Casio XD-GP9700 Review (compared to the XD-GW9600)
Feb 19th, 2008 by Q
Today the Casio XD-G9700 finally arrived. Right now I have it sitting in front of me next to its predecessor, the Casio XD-GW9600. The XD-GW9600 has been a favorite among foreign students of Japanese since its release, and is clearly the best electronic dictionary for professional translators as well. The two models are of course quite similar. The question for now is whether the XD-GP9700 is worth spending the extra $75 or so instead of picking up a XD-GW9600 while they’re still available. (I don’t think the XD-GW9600 will vanish from the market for another six months or so at least.)
For this review I’ll only be looking at new features, so please check the XD-GW9600 review if you’re not familiar with it. These areas where there have been changes:
- Dictionaries
- Touch Panel Screen
- Audio
- Button Layout
Dictionaries:
The new XD-GP9700 has 16 English texts plus 39 other texts, while the XD-GW9600 has 17 English texts plus 23 other texts. This 55 to 40 difference sounds significant but it’s actually pretty meaningless. The only substantial difference dictionary-wise is the inclusion of Shogakukan’s third edition Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary in the XD-GP9700, which contains 90,000 entries. Other new texts are irrelevant for translators and students. (For example a guide to writing email in English, a wine companion, and numerous business English texts.)
So both the XD-GW9600 and XD-GP9700 remain head and shoulders above all other electronic dictionaries available now because of their inclusion of these dictionaries:
Random House English to Japanese: 345,000 entries
Kenkyusha 5th Edition Japanese to English: 480,000 entries (!!!)
Technical/Special term Japanese to English: 1,000,000 entries
Technical/Special term English to Japanese: 1,000,000 entries
Of course they also have the Reader’s, Reader’s Plus, and Genius dictionaries included in many other solid electronic dictionaries.
Touch Screen Panel:
The XD-GP9700 has both an enlarged panel for stylus pen input on the base and a touch-sensitive main screen. Like the Canon Wordtank V80, V90, V300, G70, and G90 the jump function can be used by touching the pen to the screen. There is one annoying difference though: you have to press the jump button before you can touch the screen to select a word. It’s a minor point, but it is kind of an annoying step. (To select a word you’d like to “jump to” or look up in another dictionary, just select the first character with the pen and tap it.) Scrolling can also be done by dragging with the stylus.
When searching the Kanjigen Kanji Dictionary with handwritten kanji input, you can pull up a large box on the main display and write the kanji there instead of on the small panel on the base. This is actually a really nice feature, giving you plenty of room to draw in complex multiple-stroke kanji.
Audio:
The XD-GP9700 includes voice recording of 10,000 Japanese words in the Meikyo dictionary and additional English vocal playback ability. The XD-GW9600 only had English voice recording. This seems to be rather useless. The only way to use this would be to look through the 70,000 entry Japanese to Japanese Meikyo dictionary, and happen upon the 1/7th of entries with a small [play] symbol. It seems random which words have this. For example 薬品 has audio, but 役に立つ does not. 郷里 does, but 恐竜 does not. This is not much of a benefit.
Button Layout:
A number of buttons have been eliminated to create a simpler layout. Now depending on what screen you’re looking at the touch panel will display buttons relevant to what you’re looking at. For example if you’re looking at an individual kanji in the Kanjigen dictionary, the button 熟語 (kanji compound) will appear. Tapping it will bring you the list of kanji compounds using that kanji (in any position). The only negative aspect of this is that it forces you to hold the pen while you’re using the dictionary, even if you don’t need to use any of the other touch panel functionality whereas previous it could be done with the tap of a button. This seems fine, as if you buy this dictionary you’ll probably want to be using the pen pretty constantly with it anyway.
Conclusion:
The XD-GP9700 is an improvement on the already fantastic XD-GW9600. That said, I’m undecided on if I would recommend spending the extra money on it while the XD-GW9600 is still around. With the price coming down on the XD-GW9600, it’s a tough call. At any rate, the XD-GW9600 won’t be around for much longer, and the price will inevitably come down on the XD-GP9700 a bit. I’m glad that Casio is continuing to produce excellent electronic dictionaries (and I wonder when Canon will take the hint).
If you’re outside Japan, as always you can find them at smartimports.net.
For a full list of the dictionaries (in Japanese), check Casio’s pages for the XD-GW9600 and the XD-GP9700.
15 Responses to “Casio XD-GP9700 Review (compared to the XD-GW9600)”
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Thanks for the great information, Q!
I just got the 9600 for Christmas last year and was about to start crying when I heard about the 9700. Your review made me feel a lot better! And yes, big kudos to Casio for continuing to raise the bar. I absolutely love my 9600.
hi Q,
Thanks for the review. I’ve seen on Casio’s website that 9700 support tango cards (単語). Does 9600 also support this feature?
