
What's your honest opinion on Ingolingo? - ess
http://www.ingolingo.com
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webwright
I like it (the web site and the "feel" of the product-- didn't try the
product, but I'd like to).

I'd get a copywriter to review your site (one who specializes in persuasive
writing for the web). The value prop is clear, but if you're selling language,
you ought to nail your message. Phrases like "quickly gain thousand+ words",
"ingolingo is the steroid of learning language", and "When he's not practising
martial arts, he's at a social event talking with other clever people" are
awkward.

While I like it, the design feels a tad soft/feminine (why the flowers?) -
what are the demographics of people who want to learn new languages? Might be
interesting to ponder color psychology... Is the design/color selection based
off of what you guys like? Or what the target audience will respond to? I
dunno the right answer, but it's worth pondering.

Out of curiosity, why isn't the app web-based? You probably have access to
these stats, but I'd be interested in how many referrers you got from YCNews
and what percentage of them downloaded your app and tried it? I bet that
percentage would double if it was web-based.

It's nitpicky, but I'd adjust your brown link color in the footer... Hard to
recognize as a link.

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ess
Hi guys, this is my new application, finally released to the world. It's a
word trainer with a few unique things thrown into it.

I'd appreciate some honest criticism - what you like and what you don't like.
This is the first draft, and I realize there is still a long way to go before
getting it perfect!

Thanks! Mark.

~~~
davidw
Download? Hrm... not easy to try out... Windows only? Woops, you lost me, and
I was actually kind of curious, as I need to learn some German.

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altay
Yeah, and even if a client-based app is necessary, I wouldn't advertise that
it's a _10-minute_ download.

On the internet, that sounds like an eternity.

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ced
I was put off by the grandiose claims (and the download!). I know it's the way
these things are normally written, but you should at least substantiate what
you can. Like the "ten times" bit. 10X Compared to what?

Otherwise, I love the website design, and it seems very interesting. I'll try
it out as soon as I can find Windows.

I'm currently learning German by reading comics, which is pretty good at
providing some form of positive feedback, as well as image clues. I'm curious
to see if that can be improved.

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moin
Yes its an important point. But you'll need users to be able to prove that.
Its ok to lie a bit initially I think :)

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juwo
Once you lose credibility...

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moin
If the product isn't trash...its ok. I don't think most people will try 5-7
language learning products before they chose one. As long as it works they'll
end up recommending to others.

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binarybits
I agree with davidw--you've already lost me (a Mac user) as a customer. Unless
there's some special feature I'm missing, there's no reason this shouldn't be
a web-based application.

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ess
The web version is under development. The web version is more complex because
it also uses the unique features that the web has to offer. So it will be out
in a few weeks.

However, we are planning on selling the desktop version traditionally, and
since it is more straightforward to develop, we decided to do things backwards
and launch our Web 2.0 application as a desktop application first of all.

If you want to get info when the web version is done, add yourself here:
<http://www.ingolingo.com/lists/>

~~~
Prrometheus
I look forward to trying the web-based version.

By the way, your hosting provider is a little slow when the site is accessed
from the USA under its current load.

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joshwa
blocked by mimesweeper (my workplace's firewall) for adult content.

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plusbryan
Sorry. I'm just not that impressed. When I saw the web site, I was excited by
the prospect of a "better" language teaching tool. But the UI is pretty bad
and I'm doubtful of some of the claims you make.

For example, you mention that you teach the "most common" words first. I tried
learning a little French, and two of the first few words were bucket and farm.
Seriously, I think "Donde esta la biblioteca" was more useful....

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juwo
for your desktop version, offer free content updates for 1 year. That way
early users wont feel ripped off because they paid money for initial content.

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damien
Looks interesting, my girlfriend is actually trying to learn French since we
plan to move there, but being Windows only means we can't use it. I don't
believe in making everything a web app, but in this case it would seem
ideal... is there a reason you chose to make it a Windows app?

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moin
chinese olympics are near. you might have a market there.

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ess
Yes, we're launching in China in a few months. Our focus is on the non U.S
market, particularly Asia, but also Europe on some specific things.

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moin
You'll need some hardcore marketing and sales..probably distribution as well.
Any expertise in that ?

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Alex3917
I'm assuming there have been many scientific studies done on how people
acquire language. It would be nice to have language training software that
took into account the scientific findings. You quote a bunch of statistics,
but there are no sources on where they came from.

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myers
There is another language learning program that uses a similar method:
RosettaStone <http://www.rosettastone.com/>

[disclaimer: I work for RosettaStone but do not represent them]

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scruzia
Maybe it's just me, but it might be nicer to have the example on the website
translate to something that's a little more polite than "bitch".

~~~
mikeydee101
Looky here, somebody speaks French i see...Hehe, I recognised the same
translation on the front page. I am sure it is a common word but it would be
nice to change that indeed. So it does not offend anyone.

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budu3
I love it. Great work guys.

