Do you know of a flashcard software application that you think should be reviewed here at Fool’s Flashcard Review? Post a comment here.
Has your favorite flashcard application recently been upgraded with significant bug fixes or new features added? Post a comment here and I may give the software another look, even if there is an existing review for an earlier version.
Reviews will be written from the perspective of language learners but all flashcard and memory management software will be considered. Mac OS X applications are the priority but I may consider reviewing Windows, Linux, or Web applications.
Upcoming Reviews: iFlash, ProVoc, Studycard Studio, Lexicon, Flashcard Exchange, and a large number of iFlash/iPhone applications.
36 Comments
Hey, I first wanted to thank you for making this web site; I’m learning french now and it’s been a great resource. I’m really looking forward to your iFlash review, as it seems to be one of the top contenders on OS X.
I was wondering if you’d be willing to take a look at Mnemosyne – an OS X binary was just released a few days ago. I’d been shying away from it because it required you to compile it on a mac, but the binary comes pre-compiled in a dmg with a nice little icon to boot. Oh, and it’s Leopard-compatible. You can find it at:
http://home.wojas.nl/mnemosyne/
Best,
Dan
Dan, wonderful news! I have used Mnemosyne in Windows through Parallels on my Mac and its simplicity is attractive.
Last week I spent about 5.5 hours trying to compile everything necessary to run it on the Mac but failed in the end, miserably.
I’m delighted to hear that there is a Mac binary and I will definitely do a review of it!
I am curently using iFlash myself and, as my upcoming review will show, with a few minor bugs that will hopefully be addressed soon, I think it is the best out there currently for language learners.
How bout one for Pauker?
Have you checked out Cramberry? It looks pretty promising: http://cramberry.net
One of my old dead favorites is StudyCardStudio.It was Mac only, but it also had a client on Palm OS. I think it’s a real shame the developer dropped support for it. It was way ahead of it’s time in my opinion. I would still be using it if it wasn’t for it’s sketchy unicode support.
Cramberry has a really long way to go before I think it will be useful and Pauker is a bit of a mess.
StudyCardStudio was one of the best around for years for the Mac and even was kind enough to acknowledge me as the inspiration for its interval study features. I hope the application comes back to life.
I’ve just begun to try Granule, and so far I’m very happy with it. Would be interested to read your thoughts on it though. There’s no Mac version, but other than that it would seem to be an excellent candidate for review.
Good, informative site btw, thanks!
here is another open source cross-platform flashcard software written in python. the site has screenshots (and binaries) working on win/linux/mac.
it seems to be a general flahscard software, but no problem for foreign languages since its unicode. also not so much a space repetition program, but it uses leitner system.
pyFlashCards
http://jewelmirror.com/
Hi
I am the developer of Keep Your Word, a Mac and iPhone app designed to let the students of foreign languages build their own dictionaries, and memorize them thanks to its exercise modes.
May I suggest you consider it for a review?
http://www.bambooapps.com/kyw
Hi K.M.!
Thanks to your reviews, I’m now checking out Mnemosyne, which looks really promising and has nice statistics tools.
I have been using Crammage (crammage.com) which you may want to include. It’s a bit more sparse in terms of features, but it’s online (Flash app) and tight and the interface, I suspect, was inspired by Mnemosyne.
–chris
not to forget:
Winflash Educator
http://www.openwindow.com/pages/products.htm
Probably one of the best flashcard programs out there; unfortunately, Windows only.
Hello,
I would second Ben Johnson’s request for the same reasons.
Also I would like to know what advantages (or potential disadvantages) there might be in using SuperMemo rather than say Anki or Mnemosyne which are based on earlier versions of SuperMemo:
http://www.supermemo.com/
Hello
I’ve just got aquatinted with “Flash My Brain” .I guess it is the most complete flash card app but I’d like to know what’s your opinion about it before buying it.
Thanks.
I’ve heard that iFlash for Mac is a pretty standard program. Any hope of getting a review?
