App Profile: Kaku: Japanese Notebook

Leenuhhhh

Rating: 1/5

Fancy design but that’s about all it has going for it. Ads are everywhere which I normally would be fine with but every useful feature of the app is paywalled. The paywall, of course, is also subscription base with the lifetime purchase being $25, a ridiculous value. I can’t even use the app to decide whether or not it’s worth $25, I get berated by a pop up telling me I need to spend $25 to even see what else is in the app. I honestly never leave reviews but this was so appalling I had to. I understand the app is in a niche market but there are other ways to monetize your app. EDIT: Received an email from developer stating that they could provide a code to test out the app for a limited time by checking out their Twitter. Upon looking at their Twitter, I see a post by them calling me an entitled scum, how I don’t deserve to use their app, and soliciting people to report my review. Not a great look. As you can’t even scroll down on some tabs of the app without being told to cough up some cash I’m not sure how the developer expects someone to buy their app without even being able to access 75% of it. I hope everyone that looks at this app sincerely reconsiders their choice and looks elsewhere.

the_jackdalton

Rating: 5/5

I have only recently started learning Japanese, but I have found Kaku to be essential in keeping myself immersed in the language everyday. The grammar examples have helped me to understand and work with various conjugations and special word forms. The selected words make Kaku easy to use in quick situations. A lot of love and care has gone into this app. If you have any inclinations in getting the app; do it! It is wonderful to use on a daily basis, and I know it will continue to help me in my language learning journey for a long time.

sweetsknight

Rating: 5/5

I use this app on my iPad in my class all the time and really recommend upgrading to premium to access the text-to-speech, better translations/dictionary and reader mode. With so many language learning apps out there, this app is a hidden gem.