WordLearner.com is a great way to get a supermemo type program on your cell phone. Mine is Nokia java based. Also they have a nice toolbar for firefox.
You can pick up to 3 languages to use.
I really like Truant’s flashcards, but my phone won’t handle PDF.
After I get some lessons transfered over, I will share the jar file if anyone needs it for a java based phone.
Edit: Changed the title to be more specific that this software is for Java based phones.
Do you mean it’s a flashcard program for mobies, or that it has the same sort of algorithm as SuperMemo? Because for me it’s the testing algorithm that makes the difference. Plenty of flashcard programs out there, but SM is the only one I actually use, for that reason.
[quote=“ironlady”]Do you mean it’s a flashcard program for mobies, or that it has the same sort of algorithm as SuperMemo? Because for me it’s the testing algorithm that makes the difference. Plenty of flashcard programs out there, but SM is the only one I actually use, for that reason.[/quote]Anki is based on the Supermemo 2 algorithm, is free, and comes in an online for phone version and a PC version as well as a Palm version.
Khatzumemo is another spaced repetition flashcard app for phone browsers. It might be worth checking out.
Full Recall’s innards are more like a neural network than the SM algorithm, but in practice they seem to be similar. The software is available for Windows Mobile 6, Windows, Linux, and Free BSD with full database compatibility! So you can enter data on your PC (Unicode’s fine), sync it to your WM phone, and review anywhere. It’s also available for Palm though with more limited compatibility. The free trial is actually very useable (up to 500 items per database) and I don’t think it’s time-limited. The full version license is 35 USD which covers all platforms. Just one thing to note is that Chinese input on the PC version is a bit quirky. This should be ironed up in future versions, but for now the easiest thing is to write in Notepad then cut and paste.
I’m fed up with Supermemo. You pay for each platform and the cross-platform compatibility isn’t very good. I’ve got five thousand cards, though, and there doesn’t seem to be any good way to migrate them to another application without losing the learning data.
Sorry, Ironlady, I’m not sure what you mean about algorithm ins.
I’m not a language professional or a teacher. I need to learn some basics about a language that I find myself needing to use so that I don’t have to keep bothering the tai tai to help me order my dinner.
As far as I know, SM only works on Palm, others work on Windows CE, I don’t want to have to buy more stuff, I have a java enabled smart phone, I found software to work on it.
After seven years of fumbling my way through life on the rock, I am starting Chinese classes at NTTU on Monday. Hope it is more productive than the language exchanges and the “lessons” from the in-laws have been.
Joe, thanks for the other recommendations, I will try out those as well.
[quote=“bobl”]Sorry, Ironlady, I’m not sure what you mean about algorithm ins.
I’m not a language professional or a teacher. I need to learn some basics about a language that I find myself needing to use so that I don’t have to keep bothering the tai tai to help me order my dinner.[/quote]It’s all to do with optimum review time for information. Flashcard programs such as Supermemo schedule repetitions for the optimum time for each card, based on your past performance. I’ve got 5000 flashcards in my database, but cards I now know well are repeated very seldom, whereas relatively new or difficult cards are repeated more often. Currently the program tests me on about 50 cards a day. But I know that every one of those 5000 will come up at around the right time for me to review it.
More on the concept here on the Supermemo site (just don’t buy into the idea that Supermemo’s the only such program out there).
Thanks, Joesax, I see what you mean now.
This from the site:
Adaptive learning system seems to be about the same, no?
[quote=“bobl”]Thanks, Joesax, I see what you mean now.
This from the site:
Adaptive learning system seems to be about the same, no?[/quote]In theory, at least. It’s not clear from the Wordlearner site whether their algorithm includes spaced repetition. But another concern I’d have is compatibility. I’d want to make sure I could back my words up at least, but preferably also be able to create and edit them on other platforms such as Windows, without losing learning data.
I agree that Supermemo is probably superior for advanced study or for language pros, but it doesn’t work on most common cell phones.
If your just starting out, and you already have a cheap cell phone, this program might help to let you learn.
I can use more advanced PC based programs for more serious study, but for those moments when I have downtime, isn’t it nice to whip out my cell phone and do some practice.
This will let me upload a lesson from a comma separated file, so I can create a database with more sophisticated software, export it in CSV and zap it to my cell phone.
