Official iPad Thread
- Thread starter mikelove
- Start date
I never realized that the option was available in the iPhone version. There's so many settings and options after all. I guess that is one thing that I find different from the HIG (human interface guidelines) that other Apps follow. I've noticed that most users here really like it, so I won't argue too much against it--my personal opinion is that I always think programming time should be spent on additional substantive features, even features so new and compelling that people would be willing to pay for them, as opposed to offering every single customization option and a raft of settings screens (that rival the amount of general settings available for the iPhone itself).
Certainly a reasonable point; I think a big part of the reason we've gotten into / succeeded with the approach we have is that Pleco is something many people spend a lot of time using - hours a day in some cases. Small annoyances / little things you'd like changed start to loom very large when you're using it that much, and all of the configuration options help to reduce the number of those things the average user has to put up with. Big features are still where we spend most of our time, though, hence flashcard / user dictionary / iPad support very soon and some other new ideas in the pipeline once we finish polishing off those.
character
状元
On the OS 4.0 thread there was discussion about getting an iPad/which one to get. I had the 64GB/3G model on order, but canceled because it was coming clear the 256MB RAM Apple had put in was going to shorten the useful lifespan of this generation of the device -- it has memory problems running certain iPhone apps and has problems keeping multiple browser windows open. I also get the impression it won't get multitasking with OS 4.0. That said, I'm still inclined to get one, just the 16GB wifi model instead. It would be a good test device, and having played with one, it's hard to dismiss it for reading, playing iTunes U and Netflix videos, and ultimately for using the awe-inspiring dual-pane Pleco Reader. :wink:
character
状元
FWIW, I did pick up a 16gb iPad yesterday. I'm seriously impressed (and I've not even run Pleco on it yet :wink
. Before, one could curl up with a book in bed; now you can curl up with a relatively hi-res movie, a book, a news program, etc. The experience is much better than with an iPod Touch or my ThinkPad X60T tablet. The only problem I've had so far is it seems sometimes touches aren't recognized -- if I can find a dead spot on the screen I'll exchange it.
. Before, one could curl up with a book in bed; now you can curl up with a relatively hi-res movie, a book, a news program, etc. The experience is much better than with an iPod Touch or my ThinkPad X60T tablet. The only problem I've had so far is it seems sometimes touches aren't recognized -- if I can find a dead spot on the screen I'll exchange it.
I hadn't tried VoiceOver on the iPad yet, but that's pretty cool - it also pronounces "Pleco" correctly when reading English, which makes me like it even more. Sadly, there doesn't seem to be a way we can plug into this for reading Chinese text without it enabled as an accessibility feature, and in general VoiceOver seems to be intrusive enough that it's doubtful most users would want to leave it turned on, but maybe in the future Apple will give us a way to hook into that narrating goodness for non-accessibility-related purposes.
We'll almost certainly incorporate it for OS 4.0 (when it will presumably be supported on iPhone / iPod as well), but probably not before then - it creates some issues with our application's directory structure that will take a bit of work to deal with. But we definitely do want to support it, since there are a surprisingly large number of people out there with absolutely no internet access on their iPhones / iPods and hence no way of installing Pleco add-ons (at least not until we give them instructions on how to create an ad hoc WiFi hotspot on their almost-always-internet-equipped laptop, which is kind of a hassle for the non-computer-savvy).
Good to know. Have you seen the GoodReader app and how it handles folders and the iTunes file system (as well as how it handles file management and working as a reader)?
Has anyone suggested using something like a 3 finger swipe to change modes (Going from dictionary to flashcards to reader, etc.)? Or maybe not even require 3 fingers...
Has anyone suggested using something like a 3 finger swipe to change modes (Going from dictionary to flashcards to reader, etc.)? Or maybe not even require 3 fingers...
ConfuciusTse
举人
Just want to add my perspective on what I would like to see on an iPad version of Pleco. My iPod Touch is great as a mobile platform for reference look-ups (aka, dictionary) and (hopefully soon) flashcards practice. However, the value to me in a larger scale platform that is the iPad (which is far less mobile) is a more interactive learning experience. Here are some suggestions in order of priority to me:
1) Handwriting practice with overlays and creative ways to "prompt" for the correct stroke order.
2) Interactive reading with characters, PinYin, and English translations (mdbg.net does a great version of this concept). Possibly following a textbook.
3) Contextual comprehension (spoken words, pick the visual...like Rosetta Stone). Make your own adventure, Chinese style!
Quite honestly, Pleco's implementation on the iPad will be the decisive factor in my decision to purchase either an iPad (walled garden), ebook reader (cheaper one trick pony like Kindle), or touchscreen computer (multi-functional but short battery like HP Slate). Each platform has their strengths and weaknesses but likely only one or maybe two (if you include desktop Pleco) will have full Pleco support.
