I'm going to buy a tablet soon but haven't decided on whether to go iOS (Pad mini 2, once it comes out) or Android (Nexus 7).
Currently, I use an iPod Touch for AnkiMobile and the Midori dictionary app. Meanwhile, I have an Android phone for PDF viewing and Google Translate.
With this setup, the only edge that Android has is Google Translate, and that's only because it's always online since it's a phone (FYI, Google Translate generally sucks, but translation between Japanese and Korean is often spot on).
Midori on iOS has features I can't find on any Android dictionary (Heisig #s for all kanji, handwriting search for full compound words instead of just individual kanji, example sentences with quick links to other entries). It has a beautiful interface. The Android dictionary I've settled for is Aedict (can't find anything better). The interface is crude and is missing the features I called out above.
Finally, it's SO MUCH FASTER to toggle across language keyboards on iOS with a single button, than with any keyboard on Android (I split my time evenly across Japanese, English, Korean using combinations of Swype, Swiftkey, and Google Keyboards). Android does have a big edge with Swype when typing in English, though.
All that said, the Nexus 7 will likely be about 100 bucks cheaper than the Mini 2, and it's a beautiful device otherwise. And if Mini 2 doesn't get a retina display, it will be a chore reading 30-stroke kanji with even smaller furigana.
So, my question is: Do you guys have pros/cons to share about your tablet experience for Japanese related apps on either platform?
Codexus
Member
From: Switzerland
Registered: 2007-11-27
Posts: 721
I'm not really an Apple fan but I have to admit that iOS still seems to have the edge compared to Android as far as Japanese is concerned.
I have an iPad and a Samsung Galaxy Note phone. I have a lot more interesting Japanese content on the iPad (for example go and shogi magazines) and much better dictionaries (大辞林 and others)
As you mentioned switching between input methods on Android is annoying (it used to work better but since I upgraded my phone I have to go back to the settings or use the Japanese IME's English mode which I find annoying).
Also the default font on Android displays characters in Chinese style. I found some Japanese fonts but they make the English text ugly and don't work in all applications anyway. On iOS I can easily switch between styles by changing the language to Chinese or Japanese (and then it sticks if I choose to go back to English).
So while I love my Galaxy Note for a lot of other reasons, it's not that great for studying Japanese. I don't know, maybe there are Android phones with better Japanese support by default, but that's just my personal experience.
Last edited by Codexus (2013 October 10, 12:37 pm)
fakewookie
Member
From: London
Registered: 2010-08-02
Posts: 362
Hijacking this thread because I think you'd be able to help me - what are the best offline iOS Korean dictionaries? I currently have Naver's 韓国語辞書, which I like, but it requires an Internet connection, which I don't. Is there something along the lines of a Japanese (my J->E dictionary of choice) or a Midori for Korean? Korean -> Japanese would be great but Korean -> English would be okay if there aren't any.
Last edited by fakewookie (2013 October 10, 1:04 pm)
rich_f
Member
From: north carolina
Registered: 2007-07-12
Posts: 1708
Swype on Android is the best JP/EN multi-language keyboard I've ever used, and I've used just about all of them. Then again, I stay in JP/EN mode exclusively.
You don't have to use the Swype mode, just use it as a regular keyboard. It also has a built-in "Draw the Kanji" mode made for Japanese for once. (Everything else seems to use Traditional Chinese instead.)
Last edited by rich_f (2013 October 10, 1:26 pm)
fakewookie, I haven't found a good Korean dictionary on either OS. On Android I'm using Collins Gem Korean Dictionary which costs 10 bucks and is offline, but it's buggy and sometimes asks for an internet connection even if all data has already been downloaded, your mileage may vary, though. However, imo, it's far better than the free options. On iOS, I use Korean English Dictionary Box which isn't great but has a better interface than the others I've used and at least gives example sentences, depending on which dictionaries you activate. Korean resources are pretty limited in general, so it wouldn't really be surprising if there was nothing comparable to Midori.
rich_f, I like Swype for JP/EN too. Unfortunately, I'm also studying Korean, haha. Swype supports Korean, but not as a toggle on the same keyboard so, for me, it's a step down from iOS's native keyboard.
