Plango! A language store and multimedia player for learners of language

I stumbled on this app on the web while looking for back issues of the now defunct Schau Ins Land german audio magazine I had subscribed to the magazine years ago and loved it but was very disappointed to learn that the company that produced it had gone out of business I downloaded Plango the day it became available and took a leap of faith purchasing an issue of Schau Ins Land for 599 about half the price of the original cassetteCDandpaper version hoping it would be a faithful and complete reconstruction of the original product The verdict its great This review will describe my experience with the single Schau Ins Land magazine thats currently available Jahrgang 21 Nr 2 Plango contains the complete 60minute audio magazine as well as all the text of the original paper pamphlet including the transcript vocabulary and even pictures The magazine opens with a table of contents providing hyperlinks to each of the magazines 11 sections Tapping a section takes you to the transcript for that section and gives you controls for play pause skip to next or previous section bookmark and two very useful controls for language learning back up 10 seconds and play in slow mode and the slow mode is not annoying its just slow enough so you can follow more easily On the text page theres a progress meter and a little star button in the lowerleft corner As the audio plays the page automatically turns in sync with the audio so you can easily follow along in normal or slow mode When you tap the little star button the audio stops and a popup is displayed with all of the vocabulary words that are highlighted on the current page just like in the original paper pamphlet When you dismiss the vocabulary popup the audio resumes You can swipe pages ahead or backwards and the audio stays synchronized with the text Im using Plango just fine on my iPhone 4 but the display is a little cramped Ill probably join the rest of the world in buying an iPad now just to get a better Plango experience My only nit to pick with this app so far is that the little star vocabulary button is very close to the backup 10 seconds button so I frequently hit the wrong button when Im trying to bring up the vocabulary and end up backing up 10 seconds In summary this is a terrific app and the search is now over for anyone who is looking for back issues of Schau Ins Land and who has an iPhoneiPodiPad I pray that Plangos developers add more issues of Schau Ins Land but even if they dont the app is worthwhile You only pay for single issues and at 599 per issue its a bargain compared to the original especially considering the convenient user interface                 Thank you for resurrecting the wonderful Schau Ins Land audio magazines

Loving how easy it is to brush up on my Spanish                 Fantastico

If only it didnt crash after 2 mins Totally Unstable This is what we get for becoming a digital society     Garbage

I am from Europe born and raised in a few countries yes born in one My family is pretty international and speaks many languages When I was 6 I spoke Polish German and French In my older years I got to learn Russian English and Spanish mostly traveling and living in many countries I even got to know Arabic living in North Africa for some time Yes I can speak those languages pretty good but not perfect And I know I will never be perfect speaking all of them Now I mostly use English as I live in California I consider English my main language and I learned it myself never going to any school I was always looking for ways to perfect my languages especially English written and spoken but never had any time to take classes or do anything time consuming as you all know life is very busy Until I was introduced to Plango I doubt that Ill ever be able to learn more This application is amazing I can use it anytime I have a moment even going to a bathroom to sit on the throne for a few minutes or waiting in lane at DMV And it is addicting too Very clever application It teaches you in a pleasant way pronounciation how to write and how to put sentences in a correct way I have to say thay I benefited from using this application greatly in just couple of weeks My language skills English feels better and I can tell that my everyday conversations with my customers are going better And I feel respected more too by showing that I am educated and can express my thoughts the way Id do in my head not using simple words and easy sentences Thank you so much Plango creators for having such a great idea I apologize for any grammar mistakes Im not using thesaurus on my iPhone I think its great to have it but one cant learn more Totally recommended                 Plango is amazing

I was not expecting this and am simply wowed What a nice surprise I have been wanting to improve my Spanish and Plango is just perfect for me The content is interesting and well presented Bravo                 Wow

Only thing free is information about their expensive products Everything is 599 each I promptly deleted the app     There is nothing free here

I downloaded the Plango player and purchased some of the spanish language content The value is incredible since the high quality production content is less costly than an hour with a spanish language tutor In this day and age language skills can make the difference between getting into the college you want or not A wise investment for any parent hoping for the best for their children in todays competitive world                 Plango a great edge for your language arts student

What a fun way to improve my language skills These apps are so user friendly with smart practical units in subjects that help me learn as if I were living abroad and interacting with real life situations The bonus of an audio version and a vocabulary prompt is perfect and reinforces learning Its my passport to a future trip Id just like to see more levels in each language as soon as you can get them ready                 Plango Language Apps

I had found the series Schau Ins Land very useful in reviewing German I am so glad that this series is being offered for mobile devices and hope to see more of Schau Ins Land in the near future                 Wonderful

Wonderful application for viewing and listening to archived publications of Acquerello Italiano Unfortunately the digital version of Acquerello is not complete It lacks the reference notes that provide insight and useful information The inclusion of these notes would enhance the learning experience of the reader              Acquerello publications

Truly a fabulous way to learn a language Much better than the CDs because you can see the helpful comments right next to the transcription You can also scroll portions of the audio side to side playback slowly and go back ten seconds at a time Yes you do have to buy individual segments but they are well worth it Only negative is they could use more content Hopefully this will come in time I highly recommend this app                 Great app

This app is fantastic for those of us who are either trying to learn a language or maintain what weve struggled to learn Im looking forward to additions to the library Also I had a question about one of my downloads and I sent an email and received an immediate response that was very thorough and quite impressive                 Great App if you want to learn or keep up with a language

