TOPIK ONE for iPhone issues

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Hello,

I intended to use this blog only to inform about the application updates, but some technical problems are forcing me to write this post to clarify.

A week ago, I received a comment in this blog about an issue in the dictionary of the iPhone application:

“Hi Andre, I purchased your topik one intermediate app from the apple store for my iphone and have enjoyed using it. However as of about two weeks or so ago the inbuilt dictionary function isn’t working. I tried accessing it on wifi and 3g, deleteing it and reinstalling and installing it, and I also tried using it on a different device (ipod), none of which worked. So I think it isn’t my device but maybe it’s because of the most recent update to the software. I hope you can look into this soon because it’s quite annoying.”

For which I replied in the same day:

“Hi, thanks for reporting the problem. I will take a look on it this weekend and then give you a reply here. Sorry that I can’t check it right now. Thanks, Andre”

To prove I did reply in the same day, here is a snapshot of the comments manger of Blogger:

Well, I didn’t remove this comment, neither disabled the comments on the blog. But for my surprise, the Blogger just stopped showing the comments.This leaded to a misunderstanding from the customer who wrote that comment.

So the problem really exists, and I fixed it today.

But, if you updated your device to the new iOS 7… you will realize that the application entirely stopped working. As described in this other comment:

“I tried to download the basic free version to test this after having updated to iOS 7, and all of the tests were gibberish; no questions appeared, only seemingly-random characters. I am scheduled to take the TOPIK on October 21st. I’d like to buy and use the advanced level app to practice before then, but I obviously cannot while this issue persists.”

Right… I was also surprised about this issue when I updated to iOS7. So I spent the whole 추석 holiday solving it.

To finalize:

  • I uploaded the new iPhone version to iTunes. It will take about 1 week until Apple reviews it.
  • The new version solved the problems with the dictionary and iOS7.
  • Comments in this blog are not displayed. Not that I want it, I guess it is some problem with Google and its Blogger.
  • Sorry for the long time to fix up everything.
  • Happy 추석!

TOPIK ONE for iPhone

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Today the TOPIK was released for iPhone devices.


The features are the same as the Android one:

  • Previous TOPIK exams with answers
  • Dictionary Korean – English, by clicking the word you want to know the meaning
  • Download of the audio file for the listening tests

The whole set is available on app store: Free, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. Follow the links to them (Click on the icon to access)


Free version: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id670590734





Beginner: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id670671457




Intermediate: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id670675308




Advanced: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id670677466

This is the first version for iPhone, so if you have any comments, feedback, complains, please contact me using the iTunes review system, comments here or by email.

The application is still not optimized to iPad, but it is going to be fixed next time.

I am specially thankful to Aaron from http://www.keytokorean.com/ that made a review about this TOPIK ONE for Android that inspired me a lot to finish the iPhone version. You can check the review here: http://www.keytokorean.com/resources/topik/android-resource-the-best-topik-test-prep-app-for-android/

TOPIK 30회

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Today (28/4/2013) the 30th TOPIK test was included for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced applications… just one week after the test happened.
This new version (3.1) also includes some important bug fixing about the recently implemented download of audio files.
One new feature is the ability to delete downloaded audio files from the sdcard (see the Settings for Listening):

This might be useful in case you don’t need the audio file anymore and want to free some space in the sdcard.
Some friends have complained about the latency to download the audio file. I strongly recommend to download the files from the official Topik page (www.topik.go.kr) and then push it to the sdcard. This procedure is explained in the previous post.
If you find any issue, feel free to contact me.
Thanks!

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TOPIK ONE – V 3.0

Today we released the version 3.0 for all versions of Topik One (Free, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced).
For the paid versions the latest TOPIK exam was included (29회).
But for every version a major change was implemented: offline audio files.

Download audio files

The listening tests now requires you to download the audio file.
Once you click to download the audio file, a pop-up message will inform you about the size of the file to be downloaded.
Audio files are between 40MB and 60MB. So they are very big files. Only download it if you are using a WIFI connection.

If you accept, the download will start and it can take several minutes. Please, be patient.

Once the download is finished, you can play the downloaded file as much as you want without having to access the internet and without the problems the previous versions had.