So keep us in the loop so I can make an informed decision!
1) Handwriting practice with overlays and creative ways to "prompt" for the correct stroke order.
2) Interactive reading with characters, PinYin, and English translations (mdbg.net does a great version of this concept). Possibly following a textbook.
3) Contextual comprehension (spoken words, pick the visual...like Rosetta Stone). Make your own adventure, Chinese style!
Quite honestly, Pleco's implementation on the iPad will be the decisive factor in my decision to purchase either an iPad (walled garden), ebook reader (cheaper one trick pony like Kindle), or touchscreen computer (multi-functional but short battery like HP Slate). Each platform has their strengths and weaknesses but likely only one or maybe two (if you include desktop Pleco) will have full Pleco support.
So keep us in the loop so I can make an informed decision!
numble - the problem is that we need to use the directory iTunes dumps documents into for other things; it's the only place on the device where we can store data and have it backed up and restored for us. So giving it over to documents entirely like GoodReader does isn't necessarily realistic. The basic document-viewing interface is definitely something we need to improve, though, and the tap-in-the-middle-to-show-toolbars mechanic is one of the better systems for it.
ConfuciusTse - I'm still not wild about those interactive stroke order tests (or stroke order tests in general, to be honest), but it does seem to be the way the market is moving. A sentence translation function like you describe is very high in our priority list - basically, anytime you entered a search term that didn't have an entire dictionary entry covering it, we'd break the term down and divide the search results into multiple sections for each component part of it, simultaneously helping with sentence reading and with words we didn't have in our database.
Not quite sure what you mean by "contextual comprehension," though - would be this be an integrated picture dictionary with attendant flashcards, or is there some other aspect to it that I'm not getting?
ConfuciusTse - I'm still not wild about those interactive stroke order tests (or stroke order tests in general, to be honest), but it does seem to be the way the market is moving. A sentence translation function like you describe is very high in our priority list - basically, anytime you entered a search term that didn't have an entire dictionary entry covering it, we'd break the term down and divide the search results into multiple sections for each component part of it, simultaneously helping with sentence reading and with words we didn't have in our database.
Not quite sure what you mean by "contextual comprehension," though - would be this be an integrated picture dictionary with attendant flashcards, or is there some other aspect to it that I'm not getting?
I can see there being some market for something like what nciku does. Categories and words linked to pictures. Even along that front, just the categorization of words, which would basically create a thesaurus.
Maybe just visual pictures linked to HSK words?
I don't use it, but many people seem to swear by Remembering the Hanzi, something along that front could also work.
Maybe just visual pictures linked to HSK words?
I don't use it, but many people seem to swear by Remembering the Hanzi, something along that front could also work.
ConfuciusTse
举人
By "contextual comprehension" I'm suggesting a learning process that integrates a phrase (hanzi, pinyin, verbal, etc) and then say four photos to choose from of which only one is correct. This stresses general comprehension over learning specific words. Of course this also changes the focus of Pleco from reference to learning which was the point of my earlier posting regarding my perspective on the difference between iPhone and iPad implementations.
Ah, makes sense. That would change the focus to learning a bit, yeah - we may be moving in that direction anyway with our flashcard system (particularly if we start more aggressively pushing things like sentence review) but we're still a ways away from being a full-on Chinese course. Though it's certainly an intriguing direction to explore... wouldn't take much, either, a few weeks of programming and a textbook license or two and we'd be on our way.
character
状元
I've spent a little more time with the Pleco beta on the iPad. When in the Apple case in the 'low slung wedge' (typing) attitude, Pleco works great on a desktop for looking up characters. I could see this being off to one side while working on a class assignment. At the same time, when mobile/without a desk, the iPad's size makes it hard to use Pleco for looking up characters while also juggling reading material.
ConfuciusTse
举人
Exactly! Extend the framework you already built for the reference part of Pleco to open up a whole new learning market. You've already done the hard part and have a great reputation. I'm sure many of us would be more than happy to sing your praises if you came out with a learning app.
character - that's certainly true, the iPad's much better as a standalone reader than as something to put alongside a printed book. Which is a pretty god argument for integrating more learning materials right there.
ConfuciusTse - very true, both on the reputation and on the technical side of things; we've already got all of the infrastructure in place for selling / offering downloads of copy-protected materials too, and with a few weeks worth of effort we could probably have something comparable to any other iPhone / iPad document reader app features-wise. (hideable toolbars aren't *that* hard, just enough work that we wanted to finish flashcards first)
ConfuciusTse - very true, both on the reputation and on the technical side of things; we've already got all of the infrastructure in place for selling / offering downloads of copy-protected materials too, and with a few weeks worth of effort we could probably have something comparable to any other iPhone / iPad document reader app features-wise. (hideable toolbars aren't *that* hard, just enough work that we wanted to finish flashcards first)