Gene's Apps

Updates for all!

2010-02-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

By now, some of you may have noticed that all 3 apps, Taiwanese, Cantonese, and EZ Chinese have been updated. These three apps now support bookmarking of phrases so that you can easily access phrases for practicing. I've also added the abililty to play the audio recordings at half (.5X) speed.
I hope you find these new features helpful. These updates are all available now for free through iTunes. - Gene

Cantonese 1.7 Now Available!

2010-01-06T16:33:00.000-08:00

The "Cantonese" app has just been updated to version 1.7 on the iTunes store. This new version adds a quiz mode to the app. Simply navigate to a particular category of phrases and hit the 'Quiz' button to test your progress! This version requires iPhone OS 3.1 or later.

New Mandarin Audio Phrasebook App

2010-01-04T16:23:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to announce that our new "EZ Chinese" iPhone/iPod touch app is now available in the iTunes app store. It includes over 850 audio recordings of phrases and words in Mandarin Chinese as recited by a native speaker. You can learn more here (opens in iTunes).

Taiwanese updated to version 2.0

2009-11-14T07:04:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to announce that version 2.0 of the "Taiwanese" app is now available. This version adds a quiz mode to help you test your progress. This update is free to all who have purchased previous versions.

New Updates!

2009-11-07T03:19:00.001-08:00

Both "Taiwanese" and "Cantonese" have been updated with sections for "10 Random Phrases." Its a small update but I hope it keeps the learning experience interesting for you. Thanks again for your support!

A Few Words On Sound Quality

2009-10-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

For both of my current apps, "Taiwanese" and "Cantonese", the audio recordings obviously play a central role in the apps' functionality. To ensure that users are happy with the quality of these recordings, I'm currently using a Nady SPC-25 condenser mic fed into a Mackie 1402 Mixer. The analog to digital conversion is then handled by a Presonus Firebox audio interface connected to a Mac.
This setup has worked well so far and I hope users find the audio quality more than sufficient. Soon I'll also be evaluating the CEntrance MicPort Pro, which has received many glowing reviews, as an alternative recording setup. Please be assured that we're not cutting corners when making these recordings.
Once again, thanks to all my customers for your support!

Taiwanese 1.5 Now Available

2009-10-05T17:37:00.001-07:00

Taiwanese version 1.5 is now available in iTunes. As mentioned earlier, this update mainly contains expanded content. There have been dozens of new words and phrases added to the app.

Cantonese 1.0 Now Available!

2009-09-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce that our new app, "Cantonese 1.0" is now available on iTunes. This app shares many of the same features as "Taiwanese", but of course has recordings of over 800 Cantonese words and phrases.

Taiwanese 1.4 now available!

2009-08-20T16:41:00.000-07:00

Again, this update is free to purchasers of all earlier versions. You can get this update through iTunes now.

Taiwanese Cities

2009-08-08T18:06:00.000-07:00

I've just submitted version 1.4 of the Taiwanese app. This version adds a section containing the pronunciations of 19 Taiwanese cities. It may take a week or two to make it through the app store approval process.

Taiwanese Version 1.3

2009-08-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hope everybody is enjoying learning taiwanese. Version 1.3 of Taiwanese has just been approved by Apple and will be available on iTunes shortly.

New Search Functionality

2009-07-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

I've just submitted version 1.3 of "Taiwanese." This new version adds the ability to search for a phrase (in English) in the "All Phrases" section. I've also done some major restructuring in the app which should speed up performance when selecting a particular category of phrases.

Taiwanese 1.2 now available

2009-07-16T16:40:00.001-07:00

Version 1.2 of "Taiwanese" is now available on iTunes. Again, this is a free update for everyone who purchased an earlier version.

Taiwanese version 1.2

2009-07-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

I've just submitted version 1.2 of "Taiwanese" to the iTunes store. This update adds an index to the "All Phrases" section so that you can immediately navigate to phrases that begin with a certain letter. I've also thrown in a few more examples of phrases under the "People & Possessions" topic. I'll post an update once it has been approved and made available on iTunes.

Taiwanese version 1.1

2009-07-07T16:43:00.000-07:00

Version 1.1 of "Taiwanese" has been approved and is now available on the iTunes app store. In this version, which as been rebuilt using iPhone SDK version 3.0, I've added a section listing all words and phrases together in alphabetical order. I've also added more words and phrases covering basic colors as well as those covering addressing people and indicating possession. For example, "you," "us", "them," "this is mine," "this is our home," "this is his car." This update is free to all customers who purchased version 1.0.
I'm now working on version 1.2 which will add an index to the 'All Phrases' section. Hope this will make it easier to navigate and cut down on excessive scrolling.

2009-06-30T19:11:00.000-07:00

I had a small problem with the submission of version 1.1 of "Taiwanese". Its fixed now and has been resubmitted. I also took the opportunity to rebuild the iPhone/iTouch app using version 3.0 of the iPhone SDK.
Until 1.1 is available, you can still find the current version on iTunes either by searching for "Taiwanese Gene Ko" or by clicking on: http://www.itunes.com/app/Taiwanese

2009-06-22T17:43:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce that version 1.0 of "Taiwanese" is now available on the iTunes app store. The next small update will add an 'All Phrases' section which will list all the recorded phrases alphabetically.

Please post any constructive feedback you have in the comments section.

Thanks - Gene

Welcome!

2009-06-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

Hi. I'll be posting more information regarding my iPhone apps here. The first will be a Taiwanese language audio phrasebook!