Since we are talking about Chinese learning, I will be shameless and pitch my own startup: Popup Chinese (http://popupchinese.com). We are based in Beijing and are the learning site recommended most heavily by pretty much everyone who speaks Chinese fluently, including top-tier academic immersion programs in Beijing like the CET and IUP programs (Harvard, Stanford, etc.). We focus mostly on producing audio and text materials, but somewhat relevant for this discussion is our interactive iPhone software that teaches how to write Chinese characters (http://itunes.apple.com/app/chinese-writer/id374152537?mt=8). It helps people solve this problem and has the extra merit of being totally free.
Not intended as a sales pitch since most of our materials are actually free. But if you haven't dropped by you really should. I think you'll find our stuff will push you to genuine fluency a lot faster than Chinese television and flashcards. Especially if you are an elementary or intermediate-level learner and have already advanced to the stage where most Chinese textbooks are suffocatingly underwhelming.
If you know the academic directors at these programs you know the same people we do. They say they recommend us to their students and we believe them. Feel free to contact me by email if you'd like more specifics.
My impression is that most of the players in our industry are VC-funded and losing money. Their economics are quite different from ours though. Since it sounds like you're a fellow speaker, I'd suggest checking out our Intermediate and Advanced lessons, along with our selection of manually annotated short stories. If you're accustomed to standard mandarin as actually spoken (with the neutral tone, proper erhua-ization, etc.), or are good enough to try your hand at Dream of the Red Chamber or Journey to the West, I think you'll see and hear the difference right away.
Not intended as a sales pitch since most of our materials are actually free. But if you haven't dropped by you really should. I think you'll find our stuff will push you to genuine fluency a lot faster than Chinese television and flashcards. Especially if you are an elementary or intermediate-level learner and have already advanced to the stage where most Chinese textbooks are suffocatingly underwhelming.