Hanzi Recognizer v2.0 Released

The latest version is now available in the Android Market. There are no new user visible features, but the  renewed UI and full support for tablets warrant the major version bump.

Hanzi Recognizer now has an app-wide action bar, available both on the newer Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) and Honeycomb (3.x) Android versions, and on all mainstream Android 2.x versions. Functions previously only accessible via the overflow menu are now easier to use and discover courtesy of the action bar. Here's a screenshot of the app's main screen:


The two icons on the right kick off the keyword (reading or meaning) search and the favorites/history screen, respectively. All other screens have a home icon on the left as well, providing an easy way to get to the main screen from anywhere. Less frequently used activities such as Settings and About are available via the Menu key, as before.

The favorites and history tabbed screen now has a new look, consistent with the Honeycomb and ICS visual style. Changing tabs is also easier: just swipe left or right to switch from favorites to history and vice versa. In addition, the filter and import/export actions are now available on action bar.


On tablets the app uses the larger screen estate to show more information and make browsing characters and compounds easier. Search results or recognition candidates (when not using search on stroke) are displayed on the left, and tapping an item will update the details pane on the right. Here's how the compounds search result screens look on a Honeycomb tablet:


Version 2.0 now requires Android 2.1. Since less than 2% of all installs are on the Android 1.6,  most users won't be affected by this new requirement. Hanzi Recognizer v1.7.2 is still available on the Android Market  for devices running earlier Android versions, but no new features are planned.

Other changes and improvement in version 2.0:
  • Reduced startup time
  • Better error handling and reporting
  • Various optimizations and bug fixes
Finally, the app now has an official Google+ page. Add it to your circles to get the latest news and updates and don't forget to +1 and share.

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