Hi there,

Please dont mind replying to me like I am 5 yrs old!

I saw the 'pleco' link on another thread, and looking into a new phone to use it on (my current mobile is a dinosaur) so not real savvy about these things.

Do I have to get an i phone? The lady in the telstra shop wasnt sure - but she said a HTC phone runs off an Android operating system which can take the same applications as the i phone system??? So could I get one of these HTC phones and download this pleco thing on it? They are much cheaper than the i phone.

Any advice at all would be appreciated...I just wanted a dictionary on my phone that i can look up stuff together with the kids when we're out, write characters on to look up etc.

Also, bearing in mind linking to Skritter when that happens I suppose!

Cheers.
Donna

No, the lady was mistaken, you can't use iphone applications on Android.

If you want a cheaper way of getting pleco you can get an ipod touch.

There is a version in development for android, but I have no idea about when it's due to be released.

The iPhone and Android phones can't run the same applications, just like a Windows PC and Apple Mac can't run the same applications, but a lot of applications do have versions for both systems.

Pleco is being developed for Android, but it isn't ready yet and there are no firm dates for when it will be ready. If you only want a dictionary, I use the NCIKU (nciku.com) dictionary on the iPhone and they do have a version for Android already. There are probably other options for dictionaries on Android as well, a search should find any other options if no one makes suggestions on here.

One thing that gives an Android phone an advantage is that you can run Flash and so you can access Skritter directly from the phone, you don't have to wait for the app to be developed! There are a few threads on here about Skritter on Android and it will be worth reading those to see how good or not using Skritter on the phone is.

Depending on where you are, find one of the larger Telstra shops (Bourke Street if you are in Melbourne) or one of the other phone companies, and you should be able to have a play with the phones and hopefully find someone that knows a bit more about the phones that can give you better advice :)

If you do get an Android phone, be sure it is running version 2.2 if you want to Skritter on it!

Also worth keeping in mind that Nick is writing a (but presumably a very long way from completion) ipod/iphone/ipad app at the moment.

iPhone Apps don't run on Android, that woman was either lying to you or an idiot who was afraid of looking dumb. I wouldn't trust anything out of that womans mouth.

Thanks for the advice, all helpful!

I am in Darwin, laid back town, after 6 yrs here I have learned not to get frustrated at the level of service - the idea of a paediatrician here is a GP that has kids :-)

But I knew there would be many on here who could help!

Just had a quick look at NCIKU's mobile dictionary - can you write characters like you can on the on-line version of the dictionary? (And like you can on the Pleco)

Also - so if I get the HTC that runs on Android, I can use Skritter? Obviously I have to be on-line to use? I suppose it depends on what plan I get to how much that would cost - but it sounds costly to be on-line on your phone for so long??? Is this the case?

It's a bit hard for me to get my head around as I only use my mobile for texting - not used to all this on-line mobile stuff!! I suppose that's why I think a dictionary that I can download and use off-line is a better option just for the moment.

The Ipod is a good option too - just had a quick search and they are just like iphones (without the ability to make calls obviously :-) I thought they were still just music holders with a big round disc on the front like mine.....

Been in Darwin toooooo long I think....

Cheers,
Donna

Donna,
I've been here for 3 years and even the service in Melbourne is a lot lower than I would expect after the UK (not really known for levels of service!), but I guess that's the down side of the laid back attitude! :)

I have an iPhone and I am able to write characters into the NCIKU and Pleco dictionaries, but that is using the iPhones Chinese 'keyboard' and so isn't part of the application, but part of the phone. You would have to play with the Android phones to see what their capabilities are, although I am sure that there are plenty of people on here that could help.

You should be aware that HTC aren't the only phones that run Android, there are a lot of different phones by different manufacturers, there is a list of the Android phones that Telstra sell here;

http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/phones/android/

If you are only after a dictionary, either Pleco or NCIKU works well and both are offline, I prefer NCIKU, but they are both based (I believe) on the same dictionary, so you will get the same information out of them, and it is purely a preference thing for me. Pleco is a lot more involved and can do many more things over and above a dictionary and so would be better if you were to use those extra functions, but for that you will need to get the iPhone/iPod Touch.

You can get different packages with larger data amounts from Telstra, but you will need to make sure the package you have is large enough to cover your Skritter use. Does anyone on here have an idea of how much data is used when Skrittering?

Hi Donna, I grew up in Darwin :)

In my view, you want an iPod with Pleco. Pleco is head and shoulders above anything else in capability. An iPod doesn't cost much, you can even get an older second hand one.

Skritter doesn't really run that usefully on any mobile device at present in my view. I'm not sure when it will. If you end up buying a phone later, then that still wont make the iPod + Pleco useless by any means.

The flashcard features in Pleco are absolutely second to none. To be honest, given Australia's network costs and data plans, I think you would be better off Skrittering on a desktop with a cheap tablet.

Skritter only uses about 10kbps, so you'd have to Skritter for about 15 minutes to download one megabyte. So it's not too high. I'm not sure what the rates are.

Pleco is by far the best dictionary I have used.

If you can afford it, get an iphone, the other benefits over a normal phone are great. Android phones are a nice second best option.