This one is purely geeky speculation at this point, but the next Android devices might be “VOIP/data devices” without a traditional voice plan, direct from Google. Widescale adoption of Android devices is hard to predict since the Verizon Droid is the first mass-market Android phone, but it is a very interesting situation in the smartphone world right now. Read the rumors here.
http://www.pressdisplay.com is a mobile-optimized site with thousands of newspapers from around the world. From my perusal of it this morning, there don’t seem to be any charges for accessing newspaper content from around the world, and the interface is quite nicely done. Once you select the paper you want to read, a view of the actual page appears, but with links to mobile-optimized versions of the article content. Try it out–not every paper is there (no New York Times or Daily Progress) but many interesting ones are. The site is optimized for iPhone and Blackberry, but likely works on other devices almost as well. Thanks to Gerry McKiernan and the Educause HMC list for the tip.
Studying for USMLE Step 1 or 2? There are a few options for mobile “flashcard” type apps for iPhone and iPod Touch out there. Some cost $20-$45 (Lange Q bank -Step 2 $33; Dr. Conrad’s Disease Deck $20; First Aid Q& A series $45), another is under $3 (USMLE Buzz Flash Cards). The folks at iPhone Medical App Review, a vendor-supported blog (so take their recommendations with the proper grain of salt), have recruited medical students to review several of these apps. The consensus seems to be while they won’t replace the full-featured tools from the popular test prep leaders like Kaplan and USMLE World, they are handy for studying during unexpected downtimes.
Google, Motorola, and Verizon have teamed up to roll out what they hope will be the next big smartphone. Early reports and industry buzz are definitely building hopes for the Droid device. While the 12,000 open source apps currently available for the phone’s platform (Android) pale in comparison to the 85,000 and counting apps for iPhone, it is still early in the game. See the Washington Post story. It will be interesting to see if medical apps become as big a category on these devices as on the Apple platform, too.
“The next billion people who will be getting online will be using cellphones, not computers,’’ says one of the experts quoted in a Boston Globe article about an MIT project using mobile phones to help health professionals and farmers in developing countries. Because of the ubiquity of cell phones in the developing world, they provide a platform for telemedicine activities such as transmittal of x-rays via specialized, but inexpensive or free, software. Farming advice and literacy projects are other areas where there is potential for this approach.
Good news for Skype and Google Voice on two of the biggest wireless networks today. Verizon and AT&T are reacting to anticipated FCC changes in a way that should benefit many smartphone users soon. See the Washington Post article for the full story.
Want to know more about what the recent announcement of Google partnering with Verizon might mean for the iPhone? One media studies professor thinks it spells good news for users, bad news for Apple.
Hello Mobile Technology Enthusiasts,
Congratulations on an excellent workshop last month. Due to the overwhelming response, follow up mobile discovery sessions are a must!
Beginning next month, with your help and participation, we will begin a series of four bi-monthly Mobile Technology discovery sessions. The meetings/workshops will be 1 1/2 hours long and be zoned as follows:
ZONE 1 (start of meetings ~15 minutes)
- Mobile application/device show and tell. This time is open to all attendees for showing (using a document overhead projector) cool mobile device applications.
ZONE 2 (~20 – 30 minutes)
- Formal presentation from technology leaders (TBD)
ZONE 3
- Open discussion about technology discovered
These bi-monthly meetings will be “bag lunch” sessions from 12pm – 1:30pm and take place on the first Tuesday of Oct, Dec, Feb, and Apr. You won’t want to miss these gatherings; so mark you calendars now 
The steward for the next meeting will be Will Rourk. Will Rourk will send out a formal agenda for the October 6th meeting soon. Stay tuned!
Sincerely,
David Moody
(ATTENTION: if you would like to get involved with the future plans, send an email to mobilenetwork@list.mail.virginia.edu, we would love to hear from you)
Medscape Mobile looks like a competitor to Epocrates. Check it out if you are looking for something different on your iPhone or iPod Touch for drug info and CME: http://www.medscape.com/mobile/about.
Just found the iPhone Medical App Review blog, which is authored by a resident and 4th year. Looks interesting and honest in its assessments of medical apps for Apple devices. Would love to see comments from some of you on whether you think this resource is a good one, and if we should link to it from our HSL Mobile Resources page!
Think your smartphone bill is too high? You are not alone. An article in this week’s Macworld/Computerworld magazines points to growing concerns about the cost and lack of true competition in mobile carrier charges. But don’t get too hopeful–until customers start voting with their feet, high charges may be here to stay.
