Yes but I’m not fully aggree with you. I hope with the app they could add nice feature as the exercise offline, click and show the pinyin and translation for each word etc… Little bit as the website you see… But now it will be one year with have the app who sux… And honestly, is it so difficult to find some one with the right skills who can do it?!
My bad, your right. I always forget that people use the exercises and pay for premium features such as that.
And yes it is quite surprising they can’t find someone qualified to build the app. But who knows how much money they have and is it even worth it to them. Because there definitely are people with those skills out there, if you have the money to pay for them. Maybe it’s a logistics issue because when I looked at the job opportunities on the site they appear to be looking for a Taiwan local developer, but who really knows?
The most annoying thing about the way they are promoting this is the fact that there is no list of what to expect, what bugs were solved etc. just hey everyone there’s a “new app” coming. If you aren’t going to let people know what to expect why even promote it like that. Just let it drop when it does.
Maybe they have gotten a lot of refund requests from premium subscribers using iOS who found out that the app was not working. I think it’s strange that they make it only available to premium subscribers anyway, but maybe it is an effective selling point. By dangling a “new and improved” app maybe they hope to get some new customers and reduce attrition of existing customers. Just a guess. Neither the previous owners nor the current owners of ChinesePod have had success in developing a stable, usable app. I wonder how OpenLanguage is doing with their mobile app development. Looks like they are still re-selling ChinesePod content, but Chinese is only available for “unlimited” subscribers at $50 / month. Wow!
It would be nice to see a list of issues addressed. My suggestion for future releases is quite a simple one… Could you please put the controls for playing the full lesson or dialog or review track on the individual lesson rather than burying them in another menu? I’d like to select a topic and choose which item to play without having to drill down yet again. With larger screen sizes and no video, there is plenty of real estate in which to position the controls.
Thanks Kevin!! Looking forward to it.
I found the “contact” link in the app and started submitting bug reports. I got automated response e-mails saying to expect a response in 48 hours, but nothing after that. One curiosity I asked about was that the forthcoming “new” version shows a date of 7/3/2015. Everything old is new again?
When will I be able to view the videos and listen to the audio again?
Hi users
Just to clarify, I am currently in charge of Customer Service for ChinesePod and not a developer. Based on feedback from the development team, although we are considering majority of the suggestions and recommendations from users, we will not be able to implement each and every single one. The recent app submission to Apple was declined because the app does meet the IPV6 support requirement and is unable to verify app receipts. The next submission will be by mid-September 2016. Thank you for your understanding.
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Kevin,
Instead of merely “considering” the suggestions, how about actually implementing at least a few of them before submitting the new app to Apple for publication? From what you wrote I can infer that NONE of the user suggestions are actually reflected in the version of the app that you are trying to rush out. Since Apple rejected the August submission it seems you are only trying to respond to Apple’s technical issues but not those of your customers when you re-submit in September. Also, why was this app only offered to customers for beta testing AFTER it was already submitted to Apple? I am no expert in app development, but this seems to defy common sense and is quite different from the “best practices” I have seen at other companies. (I am thinking specifically of Pleco and Skritter, for your reference.) Does CPOd have a CTO? If so you might want to bring this to the CTO’s attention instead of the “development team”, especially if your “development team” is still an outsourced programmer.
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Huuh, that does not sound that good. I’m just in front of hesitating to subscribe for ChinesePod. Their content would convince me, however I wanted to refer to the app - it’s a major aspect for me. If there’s no working app, independent of the reason, it will be a no-go.
BTW, it’s a pity that IPv6-requirements are not fulfilled. Regularly these kind of requests are published long before and should be considered by SW-manufacturers. Especially if they are mandatory for permission.
Let’s see what will happen midst of September as Kevin mentioned they launch another attempt.
Yo honestly if your on the fence about it and want to learn mandarin, I would recommend if your a iPhone user to go with the basic sub and use any podcast player (I use the standard Apple one). It does everything that the previous apps have done but better. Only thing you can’t do are the excercises but if your a basic sub then that doesn’t matter anyways. For 14 bucks a month, I would say it’s worth it.
What happened to the update? I still only see a version from 12 March (0.7.1)
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Well if you slog through this whole long thread you will see that it was rejected by Apple. and will be resubmitted. I don’t know why the now outdated initial post is still linked by the main page in big red letters.
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I have never liked the app.
The latest news: a surprisingly candid admission that the app was simply unacceptable: http://support.chinesepod.com/hc/en-us/articles/214894983
They are back to the drawing board with creating a new app “from scratch” (again).
Look for the replacement in 2017.
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Well, I hope you guys have the right and well experienced iOS-developer on board. Last week I got into contact with a Russian senior iOS-developer looking for new opportunities. If there is any need, please reach out for me.
Hi 870604046. We believe we’ve hired the right people to do the job, but please feel free to send your referral to support@chinesepod.com. Thank you!
The first beta test I had was back in august 2015 – you’re saying end of Jan 2017 is the expected date for an ios app?
-_-
Hi Daniel
That’s because they are two different apps made by two different creators.
Thank you for your understanding.
I understand the “outsource team” was replaced with an in-house developer, but I fail to understand why an in-house developer is going to solve the problem. I haven’t been able to effectively use ChinesePod in two years and my subscription is auto-renewing. I do not understand how a simple app project has been dragging along for such a long time. “Two different apps made by two different creators” being listed as a reason for the problem is a such a typical rookie mistake done by someone who has zero experience managing a software project or lacks the ability & judgement to hire the right person to do so.