advice on flashcard soft for phone?

[theroot]

Hi:

I have been using ZDT for a few months now, and I really like it for the vocab. Biggest problem is when I move between computers, and mobile support.

Ideally I would want some service that would automatically sync my word history, and allow the use of a mobile device (win mobile phone, android, ipod touch)... The sync can happen in realtime for always-connected phones, or periodically, like with ipod touch or dell axim or smth. Automatically is the key here.

I've looked through the sticky on resources, but I can't quite put my finger on any software/service that can be used from a phone/ handheld.

I don't have a phone yet, so I would like to locate the software/service before I get the phone. I am leaning towards meizu m8, since windows platform is likely to be flexible, but nothing is ruled out at this point.

Thanks!

root

[imron]

Use Anki.

[theroot]

anki does have an online page, probably a good idea... now only to select a phone that can show pinyin ...

[theroot]

I noticed on Anki's page the only mobile version that looks officially supported by Anki is android... Good thing HTC magic is coming out soon...

Any advice on what is the best android phone I can get in Shanghai?

[gato]

Use Pleco: http://www.pleco.com/screenshots.html

Currently, Palm and Windows Mobile are supported. An iPhone version is in the works.

[roddy]

Biggest problem is when I move between computers, and mobile support.

While Pleco's brilliant and heartily recommended, if you're looking to sync between mobile and desktop it's not what you want at the moment. Anki is probably the best option, particuarly as it has a mobile-friendly Internet interface.

[imron]

I agree with pleco if you're just looking for flashcards on a mobile device, but if you want flashcards that sync between multiple different computers, plus mobile devices, then Anki is your best bet.

According to their download page, the android version is still a work in progress. There are also iPhone, Zaurus, Windows Mobile version etc. Plus the website version of anki is quite viewable with a phone.

[gato]

Once you start using flashcards on a smartphone, you won't need to use them on your PC, anymore. Any vocab list you have on your computer, you can always import into your phone. That would be the only synching you need. I don't see any reason not to do all your regular flashcard studying on the phone. That's what I've been doing the last three years.

[theroot]

I've been looking at anki, and it looks like it will do almost exactly what i want. And android being supported directly by them is a big plus, i think G2/magic is my device then.

I am not fully clear on the sound plugin for Anki, nor pre-made card sets, will have to investigate. Is roddy by chance involved with the roddy ZDT plugin? I have to say, the sound plugins were the feature that solidified my decision to choose ZDT. I hope there's a way to add similar capability to anki just as seamlessly as with zdt.

Pleco might be okay for mobile-only, and I will evaluate the mobile-only approach on my axim, but anki is my primary option. Chinesepod flashcards are too far from being ready, too bad. They do have a set of mp3s for syllables available though, maybe I can add those to anki too... Now I am ranting, too much to think about.

[HerrPetersen]

If you are looking for study material to import into anki I highly suggest the smart.fm (formerly known as iKnow) stuff.

It has tons of example sentences, super-high quality sound-recordings and great, spot on images to make learning even more easier and fun. (yeah I totally love their site.)

Here a list that focuses on learning hanzi:

http://smart.fm/series/3334

Here one that focuses on building up vocab:

http://smart.fm/series/3325

Here the anki-plugin to import smart.fm stuff:

http://ichi2.net/anki/wiki/Plugins#Importsmart.fmitems.2Candgenerallists

Anyhow, I highly suggest, that you "learn" anki, before diving in. It does take maybe an hour or so until you have control of all the options (different models (for vocab, hanzi, sentences, whatever), different fields (pinyin, hanzi, translation, definitions, sound, ... ),

card templates (do you want to be tested hanzi->meaning, sound->meaning, sound->hanzi(dictation mode), etc...))

Anki is quiet adaptable, however you have to spend a little time until you understand its featueres).

However I do not know how these features can be used in the mobile versions.

[theroot]

I hear you about Anki, the learning curve is what scared me when I started out 4 months back. ZDT had a much faster learning curve, pre-made sets for pimsleur, and a fully automatic sound plugin.

Now I've run out of pimsleur, moved, and am sort of ready for a more featured solution like Anki. Not quite sure of how to go about getting pre-made decks for anki though.

Smart.fm does look very nice, and I am importing a set into Anki, will see how it works out. Now it appears smart.fm also has mobile support with their iphone/touch app, so that's another possibility (as long as their app can work in offline mode on the ipod touch...)

does anyone have any reviews on the smart.fm interval recall routine? It does not look as flexible as anki's, but I am very new (about 500 words) do I really need all of anki's power? Oh, decisions, decisions... and how to inorporate my chinesepod subscription into all of this? while their lessons are nice and consize, and they have a lot of material, their web tools lack features...

[Ed Log]

use Vendant - no frills.

Just load your word list in or copy and paste them from a free EN-CN dictionary such as wm-dict

http://www.vendant.com/FlashCardManager/

http://sites.google.com/site/wmdict/

Edited July 26, 2009 at 10:30 PM by Ed Log

[self-taught-mba]

Hoe does one find out the email address of one's phone? Required for anki online it says.