Review of iFlash for iPhone vs. Anki for iPhone would be super helpful. Thanks!
I can’t make up my mind between which SRS app to use. My big concern is whether or not I can study on the iPhone. A review of StudyArcade might help me make my decision. I would like to compare it to iAnki, Mental Case, etc.
Thanks.
Hi,
I would like to inform you about FlashQard project. It is a free software (free of charge and open source) which works in Linux/Windows.
It has nice features such as image fetching (from google), auto pronunciation and a lot more.
It would be great if you can introduce this software to everyone 🙂
Thanx! 😉
Thanks for this very helpful site. I’m learning Thai.
Do you know of any way that I can create flashcards on my computer and put them on my phone? It’s the nokia express music. I’m guessing it would need to be java.
Thanks,
Kit
Hi Konrad,
I’m writing you a quick note to let you know of a new free flashcard service we’ve launched that you and your readers may find useful and interesting.
Memorista.com makes it easier to learn basic vocabulary in foreign languages using mnemonics. It’s ideal for students beginning from scratch or for those wishing to quickly pick up the basics for that foreign vacation or business trip. Or indeed, if you just want to be a show-off…!
A major problem people seem to have in using the mnemonic method is that sometimes you just don’t like a mnemonic that someone else has created. It might seem lame, irrelevant to you, or you actually want to use some personally tweaked version of the original. Another big problem is just coming up with mnemonics in the first place and having a system to manage them – significant stumbling blocks.
To solve these problems, memorista.com provides mnemonics for each of about a hundred basic vocabulary items in five languages. Most items actually have multiple mnemonics available, so you can choose whatever suits you best, or you can create your own, using tools provided by the site. Further features allow the sharing of ideas for mnemonics that you have.
The functionality also includes customizable training and testing, and a “Memory Dashboard”. This graphs how much you have committed to memory and shows what you need to revise. Testing follows a spaced repetition regime, and items which you find harder to commit to memory are more likely to be tested.
Our plan is to expand the vocabulary coverage of each language provided, and also to add new languages over time.
We feel that memorista.com can be successfully used in conjunction with traditional language courses, or can be used as a self-teaching aid.
Please feel free to have a look at http://www.memorista.com, and if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to ask! (email franREMOVETHIS@REMOVETHISmemorista.com) Only too glad to oblige. Any comments or suggestions are very welcome also.
All the best,
Francis
I would like to suggest that you check out ‘Flashcards Deluxe’ by OrangeOrApple for the iphone/ipod touch. There’s a free version available.
For me it’s the best flashcard app for the idevices so far. It has the options for three-sided cards, plus you can sort a flashcard set into categories, which is really useful for vocabulary.
It does suffer from a minor flip fixation flaw, but it’s quicker than iflipr.
I really like the layout and the customisation available. I only use it for Spanish and philosophy, so I don’t know how well it copes Japanese/Chinese characters. I actually enjoy this app while I was really frustrated when using iflipr.
Anyway, if you’re using an idevice for flashcards you should check it out.
Hello,
I was contacting you to see if you would be interested in reviewing our app, Cram. Cram is an app that allows users to study with flashcards and tests on their Mac and iPhone. You can drag and drop images and sound, Twitter out score, and .
It works on the iPhone/iPod (http://itunes.com/app/cramlite) and Mac (http://www.macflashcardsapp.com).
Please let me know if you would like review so we can send you a code.
Hello Konrad,
We’ve been hard at work building ChineseBug, a flashcard tool specifically designed for Mandarin Chinese learners. ChineseBug greatly improves the process of memorizing Chinese by keeping track of what you know, breaking down the language into its various components and forms, and providing useful tools for continually expanding your memory.
Previously I was using iFlash, but there are many ways to improve the flashcard system if it is focused exclusively on learning the Mandarin language… and we believe we have a better product.
Excellent service your providing – keep up the good work and I’m sure you’ll be rewarded for it!
