As a person that comes up with ideas for reviews/stories/articles all the time on the fly, I am sometimes left without a way to spell-check my work. There have been Dictionary apps before on the iPhone and iPod Touch, but none as easy to use as this one.
The first and greatest thing you will notice about this app is that for the most part it doesn't need a connection to the internet. Fire it up, wait for the app to load, and start checking your spelling and whatnot. Only two functions of the program require you to be connected, but they aren't crucial to the app working smoothly. The database that it pulls from is based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, so it's not some fly by night dictionary that you have never heard of. Once you start typing in a word it will come up with suggestions as to what you might be spelling. Then when you find the word you want, simply tap on it to get a phonetic spelling of that word, as well as the definition. If you happen to have access to an internet connection you can also listen to how the word is pronounced via the audio button.
You can also look up in the built-in thesaurus, other words that are similar to the word you typed in. This is all done fluidly simply by selecting “Thesaurus” in the menu found on the bottom of the app. Also in the menu is “Recent,” which stores recent words that you have looked up, or tried to look up. As well as the “Word of the day” section, that will naturally give you just that - the word of the day. This part of the app is the only other section that requires an internet connection to pull from.
Being able to literally have an entire dictionary in the palm of your hand is an almost invaluable item. No longer are you tied to an internet connection or carrying an oversized paper version. Also, seeing as how this app is (at least for the moment) completely free, it is almost impossible to pass up for those that do a lot of writing by hand but still need to check their work. This may be the dorkiest review I have ever written but it is an app that needed to be more widely known.
