

Show HN: An app that improves your vocabulary and feeds poor children - addydev
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.words.first

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dublinben
I think it's a little deceptive that none of your screenshots show ads, when
this app prominently displays ads.

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BuildTheRobots
So this is an app-based equivalent of the long-running
[http://freerice.com/](http://freerice.com/) site?

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addydev
Freerice is great, funny thing is I came across it a few months only but I
loved the concept and had been thinking of doing something similar. Helping
people improve their vocabulary 5 words a day is an idea that's years old for
me. Hence the app is a combination of both.

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13hours
"part of the money from sponsorship goes to donation"

Can you elaborate on what part, and to whom specifically?

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MayanAstronaut
Also, many of the reviews are from users without any history.

Apps are already shady, add to this a promise to donate money and you get a
down right scam feel from this.

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addydev
Hi there, I hope I have replied to your query with my answer above. Please
don't call this a 'scam', as a self taught coder, had to work pretty hard to
launch this app. Most of the reviews you see are from friends and family. They
know me, trust me and know that what I am doing is not a scam. Nothing shady
about it buddy.

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xivzgrev
I understand your defensiveness to his blasting, but it's feedback (although
cloaked in antagonistic language). By responding you draw attention to it. I'd
ignore and see if others say same thing.

I do agree with him on one thing: "feed poor children" can send a negative
message. For him its scammy, for me it's "ugh another poorly thought through
tom's knock off?" Because feeding poor children isn't at all connected to
first world people learning new vocab.

Unless you really believe in feeding poor children and you have a good story
to back it up and you can quickly communicate that, something that would make
more sense is something related to literacy. "Learn new vocab and donate books
to poor children" sounds a lot better.

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moondowner
Nice idea, I like that "part of the money from sponsorship goes to donation".

But, the ads can be done better, maybe try to position them at the bottom of
the screen, now they are right below the description for the word (where the
descriptions vary in length).

Also be sure to have an app icon in a higher resolution. This one doesn't look
good on 1080p screens.

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addydev
Sure will definitely improve the app icon :). Ads hopefully will removed in
all if I am able to get sponsorships. Then the page showing support us will
show the sponsored message

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fizgig
Nice idea. I'll give it s spin once the permissions are dialed back a bit.

Seems like a nice compliment to a daily visit to Free Rice (a habit I need to
get back into). Daily learning is good. Charity is good. What's not to like?

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SuperKlaus
Yeah, the list of permissions asked seems a bit excessive, definitely kept me
from installing the app.

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edgeorge92
I'd have more faith in an app that claims it can teach me new words, if
"coffee" was spelled correctly when I use it! ("...help us buy a coffe")

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addydev
Apologies for that... really really silly mistake. Corrected. Thanks for
pointing out.

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viruspunx
why does it need all those permissions?

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addydev
Sorry about that, will remove them in the next update for sure :)

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dedosk
Please, let us know when you push the update. It's terrible requiring so much
permissions..

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addydev
Sure, but can anybody tell me how can I inform you guys about the update?
Shall I post the app again or anything else? Pretty new here.

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addydev
Hey guys, the app has been updated to remove the permissions.

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igvadaimon
Is there a similar app for japanese language?

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addydev
Are you looking for Japanese translations or an app that teaches you Japanese
words?

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igvadaimon
App that teaches me Japanese words, but in small portions :)

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hawkice
If there's a staff-made course for it on Memrise, I'd recommend that. I'm
using the Chinese one, and it's perfect for small chunks and avoiding being
overloaded. The charity aspect is probably better dealt with by simply
donating directly, ads make essentially no money in comparison to consulting
or even minimum wage.

