Unimpressed...

There are several issues I have with this app that makes it not worth while for me:

(1) There are several buttons which do nothing but bring up blank windows: News, Privacy Policy, and Terms and Conditions. This makes the app seem like it’s unfinished and it’s insulting to charge $9.99 for an app that doesn’t even seem finished!

(2) There are several buttons that show on the sidebar all the time: News, Help, Settings, and Profile. These don’t need to be shown all the time and overcomplicate the interface by being there when we rarely need them. Hiding the sidebar hides these, but also hides the buttons used to navigate decks — buttons which are often used and needed. These should be separated into different areas so we’re only shown what we need to see. As-is, the interface is very crowded — which is less productive and not very nice to look at.

(3) The Layout area should really be WYSIWYG instead of HTML/CSS. I know HTML/CSS and while I don’t have an issue using it, it’s annoying to be writing markup when I’m making flashcards. I appreciate that, upon my comments that the Layout article on their website didn’t include much information, they promptly updated it — I was happy with that. However, there are many people that don’t use HTML/CSS and don’t want to. This creates issues for them when using the app, that just shouldn’t be there. Speaking for myself, I’d rather just use WYSIWYG controls — it feels like they belong in an app more than markup.

(4) Compared to another Anki app (which, as I understand is both the original and made by another company), this app lacks the ability to have "multi-sided” cards. Now, this may sound like an odd feature, but let me explain. Right now, you have “front” and “back” so you can have a term on one side, its definition on the other or maybe a picture on one side, a word on the other… Having multi-sided cards would allow you to have more than just two pieces of information, and be tested with any two you want. So, if you’re learning Chinese, you can have: (a) the Chinese character, (b) the pronunciation, and (c) the English translation…then, you could test any which way you want — a —> b, b —> a, c —> a, etc. This gives more flexibility and more functionality. As-is, the app falls short because in order to have this functionality, I’d have to create several decks that repeat information. It would be a lot better with that multi-sided deck option.

Overall, given the very basic functionality of the app and its shortcomings, I really feel like it’s not worth $9.99. I’ve already requested a refund from the Apple Store. After some work fixing the broken buttons, maybe some reorganizing of things to make the interface cleaner, and definitely some features added, I’d pay $9.99 for this app. However, as-is, it’s very overpriced for what’s being offered. There are other apps out there that accomplish the same, if not better, for a much smaller price tag. I’d be happy to see improvements on this app because I think it has potential. However, as of now, it’s unrealized potential, and it doesn’t feel fair to charge $9.99 for something that doesn’t even feel finished yet.

hiru mirin about AnkiApp