The $29.99 Oxford American (shareware w/14-day trial) is the newest of this roundup on the market and that showed a bit. This app didn't support the Palm OS DIA, but CodeDiver 1.1b6 enabled basic DIA support . I pictured the result here.

The general file list screen layout looked similar to MSDict, with alternating (user selectable) colors separating words. The tools don't change between the views, and are limited to toggling between the definition screen and the file list, changing the list colors, bringing up the word of the day, displaying the pronunciation key, and toggling the onscreen keyboard. There are no other settings, and the Oxford doesn't have a popup resident mode. Tapping on hyperlinked words brings up their definitions, but not so for non-hyperlinked words.

The Oxford American benefits from the unusual approach of combining the dictionary and thesaurus all in one database. As the illustration shows, pronunciation accompanies each word, along with grammatical information and alternate forms. The synonyms from the thesaurus follow the dictionary information. This method proved simple and effective.

With over 100,000 words and 175,000 synonyms, Oxford American's difficult word test score turned out identical to Mobile System's Pocket Oxford--bottom of the pack. I found that most surprising for both, given the Oxford 's print reputation. However, it did ace the modern word test. This Oxford American rendition had none of the additional language features of the Pocket Oxford, and simply provided definitions and synonyms. Handmark offers no other databases or references for use with this reader. This set a new standard for simplicity--one interface and one database.