I realized that every time I heard about a new iPhone application to help people learn Spanish that I winced.
Why?
Because all I could do was think that No-Work Spanish should jump in this huge market with exponential growth. There are plenty of people who will describe the iPhone application industry sprouting new millionaires in the same glowing terms that people used to describe Oregon where pigs ran around with a fork and knife in their backside and you could cut a slice of ham as they ran by. These tales led many a pioneer to pack up belongings and brave the long trek along the Oregon trail — just as today programmers are quitting their day jobs and creating iPhone applications faster than Regis Philbin can ask, “Who wants to be a millionaire?”
I actually believe iPhone applications ARE a great industry and that while there might be a bit of exaggeration that there is also a lot of truth when people talk about the enormous potential there.
Long-story-short, I see iPhone apps as a bit of a missed opportunity and so whenever I hear of someone else creating a new iPhone app to help people learn Spanish, I wince and think, “should be me.” Well I used to, until today.
Today I decided to just accept the primary reason that No-Work Spanish doesn’t have an iPhone app — the company is barely above the solopreneur model and you can spread yourself too thin. Also, when I think about the fact that one of the primary advantages of No-Work Spanish is that you can listen and learn Spanish while you do other things, this is a different model than an application, which by definition requires user interaction with the screen.
So…. if I’m not going to compete in the growing market of iPhone apps to learn Spanish from, why not participate by reviewing them. I need to get over any insane idea I had that No-Work Spanish would or should be the only way people learn Spanish. I should be able to make recommendations about learning Spanish outside of those which include the words, “Buy this from me.”
So here is what I’m going to do. I’m going to start reviewing iPhone applications to learn Spanish. I will review them at fairly random intervals and in a fairly random order (most likely more popular applications first, but not necessarily). I will tell you my impressions of using the app. And periodically (after I’ve reviewed five or more), I will create a Best-iPhone-Apps-to-Learn-Spanish list.
Sounds like fun, right?
