Hong Kong - A Hub For Educational Mobile Apps

02 Sep 2013

According to a recent Google survey, Hong Kong is in a city that has the seventh highest penetration rate of Smartphones in the world, and a group of software developers are trying to take advantage of the huge potential for mobile educational apps in the country.

One of them is Leung Wai-fung, founder of Artemis Digital, whose e-book series on famous travel destinations has been downloaded in 67 countries since last year. Equally popular are his company's interactive books, about 60% of which have ranked in the top 10 in the Education Category of Apple Store. However, Leung says that 99% of the apps in the Apple Store for children are games.

His team developed a feature that sends an alert when a user has spent too much time on a device in order to keep users focused on learning and prevent possible deterioration of eyesight. There is also no access to cyberspace to protect target users (primary students) from negative influences. Leung said that their books are not linked to social media like Facebook.

Because they allow for frequent practice anytime and anywhere, mobile devices are especially useful for learning languages. A Beijing-based mobile learning technology company, Qooco, has tapped that possibility and incorporated cloud-based technology in its apps for learning Putonghua and English. These apps have listening and speaking exercises, and vocabulary banks for students to use. By accessing data on their practice sessions stored in the cloud, teachers and parents can monitor the students’ progress.

Leung says filling a gap in English-language education in the country up to 150,000 mainland subscribers have downloaded the Qooco Kids app.

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