Proloquo2Go iPad App vs. Decicated AAC (speech assistance) Devices

This is a guest post by Britney Baker

Proloquo2Go iPad App vs. Decicated AAC (speech assistance) Devices

In today's smartphone era, apps exist for almost every purpose imaginable. Today, I decided to explore how well apps stack up to dedicated devices that serve the same purpose.

AAC Devices- Proloquo2Go

AAC or Augmentative and Alternative Communication devices are devices that help people with communication or speech impediments effectively communicate with others. Most modern devices are tablet or PDA shaped, so wouldn't the iPhone or iPad be an effective alternative?
Proloquo2Go, an app designed for Apple's iDevices, appears to fill that niche. Proloquo2Go offers the same features of any AAC device, but on a platform people are more familiar with. For a self-conscious impaired teenager or young adult, the iPad or iPhone choice might be appealing in that it isn't anything an ordinary person wouldn't carry. One potential problem is the fact that Proloquo2Go is relatively new and not supported by any numbers or results. Despite lack of scientific results, professionals have pointed out that the organization of Proloquo2Go's extensive vocabulary (over 7000 words) is innovative and intuitive compared to other assistive communication vocabularies.

Confirmed: the Apple iPhone is coming to Verizon in early 2011

It's confirmed. Verizon Wireless is about to gain (and re-gain) new customers in early 2011 as it gets ready to release the Apple iPhone on its wireless network. You can read about it here.

To those Verizon Wireless customers who are running iOS apps on an iPod touch: get ready to sell your iPods on eBay after you get an iPhone.

New HP Palm logo

HP owns Palm. Now, they have a logo that combines both HP and Palm. I like it. It's clean, simple, and it still retains the look and feel of HP and Palm.

By the way, webOS is going to be called HP webOS. Are you getting in line to buy the new Palm Pre 2 running HP webOS 2.0? I hope the Palm Pre 3 has bigger buttons on its keyboard.

I'm speaking about mobile health at the annual PSPA conference

I'll be speaking at the Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants (PSPA) Annual Conference this Friday Oct 29, 2010. If you'll be in Harrisburg, I hope you'll come and hear my presentation (9 am on Friday).

My presentation is titled, "Technology in Medicine" and I'll be speaking about the different ways that health care professionals are using smartphones and mobile apps in their clinical practice.

I look forward to seeing you in Harrisburg. http://www.pspa.net/

How do you implement the iPad into your medical practice?

Don't miss this exciting webinar titled, "Medicine and the iPad: Lessons from an Early Adapter."

Thursday, October 28, 2010 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM EDT

Early iPad adapter, and Oncology Net Guide advisory board member, Don Dizon, MD, FACP, will review the benefits of using the iPad and explore apps that health care professionals might find useful.

Dizon will also explain how he has implemented the iPad into his medical practice; initially planning to use the iPad for personal use, the physician now uses it 80% of the time for professional purposes.

Dr. Dizon is the Director of Medical Oncology, Integrative Care, and Co-Director of the Center for Sexuality, Intimacy and Fertility at the Program in Women's Oncology at Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island. His practice is tailored to breast and gynecologic malignancies, and he remains active in clinical research through the Gynecologic Oncology Group and Brown University Oncology Group. He is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics-Gynecology and Associate Professor of Medicine at Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

Register here.

To Do (tasks) apps for Android

The Android Marketplace now has over 100,000 apps. The App Store has grown very rapidly and continues to expand at a phenomenal pace. The other day, I wanted to explore some "to do" apps so that I could do a better job managing all my daily tasks. I'm currently playing with these 3 free Android task apps:

• Taskos
• Astrid Task
• GTasks

I'm going to start with these 3 and see where they take me. Some of these "to do" apps will synchronize with Google Tasks so that you can view and manage your To Do list on your smartphone and on your computer.

