in the clipboard/sentence and his may result in a very long list of words with meaning of each one after another, making it the longest page you ever saw in the dictionary. Now, you want to look for a selected word, how do you do this? Enters ‘Overview’ function which displays all the words in the pop-up so that you can select the word you want meaning/pronunciation of. As easy as that. Find it in Options.
Next and Previous
As the name suggests, use it to scroll back and forward inside the dictionary for recent words and back.
List
What we loved the most was the ability to save words to a list for quick referencing at a later date. Sadly, you have only one list to put all your words int, but we can’t keep asking more and more in the Free app, right. Even the paid dictionary apps in the market lack the ability to save words (ie make a list) for using again tomorrow.
Profiles
You can create separate profiles for saving and reusing dictionary arrangements, as and when required.
Speak
Using TTS (text-To-Speech) utility in your android phone, the app pronounces the words, when asked so. yes, we would want a better mouth than that of TTS, but we can surely wait for that update. Long press the speak button (locate it on the left side of the search bar of the app) to get the speak options menu. You can ask select the first option ‘Speak’ to ask the app speak out the word(s) in the search bar of the app. 3 more options are available under speak menu.
Sidebar
If you have more than one dictionary package installed (we will take the packages below), you will notice the colorful bars equal to the number of packages you have installed. Each color signifies the package under which meaning for the word ‘looked up’ by you is shown. So, if you have 3 packages installed, you will get 3 colors in the sidebar, for meaning under each package. Simply tap the color to jump to that package’s meaning/result of the word.
Dictionary Packages
Instructions to install package (same for all packages):
i) Install, extract to SD-card and uninstall.
ii) Select “Rescan storage” from the Dictionary Manager menu. To get to dictionary manager, open the Fora Dictionary app, press options, select ‘more’ tab, then select ‘manage’. Now press ‘options’ key again, select ‘more’ tab, here is your “Rescan Storage” option. Click on this and the app will install the packages itself automatically.
English Dictionary Package
This package needing 12 MB of download and 40 MB of SD Card space will install English dictionary along with thesaurus giving you a depository of 147306 articles.
Computing Dictionary Package
Those who often get stuck with computer and its jargon language will be the most helped people from this package. Only 3 MB of download and 6 MB of SD Card space gets you 14843 computing articles.
English Pronunciations Package
The application uses TTS (Text-To-Speech) for speaking words. Then what’s this dictionary for? It actually gives you more detailed symbols/letters as pronouncing instructions. It does not help the dictionary app in speaking words but will help you in learning those subtle variations of learning / speaking English.
English Thesaurus Package
You got the thesaurus along with the English dictionary already, we know this. But in case your requirements shoot high, and you more words than what standard dictionary package has in offer, then this package will help you out. Download of 10 MB and Extracted size of 30 MB gets you 30260 entries of words in thesaurus.
Dictionary Downloads
To download Dictionary translator packs, go to option -> More Tab -> Manage – dictionary manager will open up. Press Options -> More Tab -> Downloads, and select the pack you want to download or need translations of.
Okay…that was all about one dictionary app. You want more? Check out the 9 Awesome Android Apps and Best eBook Readers for android.
And if new apps are what you’re looking for, get hold of this bunch – 9 Impressive New Android Apps. Be sure to check it out!
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