[quote=“bobl”]I agree that Supermemo is probably superior for advanced study or for language pros, but it doesn’t work on most common cell phones.[/quote]I just remembered that Supermemo Handy works on a lot of common cellphones. These ones, according to the website:
Alcatel:
C552, OT 565, OT C651
LG:
7050, 8100, 8110, 8120, 8130, 8138, 8150, 8180, 8330, 8360, 8380, C1200, C2200, C3300, C3310, F720
Motorola:
A835, C650, C651, C980, E1000, E550, L6, ROKR E1, U6 PEBL, V1050, V180, V186, V188, V220, V3, V300, V360, V400, V500, V525, V535, V545, V547, V550, V600, V635, V6 PEBL, V80, V980
NEC:
228, 313, 338, 606, 616
Nokia:
2650, 3100, 3105, 3108, 3120, 3125, 3200, 3205, 3220, 3230, 3300, 3510i, 3520, 3530, 3560, 3586, 3586i, 3587, 3587i, 3595, 3600, 3620, 3650, 3660, 5100, 5140, 6010, 6015, 6015i, 6020, 6021, 6030, 6060, 6100, 6101, 6108, 6111, 6155, 6155i, 6170, 6200, 6220, 6225, 6230, 6230i, 6235, 6255, 6255i, 6260, 6270, 6560, 6585, 6600, 6610, 6610i, 6620, 6630, 6650, 6651, 6670, 6680, 6681, 6682, 6800, 6810, 6820, 6822, 7200, 7210, 7250, 7250i, 7260, 7270, 7600, 7610, 7650, 8800, 8801, 8910i, N-Gage, N-Gage QD
Panasonic:
X701
Sagem:
myC5-2, myV55, myV56, myV65, myV75, myV76, myX5-2, myX6-2
Samsung:
d500, d600, d820, e100, e105, e217, e300, e310, e315, e316, e317, e330, e330n, e335, e380, e630, e635, e700, e710, e715, e730, e750, e760, e800, e810, e820, p400, p510, p518, t809, x200, x426, x427m, x450, x458, x460, x475, x480, x620, x640, z105, z105v, z107
Sharp:
703, 802, 902, 903, GX10, GX10i, GX15, GX20, GX20i, GX25, GX30, GX30i, SX 313, SX 813, SX 833
Siemens:
C60, C65, C65V, C66, C75, C75V, CT65, CT66, CV66, CV70, CX65, CX65V, CX66, CX70, CX70Emoty, CX75, CXT65, CXV70, M55, M65, M75, MC60, S55, S66, SL55, SL65
Sony Ericsson:
D750i, F500, J300, K300, K500, K500i, K506, K508i, K600, K608i, K700, K700i, K750i, K758i, S700i, S710i, T610, T616, T618, T620, T628, T630, V600, V800, W750i, W800i, Z1010, Z500, Z600, Z800
Toshiba:
TS921
I don’t agree that Supermemo is just for “advanced study”. I’m not a serious learner, but I want to use my learning time efficiently. That’s what programs such as Supermemo/Anki/FullRecall/Mnemosyne are all about.
[quote=“bobl”]I can use more advanced PC based programs for more serious study, but for those moments when I have downtime, isn’t it nice to whip out my cell phone and do some practice.[/quote]That’s exactly why FullRecall is so good. You can do both and you never have to enter data twice. Enter whatever flashcard data you want from your PC, then sync to your Windows Mobile phone and review whenever you like. Everything–Unicode characters, learning data–is stored in exactly the same format, no matter which platform you use (apart from Palm, unfortunately, which isn’t fully compatible).
Now your on to something, SM Handy just might do it. My phone isn’t listed, but it is java.
Will have to try it out.
Thanks Joesax.
[quote]That’s exactly why FullRecall is so good. You can do both and you never have to enter data twice. Enter whatever flashcard data you want from your PC, then sync to your Windows Mobile phone and review whenever you like. Everything–Unicode characters, learning data–is stored in exactly the same format, no matter which platform you use (apart from Palm, unfortunately, which isn’t fully compatible).
[/quote]
Sorry Joesax, the point is I don’t have a windows mobile phone, or a palm. I have a JAVA based phone.
I’m saying this software seems to be a good solution for people like me that don’t have the standard PDA’s or windows based phones.
Edit: Changed the title to be more specific that this software is for Java based phones.
[quote=“bobl”][quote]That’s exactly why FullRecall is so good. You can do both and you never have to enter data twice. Enter whatever flashcard data you want from your PC, then sync to your Windows Mobile phone and review whenever you like. Everything–Unicode characters, learning data–is stored in exactly the same format, no matter which platform you use (apart from Palm, unfortunately, which isn’t fully compatible).
[/quote]
Sorry Joesax, the point is I don’t have a windows mobile phone, or a palm. I have a JAVA based phone.
