New Mandarin Audio Phrasebook App

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

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.

A Few Words On Sound Quality

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!

Cantonese 1.0 Now Available!

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.

New Search Functionality

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

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

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

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.

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