Delete audio file

Audio files are huge, and after downloaded, they are stored in your sdcard, inside the “TOPIKONE” folder.
If you don’t need an audio file anymore, you can delete it from this folder by yourself.

Alternative way to download the audio files

If downloading audio files take too long, you can download them in you PC directly from the TOPIK official page (www.topik.go.kr), and then push them to your phone.
The files must be pushed to the sdcard/TOPIKONE folder. But before, they must be renamed accordingly, so the Topik One application can recognize them.
The audio file name looks like this “b24l.mp3″.
The first letter represents the level:
a: advanced
b: beginner
i: intermediate
The next number means the Topik number. In the example below, the audio file is from the Beginner level, 24회.
The last letter “l” is common to every levels.
If you are comfortable with pushing mp3 files to your phone using a computer, this might be useful for you.

Problems

Downloading files is a new feature, so there might have several problems related to it.
Please, send me a comment if you have any problem.
When downloading the audio file, be sure if:
  • you have internet access (WIFI is strongly recommended);
  • you have space in you sdcard

Good Luck

 If you are going to attend the next TOPIK exam: study hard and good luck!

New updates in TOPIK ONE

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3 important updates are included in the release this week:

1 – Dictionary

Finally, after almost one month of instabilities, the dictionary feature is better then ever. Just click the word you want to know the meaning and the Korean-English dictionary will open. Not only the appearance was improved, but also its accuracy, completeness and the direct link to the Naver dictionary.
This is how the dictionary appears now:
Once you click on the term in blue, the Browser app will be launched with the Naver dictionary about the searched term:
Where you can study more about the word and check translations for other languages (Japanese, Chinese and Spanish).

 2 – Keep the scroll value when changing the orientation

One of the problems that were reported was that, when changing the orientation of the phone, the test returns to the beginning. Now it was fixed.
This is very useful when you want to see an image that is too small in portrait, so you can turn the phone to landscape without losing the point you were in the test.
Changing orientation and the test still keeps the scroll. Also the test is displayed much faster when the orientation is changed (compared to previous versions)!

3 – Listening

The listening part is the problematic one. Most of users complain about it. And not only in TOPIK ONE, but any Android app that has audio, this is always the weak point.
The update here is to not allow playing the audio if there is no network available.
This may solve App closing when Listening part is started.

Conclusion

These updates improved a lot the experience with the application, but there is still a lot to do.
Specially related to audio and Icon (yes, I know, this icon is terrible).
If you have any feedback or bug to report, I will be glad to hear about.
Thanks for the support words by email or comments.
Andre.

TOPIK ONE – Version 1.0 Released for Android

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The TOPIK ONE is the best way to study for the Test of Proficiency in Korean in your Android phone! It simulates the real test and contains old TOPIK exams.
The interface was optimized to be visualized on small screens like the mobile phones. Perfect to improve your Korean while taking the subway or waiting your turn on the barber shop.
Version 1.0 brings you the TOPIK 23회 for Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels.
It has a very simple layout and no ads, designed specially to keep the focus on what is important: study and learn.

Click on the image to go to Android market:

Contents:
* 100 Questions in Beginner level (Vocabulary, Writing, Listening and Reading).
* 100 Questions in Intermediate level (Vocabulary, Writing, Listening and Reading).
* 100 Questions in Advanced level (Vocabulary, Writing, Listening and Reading).
* Easy access to the audio of Listening parts.

Main Features:
* TOPIK ONE allows you to answer and compute the result just as the real TOPIK exam.
* Feedback to check if you answered correctly or not.
* Fast Korean/English dictionary to see the meaning of words, by clicking on the word you would like to know the meaning.
* Auto-save each answer you check.
* Supports landscape view.

Restrictions:
* Only alternative questions
* Dictionary feature uses the network (WIFI is recommended)
* Audio also requires network access and heavy data consuming.

Coming Soon:
* More tests will be available soon!

Printscreens:

TOPIK ONE tests list

No Ads and clean UI to help on concentration during the test

Easy access to the Korean/English dictionary: just click the word

Answers feedback: to check your answers (hide or show them on Settings)

Easy access to the audio on the Listening parts

Check how many points have you done (following the same point system as the real TOPIK test!)

Simple settings to adjust the your preferences
If your have any comment, complains or is facing a problem, please let a comment below. It will help me to improve the app.
Thank you very much!