Last used Pleco on my Palm Tungsten in 2008 when an iPhone version was "not likely, due to Apple's strict requirements" (as I remember it being put). Was happy to see the Engadget article today & also thrilled I was able to painlessly switch platforms to something I might actually use again! (...Once I dug up my ancient acct password).
This is by far the most useful & well-thought-out app I have seen, and it beats the pants off KT-Dict in terms of function, customizability & options. Overall it's great & has gotten me excited about studying Chinese again!
That said, I think it's versatility may also be a downside for lazy college students & the like. I'm willing to bet they far outnumber serious academics cruising the App Store
A few potential downsides I see as a casual/non-power user:
- Overwhelming options & bit of a learning curve for the interface
I agree w/some previous threads about offering a "simple" and "advanced" user option set. I found myself tweaking stuff I didn't understand before I even bothered looking at the defaults.
- Lengthy & slightly buried explanation of said options.
The User Guide seemed well put together & like it would have all the answers I needed, if only I knew what questions to ask in the first place
I don't remember now if the intro pop-up pointed to the User Guide at all. If not, that would be helpful. Did I understand that you can't call it "Help"?
For me at least, a lot of the terminology/functions aren't immediately obvious.
I see "Head Pron" and my first thought has NOTHING to do with language study...
I'd never heard the term "Head Word" before today. I think of "character" "hanzi" or even "kanji" before that.
But, I suppose it was a similar story w/the Palm OS version - had to read the manual to figure out what everything did. That just seems unusual these days. I really think having the "simple" and "advanced" option toggles would keep people from getting frustrated or running scared back to KT-Dict.
If nothing else, it's the most customizable thing I've ever seen in the App Store
OCR, when it comes out, will be awesome - that feature alone should boost sales if only because it saves lazy college students time!
1 other confusing point:
When trying to import the HSK flashcards txt file, it gives me the option to change the file name & location (presumably to something I will recognize). I changed it to "HSK_Flashcards" and made a "Plecodict" folder. Unfortunately, this causes the import to fail because it can't find the file. When I didn't change the file name or location, it imported just fine, and then lists them as "HSK" anyway. If I can't change the name, why offer the option? Could've just been a mistake on my part, but I found it confusing & a bit frustrating after downloading the file 3 times in 3 different ways.
Anyway, to end on a good note - I was really excited to finally hear that this was available for iPhone (& that I didn't have to repurchase). If/when iPad becomes a more worthwhile purchase for me, I'll happily buy another license. I imagine Pleco integration would be great w reading Chinese text online or perhaps iBooks (if Apple allows either)?
...Japanese version?? "Kotoba!" is pretty weak. Thanks!
