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Hi. I actually had it in mind to create something like this myself -- a mobile-first, nicer-designed version of Anki. But it looks like you already started on t

Hi. I actually had it in mind to create something like this myself -- a mobile-first, nicer-designed version of Anki. But it looks like you already started on this, 2.5 years ago. Always the way.. It definitely looks nicer than Anki. It's also better for creating simple cards, something which I haven't really been able to do on the Anki app. The workflow for adding a new card is a great experience. I do think that creating my own cards is an important part of the memorisation process. I've downloaded pre-made cards before, but the stuff I use in conversation is almost always the stuff where I've created the card. Those are the words/phrases that leap to mind. One issue - my recorded audio didn't play when I reviewed the card (either on the front side or the back side). Maybe a bug? Based on just 5 minutes of experimentation, I expect that this will become my "on the go" card creator, while I'll keep Anki around for the time being because, when I create cards on my laptop, I can import Forvo pronunciations etc. Have you thought about how to monetise this?

kendallpark 9y ago
> I actually had it in mind to create something like this myself -- a mobile-first, nicer-designed version of Anki. This is also my current project. Although not mobile first. I use Anki a lot and personally find the UI to be insufferable.
- FreakyT 9y ago
  100% this. I solely use the unofficial AnkiDroid port because it's leagues beyond the awful desktop app. Somewhat related: a lot of its horribleness comes from the fact that the UI is written with QT, which is equally horrible for Windows and Mac, and basically okay for Linux as long as your DE is KDE.
  - dotancohen 9y ago
    What do you dislike as a user about Qt apps on Windows or Mac? Granted I _am_ on KDE (CentOS) but Qt apps that I've seen on Windows or Mac seem almost native. VLC, Opera, Anki
  - yorwba 9y ago
    What is so bad about the Anki UI? I have been using it for three years on Ubuntu Unity and I'm pretty happy with it. I especially like how keyboard-friendly it is.
  - kendallpark 9y ago
    > a lot of its horribleness comes from the fact that the UI is written with QT I would agree with this. It also doesn't appear that much thought went into how the application should flow. It really feels like a smattering of UI components were picked out because they could accomplish the goal at hand without much thought as to what would optimize the user experience. For example, the way you browse through cards leaves much to be desired. Even stuff like the size of the buttons when you're reviewing cards. It DOES feel like the kit used to handle the GUI limits the application. One thing that I think Anki got right (and I got wrong in my first iteration of a spaced-rep app) is doing away with the visual metaphor of a card. The reason you put information on a back of a real-life flash card is so you can review the question without seeing the answer. The answer is obfuscated, but readily available (you don't have to go look it up). There is NO reason to keep the metaphor alive in an app. It is actually less optimal to animate a card flipping over when you want to see the answer. It is better for the answer to simply appear underneath the question so you can easily reference each aspect.
wahnfrieden 9y ago
I also started on something like what you described (mobile-first, nicer-designed version of Anki) a few years ago, but catering specifically to Japanese. :) Not yet launched though. http://beta.manabi.io/ http://beta.manabi.io/
jmcannon 9y ago
Thanks a ton for the feedback - very useful. And thank you for the bug report - I'll check that out (my initial guess is that you don't have the CARD DISPLAY set to play audio on that side right now - which is itself a problem for being confusing). Re: monetization. It's freemium right now - 100 cards to try out the app, then three bucks per month for access to all the decks we've made. Completely free to create your own content. I'll look into Forvo integration - that sounds useful.
- mdevere 9y ago
  Ah, just found the deck settings and corrected this. Thanks. I've played around a bit more and have some further feedback. Something that is really key for me: When I create cards, sometimes I want the audio to play on the front, sometimes on the back (and perhaps sometimes both). But there is just one audio value and I need to decide whether I want it to play on the front or the back across the entire deck. For example, card 1: FRONT: Text says "écureuil", audio reads out "écureuil" BACK: Text says "écureuil", audio reads out "écureuil", and there's a picture of a squirrel That's good for vocab comprehension, but what if I want the converse exercise? Card 2: FRONT: Picture of a squirrel BACK: Text says "écureuil", audio reads out "écureuil", and there's a picture of a squirrel At the moment there's no way for me to create both cards at once. I would need two separate decks because it's one template to a deck. And I would need to make the card twice. I realise this is jumping ahead to 'power user' territory but it's definitely a feature I would use.
  - mdevere 9y ago
    btw i would def pay for a pro feature such as that
archie_peach 9y ago
Seems this is a fairly popular idea :) I've also been working on something similar for the past year. https://vocabifyapp.com/ https://vocabifyapp.com/ Currently only a web app with a React/Redux/Node/Firebase stack. Anyway, hope it goes well and good luck with your project!

