My top 3 iPhone apps for studying Japanese

I've seen so many sites do top Japanese app lists, but I wanted to write my own and explain my personal picks.  What works for others may not work for me and vice versa.


These are my top 3 iOS app picks for studying Japanese.

Learning Japanese (Free)
This is an amazing grammar application.  If you're familiar with Tae Kim's Grammar guide, this is his guide formatted for the iPhone. You'll never need another grammar book again with this app.

Midori Japanese Dictionary
If you're itching for something beyond the free "Kotoba" dictionary app, this is a step up.  It has all the usual features, but one feature that really stands out to me is the message/text translate feature.  It doesn't do any translation, but it allows me to paste SMS messages or website text and displays the meaning/hiragana of difficult kanji.  

This makes communicating with native Japanese speakers via e-mail or SMS a breeze.  I should also mention that Midori is supported on both the iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad.  So for the price, you can use this app on a range of iOS devices.

StickyStudy: Japanese 
I don't want to bother creating my lists of kanji or vocabulary, I just want an official list of the things I need to study.  StickyStudy: Japanese is great because it's already done this for you.  It's got Kanji by JLPT or grade.  It also includes JLPT vocabulary.   The design is much better than the dozens of other Kanji apps I've purchased, so save your money and just grab this one.

I have yet to see another Japanese-learning-focused website mention this app and I think that's a shame.  The developer is super friendly/responsive and is constantly improving this app. 
Bonus:  iPad support

There's a lite (free) version also available in the app store if you're not ready to commit to the paid version.




Apps that didn't make the cut but might be useful:


AnkiMobile
I don't recommend the Anki app because it has too many options and can get complex.  You don't want to be dealing with this when you're on the go and just want to dive in and study.  (I should mention that the desktop application is fantastic)


Also, the Anki app does not come with any pre-made decks, so you need to download them first on a computer, then sync them to Anki's sync service.  While Anki can be complex, it can also be extremely powerful/useful for those that take the time to fully learn it.

iKanji Touch
This is probably the most beautifully designed Kanji app I've ever seen.  It's got some great features, but there's a tiny something that prevents me from wanting to use this every day.  Can't put my finger on it, but I bet others will enjoy this.