I just got a pocket dictionary for my Italian 101 class. I went to Borders and went through all the ones they had there. Factors included: price, size, features like pronunciation charts, inclusion of curse words, and of course, design.
It was down to three, this Langenscheidt, the Berlitz one, and another. The third was bigger and had less words, I think. The Berlitz had a nice design, but I really liked the simple yellow/blue/black contrast of the Langenscheidt. And also the Langenscheidt and Berlitz books were literally exactly the same. I'm not bothering to do the research, but I'm guessing they have the same source, for whatever reason.
I love this book; these pictures don't do it justice. In addition to teaching me Italian, it feels great. The pages are super thin, but I can still flip through them to find the right word. I also love the bendy, plastic covers, which make it more durable. It's perfect.
