ThinkMac has just released iKana 2, a tutorial app covering the Japanese Hiragana and Katakana characters.
The reworked app can teach over 740 common words using a repetition learning system. It has a new user interface, combining elements of OS X and iOS in a hybrid that I’m starting to notice elsewhere too.
Developer Rory Prior is based in the beautiful Welsh university town of Aberystwyth, where he works on a selection of specialist educational applications for people who want to learn Japanese. As well as iKana, there’s iKanji, iKana Touch and iKanji Touch. (There’s also web gallery maker Instant Gallery and news reader Newslife, but they’re not Rory’s main focus.)
A version for iPad, iKana Noto, is planned for release later this year.
As for that hybrid desktop interface, I’ll leave you with some screenshots so you can make up your own mind about it. Rory says that “it seems clear this is the sort of route Apple is likely to head down in the future.” Do you think he’s right? And how do you feel about iOS-style buttons creeping on to the desktop?
Giles Turnbull is a freelance writer in England. He also writes for the Press Association and The Morning News. You can find out more at his website, and follow him on Twitter @gilest.