This summer I conducted a leadership development program in southern India at a spiritual community devoted to improving quality of life of those livingin this rural part of India Over the past few years the number of service projects have grown and they now employ over 1500 people The leadership responsible for managing this growing organization gave 10 middle managers time off to participate in the training The only condition placed on the participants was they had to speak and write in English The proficiency level varied but we were able to successfully complete the course however I wanted to find a way to help them continue to improve their use of English One obstacle to improving their English is the lack of opportunities to practice This is were Plango comes in I showed the group some of the English titles I had downloadeed on my iPad and they were excited about the prospects of trying it I eventually purchased an iPad2 and download most of the English titles and sent it to one of the participants I had known for a number of years Since he has been working with Plango his English has remarkably improved He will share the IPad and Plango with the other participants I am interested to see how the other managers do                 Plango Go to India

Very friendly enjoyable Bien hecho Trying to learn many languages and this helps me do so Planning to travel around the world soon Ill rely on this program to get me through the language barrier Touches on the basics of common languages                 Easy to use

I must confess that I approached this app with a negative prejudice I didnt want to pay a second time for ChampsElysées magazines I never received because the publisher went out of business before my subscriptions ended BUT since I love languages I was willing to give it a try The descriptions on the order page are way too short to justify spending 599 without more information or a test sample For instance tapping on the catalog page on ChampsElysées brings up a page with ChampsElysées série 26 numéro 1 Tapping on this brings up a 1page list of the table of contents with a 599 in the bottom left corner I know what the contents of this magazine are like When I click on other magazines I get the same short listing and a chance to buy for 599 when I have no idea about how the material is presented In a freeor 99cent appworld this is too much to pay sight unseen I am debating whether to remove the app from my iPad or keep it on there hoping for an update with some changes        Too little information

I have my first magazine through Plango and couldnt be happier Its the same as I recieve in the mail However now i can take it with me anywhere                 Works Great

I dont get it Theres practically nothing there You can buy exactly ONE old edition of the wonderful but sadly defunt audio magazines by ChampsElysee they provided about 20 years of editions in French Italian German Spanish all excellent This app is pointless unlessuntil they add more content Oh and 6 is a bit steep for the old back issues        no there there

The best part about this app is it teaches you to speak more like a native rather than just solely the proper grammar of the language This app introduces you to authentic slang words you would truly find in these various languages Its easy its fun to imitate the accents to help improve yours and I find myself able to play around with this app for hours                 What a great app

I found something educational for my son that he loves to use This app is a godsend Plus his Spanish is really improving                 Finally

Great application I use it every day Its perfect for keeping me informed while at the same time it helps me to keep my Italiano current Ive purchased all the Acquerello Italiano issues and hope there are more to come                 Great app

I am dissapointed that whenever I use the lessons I have paid for I still have to endure the ads that pop up at the bottom of the screen I have reported it twice but the developer does not seem to be interested in removing the ads I would give it 4 stars or more but the fact the ADS are obtrusive I will give it only 3           Revise apps Remove Ads

This app is perfect for listening to ChampsElysées audio magazines The titles are ChampsElysées Schau ins Land Puerta del Sol and Acquellero Italiano Of course it helps if you are already convinced that these audio magazines are fantastic as I do The app in itself is of no language learning use unless you purchase some content If you are in doubt about the content search for ChampsElysées audio magazine with your favorite search engine and oyu will find some fabulous reviews This publisher alone produces the content I am enthusiastic about and that Plango makes available Sadly ChampsElysées ceased publication in 2010 However there is a tremendous library of back issues of which Plango has published only 14 so far I have no connections to Plango or ChampsElysées and have received no remuneration for my comments I am only writing this in the hopes that more language learners will give this app a try and this will encourage Plango to make more ChampsElysées published titles available                 At last a source for ChampsElysées audio magazines

I love the format of this program You can hear the text being played as audio while you simultaneously read the text Its much more interesting than the traditional textbook format I found the material very engaging as well                 My favorite language app

Bravo                 Nicely done

This app utilizes back issues of the excellent and dearly departed ChampsElysées and other audio magazines and presents them in a way that its easy and even fun to rewind check vocabulary perfect listening skills and acquire cultural knowledge This should be the standard for how languagelearning audio magazines work in the age of the mobile app                 A fun useful product thats great for helping to perfect listening and vocabulary skills

You get no free content with this app Just a big advertisement Actual language learning content costs 599 a pop Next time put a sample up so people can actually see what theyre able to get     Fooled me

This app is wonderful everything is there for you The ChampsElysées works like a charm and is even better than having the book and CD because everything is right there Just tap and you can see the explanations of the bold face CE is quality work and I hope they bring back the company But I am thrilled to have back issues too The wealth of info and knowledge in them is priceless The politics might be a little out of date but all the cultural topics food cognac theatre singers the interview with Charles Aznavour is so rich are timeless Yes Bring us more                 Fabulous app

great app straightforward and easy to use I dont use many apps but this is the perfect way to brush up on my language skills I would recommend this to any of my friends who were looking for a way to keep up with their french while on the go                 easy to use and fun

Just downloaded Plango and tried to use it There is nothing here to even sample to see if you like the material before purchasing the actual lessons What a disappointment Now Im going to delete it     Download then Delete