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Contemplating DianHua on the iPad

Contemplating DianHua on the iPad

Wednesday, 26 May 2010 06:45

When Apple first announced the iPad, I have to admit I was a bit underwhelmed. For whatever reason, the platform failed to capture my attention the same way the iPhone did. Of course, that was before I had one in my hands. Even though I'm a bit disappointed in the iPhone application compatibility and the accuracy of the keyboard, I must admit I am anxious to get to work adapting DianHua Dictionary. As I contemplate the first iPad release, I am torn between doing a basic iPad adaptation or doing something truly unique, something that would meet my Chinese studying needs far better than a basic dictionary.

Comments

Frank Wolf - Reply to: Contemplating DianHua on the iPad

|2010-05-29 19:43:02

I think your idea is great and I love your application. There are ONLY two
things which I like to comment and hope this will support your decision what to
do.

1. Just now I have purchased dianhua with Audio. I´m a German living in
China and use your App every day. I just don´t like your set-up of the
flashcards for studying. Recentlz I have purchased as well the App called:
"Flashcard DeLuxe" This app is really great related to Flashcarrds
study, especially as it have different kinds of sorting AND it takes off thoe
cards which are confirmed as KNOWN. There are two category´s of that. As Known
or CLEARLY known. My point here is, if you could create a interface to that APP
or implement EXACTLY their style of FLASHCADS study including their sorting and
handling. In that app you just need to swife the fingers left/right/up or down
and NOT press those buttons and then you still need to move the next card by
your o...

Jason

|2010-06-04 14:54:25

It looks like this commenting software cut off part of your comment, but I got
the rest of it on e-mail.

#1 I will be working on the Flashcard sorting
algorithms and adding a real spaced repetition setup. You are one of a few who
have requested the ability to have words removed from studying if already known
so I'll try to integrate something along those lines.

#2 Integrating
LianXiShuZi with DianHua Audio is already on the todo list for a future release,
and I hope to expand the list of study tools even further. As to the iPad
interface, I'm definitely leaning toward doing something different with it.

Mike Bastien - A couple things

|2010-06-06 21:47:01

First off, thanks for the best dictionary Chinese dictionary I have ever used!
Living in China and I use it everyday.

I would really like to see writing
practice added into the dictionary. One that actually shows you the stroke order
in the draw mode. I am sure that it would be a lot of work but it would help
immensely. I am familiar with the stroke orders for a lot of characters but
there are some that really throw me off.

The other thing I would also like to
see is customization. There are a lot of terms used in manufacturing that are
not in the dictionary that I would love to be able to study and practice. Not
sure if that is already incorporated in some way or not but it would be nice.

Jason

|2010-06-08 19:19:18

I've spoken to a company about licensing stroke order animations, but it's been
difficult to keep them interested given that DianHua is largely free. If I do
stroke order animations, it's looking like something I'll need to roll myself,
and it's hard to invest the time given that you would think Skritter and others
would get there soon.

As for customization, a lot of the code is already done,
but I need to integrate it into the sync system. That's the only hold-up. It
should make it into the next release.

Elizabeth

|2010-06-10 00:47:32

Just want to add encouragement on developing dianhuadictionary's flashcard app,
though I use it every day for the dictionary content, which is excellent.
Flashcards Deluxe is a very flexible and powerful little flashcard app. I
personally don't think there's a better one out there. I use
dianhuadictionary.com to create the lists, then export them into Flashcards
Deluxe for studying purposes.

Gareth - Fan of DianHua!

|2010-07-12 11:36:56

I've used this program for a long time now and it has made a huge difference to
my study. Even though it would be great to have a Flashcard section with a more
sophisticated algorithm, I do find that the present one is great for learning a
batch of 10-20 words. Even if we could just ignore well-learnt ones manually
(without necessarily deleting them from a set), it would be fantastic. Even
without that, there are work arounds - especially since you've enabled us to do
a lot of editing with the latest release! Keep up the great work!

Jason

|2010-07-31 03:58:18

Improving the flashcard algorithm is 2nd on the list after finalizing and
releasing custom Bookmark entries.

Chris Tow

|2010-07-27 14:51:00

I believe this is an amazing application as it is. My studies of Chinese have
improved drastically with your work. Thank you very much.

One of my favorite
aspects of your app is the ability to see what each individual character means
and also searching each character for containing the character.

If there is one
thing I would recommend is having a rolling search. If I type in one word the
search begins, a la the KTdict-C-E application.

Jason

|2010-07-31 03:54:29

Thank you for the generous comments.

Search as you type is an often requested
feature and one I'm still on the fence about. It's not a feature I want
personally, but it's something I may add as a configurable option in the future.

Viv - iPad version

|2010-08-05 06:40:31

Thank you Jason for this great iPhone app. Especially the sync through internet,
very motivating to continue using your app even when changing iPod/iPhone or
iPad...

But for iPad, could you please first code a basic update of your app,
so that we can enjoy using your app with the iPad's resolution ?

Then
afterwards, of course, I'll be looking forward to a more complex update for a
unique app, if you have the time to spare.

Thanks a lot.

Jason

|2010-08-06 01:02:24

Thanks for your comments, Viv. As you've guessed, my time is short lately so I
haven't accomplished all I've wanted to accomplish over the Summer. As soon as
I finish up 2 other projects, I'll be back to work on a new release.

If
you've been keeping up with all of the comments, the priorities are:

- Custom
bookmarks -- so you can add phrases or words not already in the dictionary...a
precursor to importing word lists. This feature is complete on the iPhone side
but still needs Sync support.

- Better flashcard algorithms -- to facilitate
more productive studying.

- iPad support.

artie meehan

|2010-10-22 20:37:27

Can I use this on IPhone 4?
Can I use this without the access to the Internet?

Jason

|2010-10-28 03:01:49

Yes, you can use it on iPhone 4. There's a small bug with the study tools where
it might insist you don't have bookmarks. If that's the cases, double-click the
Home button on the iPhone, hold down on DianHua in the popup, and click the X to
terminate it. When you next start it up, the study tools should work.

David Kwon - iPad

|2011-01-04 06:35:40

Do you have any plans to launch the iPad version? It will be quite helpful....

Jason

|2011-01-06 05:09:51

Yes, we will definitely launch an iPad version. I don't have a definite time
frame, but I'm optimistic I'll be able to finish up the next version soon.

Christopher lee

|2011-05-19 03:25:14

i love this audio app- I would love an iPad version

Jason

|2011-05-27 17:47:00

Did I say "soon" in January? I need to stop being overly optimistic
about my schedule. I'm interviewing developers to help me finish up the next
version since my schedule has become so challenging. The iPad is definitely in
the works, though.

Denis - Font

|2011-08-02 21:06:58

Thanks so much for this great App!
I wonder if it could be possible to change
the font and get some "look" for the characters (like Kai for
ex.)?

That would be great!

Eric L. - Font

|2012-01-10 01:26:27

Same remark as Denis
I believe the fonts are part of iOS.
But I'm asking if
there is a way to add KaiTi font to dianhua or simply the iOS. So far I have
been unsuccessful.

Great App!

Jason

|2012-03-20 12:08:27

I did a little bit of reading, and it appears jailbreaking might be the only way
to get a different font on iOS without me distributing it in the application. I
do have a ticket in my system to review font options so I'll look into it
further.

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Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 May 2010 06:45