Those people who use this fantastic dictionary app on their smartphones and tablets will know how indispensible it is for looking up new words and finding out how they’re spelt. It was certainly very useful for one very late night game of Scrabble yng Nghymraeg I played at bootcamp last June!
But a recent update on the iOS platform caused the app to crash and fail to search for words in either language. It only affected some devices (unfortunately for me, both my iPhone and iPad was affected!), but I was unable to use the app unless I downloaded a previous version (which I was lucky to still have backed up on my laptop).
I wrote a review on iTunes to address the problem. Within a few days, I was contacted by a developer from Bangor University about the problem and was asked to help locate the cause and even test the fixed version before another update was released. This correspondence was conducted entirely in Welsh by the way!
I am happy to say though, that the app IS now fixed, and the new update (which is version 1.3.1, dated 16th March 2015) is now available in the App Store (if you haven’t enabled Automatic Updates).
As far as I know, this fix is for iOS devices, so I’m not sure if Android was affected at all. But if you do find any problems with a version you’re using, and you’re certain it’s the latest available version, do let them know through the Reviews section of your App store. These guys do check, and will do all they can to fix the problem for you - maybe even allow you to test the updates before they’re released to the general public. And since they will more than likely correspond with you in Welsh, it’s great practice for reading and writing, and understanding Welsh too!
This is a very general question about what non-phone devices people are currently running Ap Geiriaduron on?
I don’t have a smart phone and don’t see myself getting one any time soon. But I quite fancy something which would run Ap Geiriaduron, and I like the idea of having a larger screen than a smart phone could provide, so I guess I’m talking about a tablet, and as I’m not really an Apple kind of person, I guess I’m talking about Android tablets.
Are people finding it works well on Android tablets, and if so, which ones have they used?
As it apparently works offline, does that mean that the whole dictionary is downloaded to the device?
Secondary question: are there other dictionary Apps out there for Android devices, e.g. English-German?
Thanks in advance for your knowledge and / or tips.
(If mods would prefer to move this question into its own or a different thread, I have no objection).
I can’t speak for Android devices as I don’t use them, but if anyone does, either phone or tablet, and has the Ap Geiriaduron app on their device, then I would also love to hear about your experiences with it.
The app does indeed work offline, so the entire dictionary is downloaded onto the device, yet the file size is still surprisingly small! All the words do have exterior links to other sources online should you wish to use them though.
As for dictionaries for other languages, there are PLENTY! Certainly in the Apple App Store, and I’m sure the same is true for Google Play as well. Not all of them are free though, and you may need to decide which dictionary app will be best suited to your needs, but the choice is certainly there!
I had it working fine on a very basic budget (sub £100) Android tablet. It really isn’t very demanding in terms of resources. And it only downloads updates to the dictionary periodically. I wouldn’t be without it now on my 'phone - it has all of the technical terms that you just don’t get in an ordinary pocket dictionary.
I use it on my android phone every day - it’s amazing. I tried installing it on my daughters Google Nexus tablet (on which she generously allows me to have a profile). It installed fine, but wouldn’t run. Worked fine on her profile though - I guessed it was something to do with her’s being the admin profile and mine being some sort of dependent… but who am I kidding, I have no real clue what these words mean!
Well, I used to know a lot about a small sub-section of computing matters at the sysadmin level, but my skills, such as they were, are rusty and out of date, and I haven’t a clue when it comes to mobile devices (not counting laptops… ).
Hadn’t even realised that Kindles were Android devices (showing how out of touch I am …), so thanks @AnneEvans for pointing out that it works there.
@faithless78 Thanks for the info. I have a faithful Sharp electronic dictionary for English-German (it also does Spanish-German), which is obviously limited in what it does, but what it does it does very well indeed (it dates from before the mobile app era). But it’s wearing out, and I think I need to embrace the new technology for the sake of a bit more flexibility (although I don’t want to get too embroiled in it! )
@robbruce Thanks Rob. Yes, I can imagine how essential it would become. I’m fairly dependent on the PC browser equivalent, but for me, that’s limited to when I’m at home. Sure would be nice to have something for on the move. (Was that the Tesco one by any chance? Was reading quite good reviews of it).
Oh I can after all ask a (hopefully!) intelligent question about the Kindle, despite my unwordliness in these matters ). I know that Kindles are quite good at integrating dictionaries with the book-reading function. Does that actually work with Ap Geiriaduron? (If so, it might, just might possibly persuade me in favour of the Kindle…). I’ve read that the Kindle is “locked down” compared to other tablets, but that might not matter if what I mostly want to do is look up words and read books. And obviously the Kindle is pretty good (well, recommended by many) for reading books.
I use it on my both my Samsung S3 mini and my Samsung Galaxy tablet regularly. Very handy, especially for Cymraeg to English and checking the gender of words and plurals.
[QUOTE]This is a very general question about what non-phone devices people are currently running Ap Geiriaduron on?
I don’t have a smart phone and don’t see myself getting one any time soon. But I quite fancy something which would run Ap Geiriaduron, and I like the idea of having a larger screen than a smart phone could provide, so I guess I’m talking about a tablet, and as I’m not really an Apple kind of person, I guess I’m talking about Android tablets.[/QUOTE]
Not sure when this was written, the mobile version of the forums don’t have post timestamps, but i’d recommend keeping an eye out for product releases for the major Android smartphone/tablet makers: Samsung, Google and LG. You’ll generally see prices slashed for the newest minus one model, so it’s a great way to get a good deal.
I use Ap Geiriaduron on my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and my LG GPa. and it works well on both. My only wish is that I could star or save words I’ve looked up to a list within the app. I emailed the developers (address was in the Google Play store under the app listing) and have yet to hear from them, but I’m crossing my fingers.
I have now realised that the idea of dictionaries integrated with the e-book-reading function of Kindles may only appy to the simpler e-bookreader versions (Kindle Touch, Paperlight, and the new Voyager, as well as some of the older ones) so may not work on Kindle Fire which is a full-blown tablet and not just an e-bookreader.
And by the same token, I’ve realised that Ap Geiridaduron is an app for tablets and smart phones and probably can’t be installed on Kindle e-bookreaders since they don’t have apps as such (I gather). However, perhaps a version of AG could be produced (if the developers were inclined to do so) in the form of a Kindle book dictionary. I may contact the developers about this, although I can think of a few reasons why they might not want to do this.
Llongyfarchiadau mawr! 
Well, I used to know a lot about a small sub-section of computing matters at the sysadmin level, but my skills, such as they were, are rusty and out of date, and I haven’t a clue when it comes to mobile devices (not counting laptops…