Franklin MWS-1840 Speaking Merriam Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus

Efficient and accurate, at a light 0.8 pounds the MWS-1840 is easy to carry around and incredibly convenient to use. The touch of a few buttons reveals just the right word, plus several practical options accompanied by proper pronunciation. The eight-line display expands clarity of each entry. While the MWS-1840 is a spell checker comparable with more complicated electronic dictionaries, it also offers unique features to facilitate finding a word you aren't sure of how to spell and to improve your spelling and vocabulary by using Franklin's LEARNables.

The Franklin MWS-1840 Speaking Merriam-Webster is a dictionary that everyone can use as a reference tool, to expand vocabulary, as an academic or business tool, and, remarkably, for fun. Of particular benefit to students are the Scholastic Assessment Test word list and tools to create a personalized study list of words. Anyone who writes will benefit from the grammar guide with its reliable compendium and comprehensive outline of English grammar. Enjoy playing one of 10 amusing and diverting games while improving your spelling and vocabulary.

In school and in business, precise spelling and appropriate word usage reflect favorably on your preparation and presentation. With the MWS-1840 your command of English and the breadth of your lexicon will be noticeably enlarged. For common English usage, you can hardly find a better portable resource.

It has met might my first need quite well. It's small and light enough to throw in backpack, suitcase or take in the car. I find most of the words I look up and the definition(s) is often sufficient. I wasn't expecting that it would be as good as my 20 lb. dictionary (it's not) but it's definitely better than a similarly sized paper dictionary.

Concerning the word list, it's not as useful as I had hoped. I often find in my reading that I come across words that I recognize, but am not sure about the definition and after looking up once it doesn't sufficiently stick, so having a word list helps. With this unit I can press the learn button on a word that I've looked up to add a word to my word list, which is exactly what I need. But there's a major drawback in that it doesn't store my words in permanent memory, so once you lose the power source you lose your list. They've obviously engineered the battery compartment to easily open and it is. But it can be clumsy in closing and more importantly it opens too easily (I also wonder about it's durability). As such I recently lost my entire list (2 - 3 books worth of reading) and that's a real bummer. As well the flash card feature could be improved. Placing words in the middle of the screen in bigger bolder letters would be nicer. The randomizer algorithm isn't that great, it will often reselect the same word 2 even 3 times in a row and it will often cycle between a small group of words.

The speaking feature was a nice bonus. It won't speak in a human voice obviously, but the pronunciation is sufficient enough for a EFL speaker (I've seen some ESL complaints). The thesarus, bookman expandability, games and calculator are nice plusses.

The LCD screen could be better. Depending on lighting it will throw a shadow over top line.

Overall I am pleased with this unit, but would've paid more for a better word list capability and a better screen.


How did I get along without this   April 18, 2000
48 out of 54 found this review helpful

When I purchased this product I was unsure of how much use I would get out of it. Much to my delight I have now discovered I can not image living without it. Both my daughter and I use it frequently, she for the games mostly. The speaking feature something that has surprised me in how much we have used. For the slight additional expense it is worth the cost. In playing around with it, the only complaint I have is that the words included in the SAT word list seem way to simple. Surely the SAT has not decreased it's vocabulary level this much in the 20 years since I took it.


A great little dictionary...   August 7, 2000
Karen L. Vandusen (Woodinville, Washington United States)
48 out of 58 found this review helpful

When I bought this dictionary, I wasn't sure that I'd really ever use it. Not only do I use it, but now everyone in my family uses it! The family also likes the thesaurus. As an added bonus, this little dictionary is easy to carry with you.

Our paper dictionary sits in the corner gathering dust. We only use it for place names and famous people's names, which the electonic dictionary seems to have in short supply.

I highly recommend the Franklin dictionary.


Franklin MWS-1840 is a great product!   July 18, 2002
Joshua A. Wallis (Flagstaff, AZ)
35 out of 40 found this review helpful

The Franklin MWS-1840 is a great product! I'm an avid reader and I love looking up new words whenever I see them. So when my old electronic dictionary didn't know the definition of unusual words, I succumbed to looking them up words on-line. This dictionary holds an insurmountable amount of definitions and pronounces them for you! To give you an idea of how the definition sounds, go to yahoo's dictionary reference where they do .wav pronunciations of words. Voice isn't bad at all and it will definitely help you with pronunciations. There is also a headphone jack, which is perfect when you are in class or at the library. The games are simply fabulous and word list is going to be crucial for my SATs. With the pronunciations, games, and the word list's it is already worth the money. It also has a grammar guide, which is great for fledglings in English grammar like myself. With an eclectic selection of book cards, translators, encyclopedias, games, and dictionary expansions, this gadget becomes nothing less then remarkable. Was this product worth the price? Yes, and I would have paid even more for it.


Great Product   May 23, 2002
26 out of 26 found this review helpful

I received my Franklin Mws-1840 today and I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the unit after reading so many negative
reviews. I think it is a great product.
One reviewer said he could not read the first line.
This happens if you read the screen at an angle.
If you read the screen directly the first line is
as clear as the others.
There was a complaint about the clarity of the
pronounciation.
I found the pronounciation to be clearer than
I expected. Remember the speaker is at the
back of the unit so you have to be careful not
to cover the speaker with your hands.
There was a complaint about limited vocabulary.
This can be corrected by plugging in the
Advanced Dictionary and Thesaurus Bookman
card ADV-2002AE at the back of the unit
for $ 19.95.
There was a complaint about the size of the letters.
The unit has adjustable fonts which means you
can adjust the size of the letters.When you
put in the batteries the unit comes on with
medium sized letters.You can increase the
size to large by selecting:
Tools/Tool settings/Type size from the main
menu and changing type size to large.
One thing I agreed with the reviewers on is the shape
of the unit.I would have preferred the face of the
unit to be flat rather than curved.
I also think that the keyboard could have been about
half an inch longer so that the keys could have been

bigger.After all this is a desktop model so it does
not have to be as compact as it.
Otherwise I think it is a great product. I'm impressed.