It's been over two months since our last newsletter and a lot has happened in Beijing. Just this month we've launched a new iPhone application and moved into a new office. We've also started work on the next version of Popup Chinese. In the spirit of cutting right to the chase, here are our big updates:

*** Our Free Character Writing iPhone App ***

Earlier this month we released the Chinese Writer, a cool new iPhone app that provides an interactive way to write Chinese characters. This app asks you to write Chinese characters on the screen. But you have write them properly! An unforgiving taskmaster of a Chinese teacher, our Chinese Writer will force you to write each stroke in the right size and proportion before letting you move on to the next. The application has a tutorial mode intended for total newcomers and an advanced practice mode which supports several hundred characters.

http://itunes.apple.com/app/chinese-writer/id374152537?mt=8

Initial feedback has been great. Those of you who've tried it out so far have called the Chinese Writer "excellent", "well-designed" and "totally addictive". We agree, and we're already at work on version two, so be sure to let us know what improvements you'd like to see made and features you'd like to see added. And if you really like it, please don't forget to rate and review our app on the App Store. This helps others find it and encourages us to put more effort into mobile app development.

*** A Quick Tip w/r/t Online Transcripts ***

Using our online lesson transcripts? Do you know you can click on any word in any transcript to add it to your private vocabulary list? This feature isn't prominently advertised, but it's useful. Equally useful are the line-by-line recordings on the transcript page. If you have trouble picking up a line in any of our dialogues try these recordings instead. Practice until you can say them at pace and then return to the dialogue.

*** Our Latest Lessons ***

Here are some of our favourite lessons from the past month:

* Absolute Beginners: The Internet, never heard of it....

Believe it on not, this lesson is based on a true story. 9527 was over for a recording session one day when talk turned to the Internet and 9527 came flat-out with the admission that she'd never heard of it. We were stunned, but bizarre as this sounds, the culprit ended up being an issue of word choice and the Chinese language. Listen in and you'll understand why she made this mistake. [http://popupchinese.com/lessons/absolute-beginners/the-internet-never-heard-of-it]

* Elementary: The Power Bar

One of the unsung advantages of having good Chinese is the ability to make pithy observations to an extra 1.3 billion people. Built around a very natural and fast-moving dialogue, this lesson will teach you how to say that one thing is very much like something else. We had fun recording this one and hope you like it too. [http://popupchinese.com/lessons/elementary/the-power-bar]

* Intermediate: Trapped in a Sea Cave

What would you do if you were trapped in a sea cave as the tide came in? With minutes left before the waves swept you off your feet and dashed you against the rocks, you'd probably start to think more carefully about life: why you're here, what your goals are and how you're going to achieve them. That is what the dialogue for this lesson is about at heart, if only in a somewhat roundabout way.... [http://popupchinese.com/lessons/intermediate/trapped-in-a-sea-cave]

* Advanced: Watercooler Gossip: Dream or Nightmare?

If you're in China, you'll know that the talk of the town these days is the new Dream of the Red Chamber television series. That's why Brendan and Echo headed into the studio to share some of the things people are saying about this show, and also pass off some tips on how to sound incredibly knowledgeable about Dream of the Red Chamber even if you've never read the book. Think of this as Entertainment Weekly combined with Cliff Notes for the Chinese version of Proust. [http://popupchinese.com/lessons/advanced/watercooler-gossip-dream-or-nightmare]

On a closing note, we are starting our annual site overhaul. We already have a list of features we're planning to add based on feedback from you in the past, but we've also had a lot of new users find Popup Chinese in the past month or two -- if you happen to be one and have any suggestions on changes you'd like to see us make please let us know at service@popupchinese.com. And of course, our thanks as always to everyone who has taken the plunge and joined us as a paid subscriber. You guys are keeping the lights on and we appreciate your support as always.