Savii
Member
From: Netherlands
Registered: 2012-08-13
Posts: 107
Let me start by saying I strongly dislike pretty much anything made by Apple. However if I only look at the functionality for Japanese I'd still choose Android over iOS without hesitation.
With Android you get to use these awesome apps made by members of this community:
http://forum.koohii.com/viewtopic.php?p … 93#p192993
http://forum.koohii.com/viewtopic.php?p … 09#p201009
http://forum.koohii.com/viewtopic.php?id=11686
http://forum.koohii.com/viewtopic.php?id=11708
Vertical Text Reader is worth a mention as well because it displays Japanese books beautifully, unfortunately the dictionary support is rather poor. Google IME is a nice keyboard for Japanese, I really like the godan layout.
As for dictionaries, there are a bunch of edict apps available (you already mentioned one, there are at least four others). They all have some strengths and weaknesses, but unfortunately there's no clear winner combining the best of each and neither of them has a particularly solid interface. I think Akebi deserves a mention because of its stroke order independent handwriting recognition and advanced search query capabilities.
However! The EPWing apps are excellent. I personally prefer DroidWing. They require a (usually expensive) dictionary file though. But maybe you're in luck, I heard you can get a totally innocent discount on the Kenkyuusha dictionaries. *cough cough*.
With Tasker and some effort (depending on your technical insight and skill) you can get an Android device to switch keyboards automatically depending on what app you're using and/or other conditions. Triggering on voice commands, shakes or gestures is probably also doable.
Also worth mentioning: on Android you can use Lux, an advanced color temperature and backlight brightness control that saves your eyes after sundown / before sunrise. This has helped me immensely when using my phone as a dictionary or reader at night. (note: similar solutions exist for iOS, but only for jailbroken devices AFAIK)
Someone mentioned font issues on Android. In relatively recent versions of Android, characters will indeed show up as Chinese variants, but only if your locale is not set to Japanese. If you don't want a Japanese Android but do want the proper Japanese variants it's possible to work around it by editing a system file, but this requires a rooted device.
Last edited by Savii (2013 October 10, 1:58 pm)
Codexus wrote:
As you mentioned switching between input methods on Android is annoying (it used to work better but since I upgraded my phone I have to go back to the settings or use the Japanese IME's English mode which I find annoying).
To switch the easier way: When your keyboard is active there should be a keyboard icon in the notification bar. Look at notifications and the first one should say what your current IME is. Click on that. If you want the notification to always be there, get an input switcher app. (i.e IME switcher, Input Switcher Free, etc. There are a lot of them)
Codexus wrote:
Also the default font on Android displays characters in Chinese style. I found some Japanese fonts but they make the English text ugly and don't work in all applications anyway. On iOS I can easily switch between styles by changing the language to Chinese or Japanese (and then it sticks if I choose to go back to English).
The Motoya fonts found here look good in both Japanese and English.
Last edited by Bokusenou (2013 October 10, 4:02 pm)
You can also switch the IME by holding the space bar key. At least with the Kii keyboard, not sure about the native one. With Google Japanese Input you hold the kana/latin switch key (at least in QWERTY mode (wish there'd also be a QWERTZ mode...)). It's equally simple in mazec.
Codexus wrote:
I've tried those fonts, they are horrible in English. The spacing between the characters is all wrong.
If your device is rooted, you simply have to edit a single file and the fonts will be rendered properly in Japanese without affecting latin characters.
Last edited by toshiromiballza (2013 October 11, 4:18 am)
Codexus
Member
From: Switzerland
Registered: 2007-11-27
Posts: 721
There must be a difference, the ones I got from fontomizer don't work well for me. Anyway I'm glad I found the other ones, there was a small fee but I finally have a font I like.
I also tested the Japanese speech recognition on my Android. Very impressive! It recognized very well what I said and had no problem using the right kanji even for shogi terminology.
Last edited by Codexus (2013 October 11, 5:28 pm)
