ChinesePod iPhone App v2.0 - Consolidated Conversations

I would like to start using the ChinesePod app on my IPod Touch.  In the Self-Study screen, I see Newbie, Elementary, Intermediate and Any levels.  But I am only interested in (and subscribed to) Intermediate, Upper Intermediate, Qing Wen and BST.  What can I do so that I onlly see these lessons in the app?

I still can't see an option to change to traditional characters. Am I being stupid or are there no traditional characters?

I downloaded a bunch of lessons using wifi thinking that I could access them later. Unless I misunderstand though, it seems that I then need to go on line in order to access the lessons I already downloaded. Off line, I can only access the lessons on the first page of the self study section.

This first page is also cluttered up with the lessons I chose not to download so the off line access is limited to only a few lessons that I am interested in.

I know that the lessons are on my phone still because, next time I log on, I can access them without downloading again. It would be great if there was a section for downloaded lessons that I could access off line.

The other problem I have is that, if I follow the instructions and bookmark or subscribe to lessons I am interested in, using the Self Study tab in the dashboard on this site, the content in the iphone app is not filtered as claimed in the help section. It is not even synchronised with the self study page here which after reading the comments above, is a long-standing problem.

The app is handy when you are on-line but it would be really great if you could access the files already down loaded. Can some one let me know if I am missing something?

It would be much better if there was a seperate section showing a subset of the self study section, with downloaded lessons only, that can be accessed off line.

A feature request:

One thing I find inconvenient with the iPhone app is that I have to download each audio piece individually. I actually have an iPod Touch rather than an iPhone, so I can't download on a whim when I'm out and about. This is particularly an issue for the expansion sentences.

It would be convenient to have a feature where I could download all associated audio for all of the lessons I have bookmarked at a given time. At the very least, each lesson should have the option under the "listen" tab to download all audio for the expansion sentences.

Any info on when the next update is due and what features are going to be added / enhanced? I am desperately waiting for regaining the possibility to randomly flip through my vocab, regardless of their tags...

I am still experiencing problems with flash cards on my iPod Touch.  Often I can not access them at all, getting the error message "No Internet Connection".   I assume they are supposed to be stored locally. 

It does not appear that anybody from CPod is monitoring this group any more (most recent reply from them was on December 15 of last year???)

I have an ipod touch 4 and I recently started using the app. I can't use the Dialogue,Vocabulary or Expansion features because as soon as I click on them it quits the app.

Am I the only one that this happens to?

I've reinstalled the app 4 times with no difference.

update: it seems to quit randomly doing other operations as well...

Hi,

I'm planning to purchase an iPhone 4 when Verizon launches it in 2 weeks. Yet I've read a lot of negative comments on the ChinesePod forums about the ChinesePod app. One of the reasons I want a smart phone is to study on the go ... is there any progress being made?

Thanks.

Still no traditional. I am a subscriber who depends on the provision of traditional characters. Regardless of any other factor, without commitment to the provision of traditional characters across your service, I won't be renewing my subscription.

Hello all,

I'm happy to announce that v2.0.1 of the ChinesePod Subscriber app is now available for download on the iPhone app store. It includes a number of fixes/enhancement, specifically (and this is straight from the app update description):

Fixed problem with HTML entity codes appearing in pinyin on flashcards

Added 1 and 3 second auto cycle options for flashcards

User can now choose to show hanzi, pinyin, or English on flashcard front

User can now swipe left and right to navigate between flashcards

Dashboard lesson list now properly reflects lessons listed on the website Dashboard

Fixed minor display error in flashcard presentation

Some of you may be disappointed that the update contained only these fixes, and doesn't reflect some of the other feedback that you have given. I'd like to take a second to address the reason for that, for people that aren't familiar with the way that the iPhone app submission and approval process works.

The v2.0.1 app was submitted for review on December 3. We chose to limit the scope to a few actual bugs (functionality that was present, but wasn't working as it should) and a few "low-hanging fruit" bits of functionality so that we could get it pushed into the review queue ASAP. Unfortunately, it then spent the next 13 or so days in that queue, during which time we've continued to work on the app, addressing a large number of the issues that you all have brought up, and laying the groundwork for addressing the rest. However, if after submitting an app (but before that app is approved) you decide to submit another update, your app is moved to the back of the review queue. Thus, though we have a rather better app on our test systems in the office, we had to wait until this first update was approved by Apple before submitting it.

We will submit 2.0.2 for approval today, but I'm afraid that it won't be approved until near the New Year (Apple is shutting down app submissions and reviews from December 23-28 for Christmas). In turn, we will submit 2.0.3 as soon as 2.0.2 is approved. We expect those two updates to address the vast majority of issues raised by the 2.0 launch.

We still welcome any and all feedback on the app, and hope that the upcoming versions will solve any problems that are users are having, and begin to break new grounds in terms of mobile functionality for ChinesePod users.

Hi John - hope everything is going well

Any update on the app?

Thanks

Ben

Dear All - thanks for this.

Just some suggestions for future release (not the upcoming one). I thought maybe the player screen could be improved if the intention is that it is to be used to control the audio while navigating other areas (E.g. Following the dialogue in the 'lesson' area). These are just suggestions based on what I think your intention is in having the player screen and you can take them or leave them, I've no hard feelings if you disagree:

• I noticed that if I'm following the dialogue and want to repeat a bit, it would be useful to have a couple of 'jump forward/backward by time increment' buttons. (E.g. To leap 5 or 10 seconds back and forward). Using my finger to navigate via the progress bar is quite clumsy, especially in the main 10 minute length audio lesson where a small movement of the thumb could mean jumping back a minute or two.
• I'd suggest using the standard symbols for things like play, stop and so on, not only to conserve space but they're more intuitive in the standard layout than textual buttons. You might want to combine the play and pause into the one button.
• Finally, I was wondering whether it would be feasible to do away with the player screen altogether and having the player control appear in a highly compact form at the bottom of every screen once an audio file has been opened (and could be hideable/closeable). It would be a trade-off of some screen estate for allowing the user to control the audio from anywhere in the app without having to press any button and also I think it might help to bind the audio and the content together well. I guess it also depends how tricky it would be to implement.

Good luck!

Ben

- Dashboard view does not sync with current website dashboard - e.g. still displays lessons marked as "studied" on the website

- Can only view 10 lessons at a time. No way to view previous subscribed lessons that have fallen off the dashboard

- no progress bar on downloads - no idea how long they will take.

- no way to see from the lesson view which lessons you've already downloaded and which you haven't