– Ben Benson
Owner, ChineseBug
FullRecall – http://fullrecall.com/
In my opinion the best flashcard program
Thank you for your reviews. I wish I’d seen this website last summer BEFORE I purchased the “Flash My Brain” software for Windows.
Their pretty website claims to give refunds within the first 30 days. I requested a refund within 3 days of receiving the software – but 90 days later – still don’t have any money.
I was looking for software that could create flashcards on the Windows XP computer and send them to an Ipod touch. At the least, I wanted a good Windows flashcard review system. Taking over 5 minutes to create each individual card did NOT meet our needs. The requirement to always work online did NOT meet our needs.
The “Flash My Brains” forums are FULL of people lacking support and failing to get refunds. (Unfortunately you can’t see that until you have payed and have an ID.) They are quite skilled at promising refunds, but stringing the customer on past the Paypal refund date. A warning about the shady business practices of the “Flash My Brain” or “Mode of Expressions” company would be a great service to your readers. Buyer Beware!!
A review of the combo iFlash and iFlash Touch would be great! I’d also love to see a comparison chart of features for all of the apps you’ve reviewed.
Hey there,
cool website. Here is another one to review: http://www.cobocards.com
I think it is the only one you can use collaboratively within a team. Give me a sign when you have reviewed.
Would you be interested in reviewing Japan-learning application KanjiBox?
The Facebook app version (http://kanjibox.net/kb/) is quite far from traditional flashcard systems (but uses very similar techniques), the iPhone version (http://kanjibox.net/iphone) on the other hand does have a flashcard “study” mode, built in addition to its drill/quiz modes…
Cheers!
Hi Konrad,
love the site. It’s funny how 1 year after your last review, even the best iPhone flashcard apps are still severly lacking, imho. I’m on the lookout for one, and my priorities lie very much along yours. What is your current favorite app for this platform – is it still Anki?
Regards,
Frederic
Someone else mentioned it last year but I would really like to see a review of Flashcards Deluxe.
I really appreciated your review of Ankimobile, and that’s where I’m leaning at the moment, but Flashcards Deluxe seems to have improved a lot in the past year. It even solved your most hated issue of slow card flipping with an option to drop animations out entirely 🙂
I haven’t played with the category system enough yet to know how it will compare to the tags system of Ankimobile but it seems to have potential.
For me, two of the most important features I look for are an EXCELLENT spaced repetition mode (which you say Ankimobile does very well, and the developer of Flashcards Deluxe claims to also do very well but I’d like your opinion on that) and an easy method of categorizing my cards. I’m studying Chinese and would like to create a deck for each chapter of the book I’m using and progressively add that chapter to my overall deck. This should work well with the spaced repetition method, but it would also give me the option to go back and review a single chapter.
I’d love to hear your opinion of how these two programs compare in this regard. Also, being able to easily create new cards and add them on the fly is important too, but both programs seem to do that fairly well.
I should probably mention that I was referring to Flashcards Deluxe for the iPhone/iPod Touch by OrangeOrApple, and comparing it to AnkiMobile for the same platform.
could you do another review of cramberry. They updated it. http://blog.cramberry.net/34/new-in-cramberry-2-better-studying-inteface/
Dear Mr. Lawson, what a great site! I stumbled here trying to find a good flashcard program for my daughter. I never knew there could be so much to know about flash card software. I’m grateful for the knowledge, but now it’ll take me days to figure out the right one for her.
Here is a Flashcard App which calculates the most suitable time for each cards repetition. It might not be the only App who does that, but its one of the best doing so. It would be great if you could review this! Have a look at: http://www.remme.com
How about the new site http://superflashcard.com/
It’s new and updated. I learned and used a lot of free stuff there. Not to mention to cool design and easy-to-use functions. The site is highly recommended!
Check out a new flashcards website, gflashcards.com, cloud sync, study on Mac, iPhone and iPad.
Hi,
Would love an up-to-date comparison of Anki and Mental Case, because they seem to be the most popular/powerful flash card programs.