The emergence of another reader pen in the market, Alpha Egg, means another option for students and learners here. As fans of reader pens, we were thrilled to be able to review the Alpha Egg which looks more like a toy and less like a learning tool.
The Alpha Egg reader pen is ergonomically designed to fit small hands and it looks a little like Wall-E’s robot pal with its all-white exterior and rounded edges.
Overview of the Alpha Egg Reader Pen
The Alpha Egg Reader pen is by iFlyTek and distributed on local shores by Sagesaurus. It scans text either in mandarin or English, reads it out, defines and translates in an instant. It is also able to heed voice commands and answer questions in mandarin.
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It conveniently replaces hard copy dictionaries, reference books and is a tool to help with writing of Chinese characters apart from reading! Its unique feature shows the stroke one by one to help with learners’ writing specific Chinese characters. Needless to say, the Alpha Egg Reader Pen has been a reliable buddy for my son (in Primary 4) in his Chinese composition writing. It’s definitely less temperamental than his mum.
Uses of Alpha Egg Reader Pen
There are three main functions of the Alpha Egg Reader pen: reading, translating, heeding voice commands.
It scans text of up to 1.5 cm width. I find that its scanning width is good for picture books with larger font types.
The reader pen also translates upon scanning, displaying the translation in English and other word pairing in Chinese.
One function it does exceptional in is the voice command function. It becomes the “Google Home” or “Alexa” version in Mandarin. And it even displays the answers on its squarish screen, whether it’s a poem or a Chinese character.
I also like how it constructs a sentence with a given vocabulary. This is also the ultimate cheat to completion of Chinese homework. Alpha Egg saves the day as a know-it-all.
Last but not least, it has both left and right hand functions which work perfectly for both left and right handers.
Alpha Egg Reader Pen Review
We love the Alpha Egg Reader Pen for its versatility! We use it in reading, both independent reading time and read-aloud sessions when I fail to recognise certain Chinese characters (oops!) It is also a companion during Chinese homework times and can be used for any kind of Chinese learning and reading of newspapers, the Chinese bible and so on. I find it very helpful for more difficult texts including the Chinese Bible.
The Chinese character function is also a godsend. It helps teach the child to write the character in the right order of strokes. It also rates the pronunciation of Chinese and English words. This is helpful for bilingual learners.
A few flaws I would highlight are not so pertinent – it tends to read a little monotonously and a little too quick for us. We adjusted the speed to slow for Chinese. It could read Chinese classical poems very fluently in a poetic manner though, just not so animated when reading picture books.
Also I found the grip a little chunky, it seems to fit the children’s palms better. Since the reader pen is primarily for their usage, I suppose a larger pen means a firmer grip. On the whole, we appreciate its fluent translations and definitions. Customise your display settings and reading speeds according to your needs and the Alpha Egg reader pen will fit your demands!
How to Purchase Alpha Egg Reader Pen
To purchase Alpha Egg Reader pen, head to this site and find out more via Instagram @sagesaurus.official. Little Day Out readers can enjoy a $5 off purchase of Alpha Egg Pen online via the site with this code <LITTLEDAYOUT5OFF>.