I’m saying this software seems to be a good solution for people like me that don’t have the standard PDA’s or windows based phones.
Edit: Changed the title to be more specific that this software is for Java based phones.[/quote]Fair enough. My first post in this thread was mainly intended as a reply to Ironlady, who didn’t seem to know that there are some very good alternatives to Supermemo. But I should start a new thread about that.
Let us know what you think of Supermemo Handy if you try it. WordLearner too, after you’ve tried it for a while. My guess is that you’d find Supermemo Handy a bit better in the long term, for flexibility and optimum review scheduling. But I might be wrong.
I guess most people don’t have data services enabled on their phones so they won’t be interested in WAP flashcard applications such as Anki and Khatzumemo. But I do think that kind of thing will get more popular in future as mobile data services get faster and cheaper.
Joesax
thanks for the good information.
It may come in handy for other viewers. Also may come in handy after I update my phone.
[quote=“joesax”][quote=“bobl”][quote]That’s exactly why FullRecall is so good. You can do both and you never have to enter data twice. Enter whatever flashcard data you want from your PC, then sync to your Windows Mobile phone and review whenever you like. Everything–Unicode characters, learning data–is stored in exactly the same format, no matter which platform you use (apart from Palm, unfortunately, which isn’t fully compatible).
[/quote]
Sorry Joesax, the point is I don’t have a windows mobile phone, or a palm. I have a JAVA based phone.
I’m saying this software seems to be a good solution for people like me that don’t have the standard PDA’s or windows based phones.
Edit: Changed the title to be more specific that this software is for Java based phones.[/quote]Fair enough. My first post in this thread was mainly intended as a reply to Ironlady, who didn’t seem to know that there are some very good alternatives to Supermemo. But I should start a new thread about that.[/quote]
I didn’t say there aren’t any alternatives – I simply asked IF this program had a decent algorithm behind it. Obviously there is more than one program in the world that does.
Joesax, thank you for the recommendations. I’ve been checking out Anki and Fullrecall. I’m finding both of these to be a lot easier to use than supermemo. I have a pocket pc and I had terriblle problems importing data and getting it to work on supermemo pocket pc. Also, the supermemo website is a bit lacking in support for any problems that you come across. I’ve ditched my supermemo databases and downloaded the hsk vocablists (in excel format) from hskflashcards.com/ ,converted them to notepad files, and then into fullrecall. No problems.
The pc version of fullrecall is so easy to use, and it’s easy to sync with your pda (pocket pc).
Just one small problem on the pocket pc version. There are a few pinyin symbols with tone marks that do not appear in the pocket pc version. They all appear on the pc version. Is this a problem with my fonts on pocket pc? Hope you can help. If I get this sorted, I’ll be forking out my $35 for an excellent product. The online version might be useful too.
Well I have used the WordLearner.com flashcard game app and the multiple choice app on my cell phone for 2 days now.
I have put in the words from the PAV Chinese textbook chapters 1 & 2. About 75 characters so far.
There were about 10 that I was having trouble with. It did repeat those more often, and after the second day, I was getting them all without difficulty. The flashcard app relies on you to be honest if you
got it right or not, but the multiple choice test will know if you did or not.
I can’t say if it is as good as SM, but I do feel that I am well prepared for class tomorrow.
I also find the Firefox toolbar very handy. You can pick which online dictionaries you want to use.
I chose the MDBG online, and it has the MP3 file of the word right on the page.
I also wanted to try out the SM handy app that Joesax mentioned, but I don’t think it’s available yet.
There is no download link or add to cart button for it like there is for the other products.
I got my font problem sorted out. Just copied arial from my laptop to the pocket pc. Now fullrecall is up and running. Time to pay the $35 for the full version.
[quote=“bobl”]I also wanted to try out the SM handy app that Joesax mentioned, but I don’t think it’s available yet.
There is no download link or add to cart button for it like there is for the other products.[/quote]Yeah, it’s typical Supermemo poor communication/support/documentation. All I can suggest is emailing smnet(AT)supermemo(.)net
It looks as if the distributors are the cellphone game company Breakpoint in Poland, whose page says you have to “Find the game through your mobile operator.”
[quote=“jacktorrence”]I got my font problem sorted out. Just copied arial from my laptop to the pocket pc. Now fullrecall is up and running. Time to pay the $35 for the full version.[/quote]Good to hear FullRecall is working well for you. I’m stuck with Supermemo for the moment. It makes sense for Palm (Palm OS doesn’t support Unicode, and FR for Palm isn’t compatible with current versions for other platforms). But when/if I finally get a WM6 phone, it will be FullRecall all the way for me.