I just returned from a six week trip to China, where I used this ap on the daily to order food, get medicine from pharmacies, converse with local non-English speaking hosts, bargain with street market vendors, hire private drivers and taxis, and attempt to learn some Mandarin. Before my trip, I was told by "local experts" on Trip Advisor that I wouldn't be able to travel around western and rural China without hiring a native speaker, as translation services are so unreliable for the Mandarin language. But they were so wrong! This ap was all I needed, with the exception of only a handful of Pleco uses over the course of the six weeks. Seriously. This ap is amazing for the off the beaten patch traveler, as I was able to practice phrases en route to destinations, and when my pronunciation was off, locals simply looked at my iPad and read the Chinese characters or pinyin. The best part is no internet connection or data is required, which was a lifesaver, as China internet is slow and spotty and wifi is not as ubiquitous as it is in the US and Western Europe. Other travelers were awe struck to see this ap in action and wrote down the name of it to download upon wifi connection. Cheers to these developers! What smarties!