Finally after weeks of back and forth with Apple, the free version of the Japancast iPhone/iPod Touch app is available!
The app is identical to the paid version, except for the number of kanji available.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FREE APP
You can learn to read and write all hiragana & all katakana with this app.
Here’s the video preview of how it functions:
It’s taken a year for version 1.0 to finally be released, but the Japancast iPhone app is finally in the iTunes store.
There are 2 version, free and paid. The free version will teach you hiragana, katakana and a few kanji. The paid version also includes all Joyo level 1 kanji.
CLICK HERE to open iTunes and view the paid version.
PLEASE read the instructions before using the app. It has a pseudo handwriting recognition system that requires you to write the characters in the proper stroke order. The app also includes the pronunciation for every character, a flashcard mode and a self test mode.
If you have positive things to say about the app, please post a review to iTunes. However, if you have any problems at all, please contact us directly. Hitomi and I aren’t a huge corporation, so negative reviews can have major consequences for us.
For quite a while now I’ve been working with a developer on the Japancast iPhone app. We just finished the alpha testing phase and are preparing to move into beta testing.
Here’s a little info to get you excited.
It will teach you to write hiragana, katakana and kanji using the proper stroke order.
The free version will teach you ALL* hiragana and katakana – and will include some kanji.
The paid version will be VERY inexpensive. I was tired of seeing great apps that cost a fortune. We know most of our listeners are students living on a budget. It will include a “pay as you go” model, so you only will buy what you want to learn and if you only want to learn hiragana and katakana, then you’ll pay nothing!
*note: the app is still in beta – we may decide not to include characters like ひゃ, ちゃ, みゅ, etc., since you’ll already be learning や, ゆ, etc., as full characters.
via FatWallet.com:
They just came out with Anime Studio 6, so Smith Micro is giving away Anime Studio 5 for FREE. Mac and Win versions, serial number key provided at download and you don’t have to give anything but your address and email.
http://my.smithmicro.com/freeanime/
The serial number is given to you just below the “download HTTP now” blue button after checkout. It’s also in the confirmation email they send you and is unique, so you need the one they provide with your transaction. It’s what you’ll use if you want to upgrade to AS6 for $20.
If you’re using a fake email be SURE to copy the serial number from the download screen or you won’t be able to install the full version!
One of the things I’m frustrated with is amount of pretty poorly done iPhone apps to help you learn Japanese. So, I’m considering creating the “Japancast iPhone App”.
Before we go too far down this road, I’d love to get our listener’s input. What would you like to see in an app?
Some things I’m considering are:
Handwriting / stroke-order recognition – the ability for the app to know if you’ve written a kanji with the proper stroke order.
On / kun pronunciation for all kanji
Sample sentences using the kanji you’re learning, along with a voice recording of the sentence.
iKnow is a new language learning site with a social twist. At the moment it only offers English for Japanese speakers and Japanese for English speakers. The plan is to offer multiple languages in the future.
You can build your own list of courses, add friends and track your progress as you study. At the moment they have 10 core Japanese study guides, but more will be added as the site moves out of beta.
Overall the concept is great. Certainly it’s a worthwhile addition to your list of Japanese study resources.
From Computer World:
A Japanese software company is stepping up international promotion of its Web browser in the hope of carving out a 5% share over the next few years of a market dominated by Internet Explorer and Firefox.
The Sleipnir browser is well-known among Japanese technophiles, many of whom value the high level of customization that the browser allows. At the center of this customization is the ability to select either the Trident or Gecko layout engines for each Web site visited.
Trident was developed by Microsoft Corp. and is used in Internet Explorer while Gecko is used in Mozilla’s Firefox.
And, of course, Sleipnir also excels at Engrish by saying, ” Web Browser specializes in customization (For Advanced User) Improved further stability and speed of performance tuning.”
It is, according to their website, the number 1 browser in Japan. Anyone using Sleipnir?
We mentioned it quite a while ago, but the site has just launched. I’ll be talking about it a bit more in the podcast later.
If you’re looking to find a Japanese friend, penpal, language partner, boyfriend or girlfriend, this is the site for you. You’ll have to create a new account, but basic accounts are free.
Head over now and check it out!
From:Japan Today – News – Tezuka’s manga work to go online
TOKYO — A virtual bookstore said Wednesday it would put online the works of “Astroboy” creator Osamu Tezuka, the father of manga comics. Papyless, which sells digital versions of books, said it was teaming up with copyright holder Tezuka Production to upload at least 448 stories from the prolific late cartoonist.
Tezuka, sometimes called Japan’s Walt Disney, pioneered the country’s now massive manga industry, drawing stories whose characters were often fantastical with exaggerated physical features. He died in 1989.
Papyless will offer Tezuka comics including “Astroboy,” Japan’s best-known comic series relating the adventures of a robot-boy in a futuristic universe.
Others works to go online will include “Black Jack,” the tales of a doctor, and “New Treasure Island.”
Papyless, whose website is www.papy.co.jp/, said in a statement it would put the works online from March 18. It will cost 105 yen to read a volume over 48 hours.
Buying the work online will cost 315 yen per volume.
Digital books have become a growing market in Japan, with several online companies teaming up with publishers to upload works of various genres. Papyless has some 80,000 titles online.
Another growing market in Japan is for novels written specifically for mobile telephones.
Half of Japan’s top-selling novels last year were originally cellphone novels, which employ short phrases and “emoticon” symbols to adapt to the small screens.
Sadly for us in America, the dollar is at an all-time low versus the yen, so costs of items from Japan are much higher than before. If you visit the site, you can click the banner at the top and there are some free sample issues available. It’s using a proprietary online reader, but it seems to work fine.