kendallpark 9y ago

> I actually had it in mind to create something like this myself -- a mobile-first, nicer-designed version of Anki. This is also my current project. Although not mobile first. I use Anki a lot and personally find the UI to be insufferable.

FreakyT 9y ago
100% this. I solely use the unofficial AnkiDroid port because it's leagues beyond the awful desktop app. Somewhat related: a lot of its horribleness comes from the fact that the UI is written with QT, which is equally horrible for Windows and Mac, and basically okay for Linux as long as your DE is KDE.
- dotancohen 9y ago
  What do you dislike as a user about Qt apps on Windows or Mac? Granted I _am_ on KDE (CentOS) but Qt apps that I've seen on Windows or Mac seem almost native. VLC, Opera, Anki
- yorwba 9y ago
  What is so bad about the Anki UI? I have been using it for three years on Ubuntu Unity and I'm pretty happy with it. I especially like how keyboard-friendly it is.
- kendallpark 9y ago
  > a lot of its horribleness comes from the fact that the UI is written with QT I would agree with this. It also doesn't appear that much thought went into how the application should flow. It really feels like a smattering of UI components were picked out because they could accomplish the goal at hand without much thought as to what would optimize the user experience. For example, the way you browse through cards leaves much to be desired. Even stuff like the size of the buttons when you're reviewing cards. It DOES feel like the kit used to handle the GUI limits the application. One thing that I think Anki got right (and I got wrong in my first iteration of a spaced-rep app) is doing away with the visual metaphor of a card. The reason you put information on a back of a real-life flash card is so you can review the question without seeing the answer. The answer is obfuscated, but readily available (you don't have to go look it up). There is NO reason to keep the metaphor alive in an app. It is actually less optimal to animate a card flipping over when you want to see the answer. It is better for the answer to simply appear underneath the question so you can easily reference each aspect.

wahnfrieden 9y ago

I also started on something like what you described (mobile-first, nicer-designed version of Anki) a few years ago, but catering specifically to Japanese. :) Not yet launched though. http://beta.manabi.io/ http://beta.manabi.io/

jmcannon 9y ago

Thanks a ton for the feedback - very useful. And thank you for the bug report - I'll check that out (my initial guess is that you don't have the CARD DISPLAY set to play audio on that side right now - which is itself a problem for being confusing). Re: monetization. It's freemium right now - 100 cards to try out the app, then three bucks per month for access to all the decks we've made. Completely free to create your own content. I'll look into Forvo integration - that sounds useful.

mdevere 9y ago
Ah, just found the deck settings and corrected this. Thanks. I've played around a bit more and have some further feedback. Something that is really key for me: When I create cards, sometimes I want the audio to play on the front, sometimes on the back (and perhaps sometimes both). But there is just one audio value and I need to decide whether I want it to play on the front or the back across the entire deck. For example, card 1: FRONT: Text says "écureuil", audio reads out "écureuil" BACK: Text says "écureuil", audio reads out "écureuil", and there's a picture of a squirrel That's good for vocab comprehension, but what if I want the converse exercise? Card 2: FRONT: Picture of a squirrel BACK: Text says "écureuil", audio reads out "écureuil", and there's a picture of a squirrel At the moment there's no way for me to create both cards at once. I would need two separate decks because it's one template to a deck. And I would need to make the card twice. I realise this is jumping ahead to 'power user' territory but it's definitely a feature I would use.
- mdevere 9y ago
  btw i would def pay for a pro feature such as that

archie_peach 9y ago

Seems this is a fairly popular idea :) I've also been working on something similar for the past year. https://vocabifyapp.com/ https://vocabifyapp.com/ Currently only a web app with a React/Redux/Node/Firebase stack. Anyway, hope it goes well and good luck with your project!