Regards,
Yoeru
Yoeru,
No, the XD-GW9600 does not have the flash card feature. But actually the XD-GW9600 is already disappearing from the market. I think it won’t be available in another couple weeks anyway.
Thanks Q,
I find it easy to remember Japanese vocabularies with the use of flash cards (especially when using it while on train) so I think having this feature gives me another reason why I should choose XD-GW9700 over XD-GW9600.
Interesting articles you have. Have a nice day!
Hello all,
Has 9700 voice recordings of English words or playbacks?
I am interested in english playback as well.
Thanks for your kind reply in advance
Hi Q,
Thanks for the great dictionary reviews! I’m a J->E translator living in Japan, and I was using the Sony DD-IC500S for several years. I’ll have to say I was really happy with it, but I figured it was time for an upgrade, so I took your advice and bought the 9600 for 30,000 yen. After using it for a few days now, I only have two main gripes: 1) It’s HUGE compared to my old Sony, and 2) It’s a little slow. Other than that, this is an AWESOME dictionary!
I have two questions for you about the 9700:
1) Is it any smaller than the 9600?
2) Is it any faster than the 9600?
Speed and portability are the only things I miss about my old Sony. The 9600 has numerous functions/dictionaries that I’m very satisfied with.
Thanks!
Eric
Hello,
Thanks for your comment!
1. The XD-GP9700 is not any smaller than the 9600, it’s the same size.
2. I didn’t notice it being any faster, though I could be wrong.
Q
I’m just wondering why no one bother comparing Casio XD-GP9700 with Sharp Papyrus PW-AT760 or Sharp PW-LT300? Are these two Sharp models aimed for Japanese people learning English rather than the other way round?
Second Q, does Casio XD-GP9700 come with English manual? TQ for replying. =)
Hi Q,
I am a student of the french language as well as japanese and have noticed there is a english-japanese-french casio (XD-GP7250). Does the fact that the number 7250 is lower than 9700 make this casio inferior?
The only disadvantage i can see with the 7250 is the lack of the Kenkyusha 5th Edition J-E dictionary with 480,000 entries! I believe this is more useful than one would think. But then, how many words does one need? I’m torn which one to get!!!
Do you know anything about this bilingual denshi jisho? Would you recommend it?
Thanks so much!
-B
Mel,
Thanks for coming by! The Sharp PW-AT760 and PW-AT770, while fine dictionaries, don’t have any of the extensive texts that make the GP9700 so appealing. The Sharp PW-LT300 and PW-LT320 do have the Grand Concise Japanese to English as well as the Reader’s dictionaries, but lack the New (massive) Kenkyusha as well as the million-term translator references of the GP9700.
In terms of who they are aimed at, all Japanese dictionaries are basically aimed at native speakers of Japanese, though foreign students and language professionals can make good use of them.
The XD-GP9700 does have an English reference nestled in the Japanese manual.
B,
The number 7250 doesn’t make the model inferior to the 9700. Those numbers just refer to the series. The 7250 is predecessor to the 7200, just as the GP9700 replaces the GW9600.
If French is important in a dictionary, then I’d definitely say go with the GP7250. As much as the 480,000 Kenkyusha is immensely attractive, depending on your needs it may not be necessary. Also, the number of entries can be deceiving, as the method of counting is different between different dictionaries. This 480,000 is counting as separate entries what other models have put together into more extensive single entries. It’s not black and white.
Thanks for coming by!
hi. im wondering if its safe to buy on smartimports.net. i am actually planning to buy a casio ex-word ~7250, but im not confident if its safe. moreover, ill be using my mom’s card for the purchase. please help. thanks
Machi,
Yes, smartimports.net is a reliable supplier of Japanese dictionaries (and other things). It’s a family-run business and they are both prompt and reliable.
Hi!!
i’m going to take my JLPT2 exams this yr and i would like to get a jap-eng e-dictonary. as this is my first time getting one, i’m not very sure on the features that is needed for a gd dictionary which can last me for a few years. which e-dictionary would u recommend for my standard?
thanks!!!
Hi,
Thank you for a very interesting website!
Hope you don’t mind a quick question but…my brain really struggles with languages and as I come into contact with Japanese Senseis throughout the year (when they visit the UK for Iaido and Jodo Seminars) I get very frustrated at my lack of communication skills. I know very basic polite words/phrases and that’s it.
What I would like to have is a device that I can type in what I want to say in english then press a button have have both Japanese displayed for my guest to see and for the phrase to show in english (romanji?) for me to attempt to say in my best Japanese!
Also it would be nice if the japanese guest could type in what they’re saying and have it translated into english for me to understand better!
Which of the many devices would you recommend as I don’t want to make an expensive mistake or have something that I can’t understand or that doesn’t do what I want???
Regards, Stu