Woordenboek Engels Prisma 4+

Eindelijk! Prisma woordenboeken zijn nu verkrijgbaar voor iOS! Prisma's printed dictionaries are my preferred choice for my Dutch studies, and I've long hoped that they would be made available in app form. Now, they are, and it was worth the wait.

Just some of the things that make it so good: Extensive usage examples and context cues. No need to explicitly switch between English and Dutch; just search for a word. (English matches in blue; Dutch matches in orange.) Searches are made not just against the word lists, but the full text examples too. The user interface is contemporary, clear, and intuitive. And unlike its key competitor (Van Dale), this app retains your last results if you switch to another app and switch back.

The only down sides: The size of the search field is a bit too small on iPad when in portrait mode. You can't copy and paste to other apps. And like its competitors, this dictionary is abridged and not as complete as Prisma's standard, printed, desk version.

App cuts off some content. The last line on many definitions is half cut off, so it’s obvious that there’s more there that can’t be seen. Also, the app is too sensitive and jumps to other definitions when you simply touch the screen to scroll down. It’s too bad, because otherwise this is a great dictionary. I wish the developers would do some quality control.

The link to support is broken, so I’m wondering if the app is even supported anymore. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of options for high-quality bilingual Dutch dictionaries, but I recommend people look at other options before buying this one.