Electronic Currency Converter Buying Guide

Although currency conversion calculations can be conducted for free on the internet, an electronic currency converter is useful when you need to perform currency conversions where internet access is not available, or without waiting for a computer to boot up. They are useful if you travel to foreign countries or are involved in international trade. Currency converters can be purchased as a stand-alone unit or as part of an electronic organizer or language translator.

STAND-ALONE: One of the more common stand-alone electronic converters is the Samsonite Royal Traveller Currency Converter. It is offered by many eBay sellers for under $15, and can also be used as a regular calculator. Some shopping websites like worldtraveler.com and shop.com offer stand-alone currency converters as well. The Zelco Money-X-Changer series of stand-alone electronic currency converters are usually sold with a guide book containing information useful for international travel; one of these can be purchased on the Target website for $39.99. Other brand names which sell or have sold these converters include Talus, Eagle Creek, and Eddie Bauer.

ORGANIZER: The majority of electronic organizers and PDA (Personal Data Assistant) units have a built-in currency converter. Inexpensive units with this capability include the Citizen ED-150N, Ultronic TS-320, and Karce KD-1688. These tend to be somewhat larger than stand-alone converters. On some organizer and PDA models, this feature is accessed by pressing the Calculator button twice. Most organizers also have other useful features for foreign travel or business transactions; many can convert some types of metric measurements (temperature, distance, weight, etc), and some have world time clock features as well.

TRANSLATOR: Many electronic translators include a built-in currency converter, providing a useful combination of features for foreign travel. A generic unit which translates six languages, shows the time & date, and converts currencies is available inexpensively from unityelectronics.com and some eBay sellers. The more sophisticated twelve-language Franklin TG-450 translator also converts currencies and metric measurements. Another example is the Lingo TR-300 language translator, currency converter, and metric converter, which is available from focuscamera.com for $39.99. Using the froogle.google.com search engine is helpful for finding these.

Electronic currency converters have to be programmed with the correct conversion rates before they can be used. Currency values can be obtained from some websites, television broadcasts, and newspapers. While it is not difficult to find translators and personal data assistants with this feature in stores (such as Office Depot and Target), stand-alone units are easier to find online.