Dermatology Clinic Drives New Business with SMS (Texting)

Globaltel Media announced that Scripps Ranch Dermatology has successfully deployed Globaltel¹s managed SMS messaging platform to drive new business and improve patient communications. Here's the press release:

Scripps Ranch Dermatology and Cosmetic Center Drives New Business with Globaltel Media Managed SMS Text Platform

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Globaltel Media today announced that Scripps Ranch Dermatology & Cosmetic Center is utilizing the Globaltel Media SMS text platform to conduct personalized outreach about its services and to gain new patients.

"Unlike other traditional marketing channels and approaches, SMS text provides personalized, individual communication, and allows recipients to easily opt in or out, ensuring that they are receiving relevant information for them," said Dr. Tess Mauricio, M.D., dermatologist and co-founder, Scripps Ranch Dermatology. "Utilizing SMS for new and returning patient outreach enables our practice to not only stay at the forefront of marketing technology, but more importantly, enables us to develop a deeper relationship with our patient base."

Mediquations Medical Calculator

Mediquations is the original, most comprehensive medical calculator on the App Store. Mediquations makes getting the answers you need quick and painless. With 229 formulas and scoring tools and a intuitive interface, Mediquations is the smart choice for anyone looking for a medical calculator for the iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad.

Why Mediquations?
∙ 228 formulas and scores. The most comprehensive medical calculator on the App Store.
∙ Support for US and SI units. Switch between units easily while entering values, or set your preference in Settings.
∙ Categories, Favorites, Recents, Full Search, Email Results. All designed to make your life easier.
∙ Multiple results (such as mortality percentages) are displayed for relevant scoring tools.
∙ References, full equation, detailed information, relevant pictures, and Pubmed links for each scoring tool.
∙ Leave the app and return to where you left off.
∙ Full support for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. Buy once, use on all of your devices.
∙ Full multitasking support in iOS 4.0.

Click here to learn more about the Mediquations Medical Calculator

Tables & Protocols now in Medscape's iPhone app

Tables & Protocols has now been added to Medscape's iPhone® App.

Access 80+ Tables & Protocols including:
• Complete set of ACLS/PALS/NALS Protocols
• HIV Post Exposure Prophylaxis & Treatment Regimens
• Adult & Pediatric Vaccination Tables

The Medscape iPhone® app for physicians includes:
• Drug Reference Tools
– Look up in-depth information for 7,000+ brand, generic and OTC drugs
– Comprehensive drug interaction checker
• Condition & Procedure Reference
– Search 4,000+ topics including 2,500+ images
– 150+ clinical procedure videos
• Faster Search
– Find information even faster with our instant search feature – displays results as you type!

Click here to learn more about the Medscape iPhone app.

Smartphone Apps Market Model Takes mHealth Market to New Level

There is so much happening in the world of mHealth or Mobile Health. Here's a recent press release demonstrating how the mHealth market is evolving:

Smartphone Apps Market Model Takes mHealth Market to New Level

Will mobile apps become the killer application of the mHealth market?

New research by research2guidance concludes that mobile applications and the new smartphone market model will help the mHealth market to reach a new level.

The mHealth market will develop from a trial market to a global market, which is about to realize its full potential.

mHealth solutions have been discussed since the end of the 90s. There were very positive market projections indicating that the mHealth market would soon become a billion Dollar market at that time. But the market never really took off. What stopped the early mHealth market from being successful?

In the last years a new market model has been created by Apple: The mobile applications eco-system. Can this new system ignite the market development that everybody has been expecting for the last years? Will smartphone apps become the killer application of the mHealth market?

Should you overclock your Droid X or Droid 2?

In the past, I used to overclock all of my PDAs. I still remember the days of the old Compaq iPaq and the Palm OS PDAs. Those days seem so long ago.

So, should you overclock your Android-powered Droid 2 or Droid X? I don't think that you really need to. After all, the 1 GHz processor is sufficiently fast in my opinion. Plus, overclocking will drain your battery quicker. I also believe that there may be a risk of damaging the hardware if you overclock these Motorola phones, but I'm not sure how great that risk is.

A few years ago, I used to load custom ROMs on everything. I overclocked everything. Now, I'm mainly running stock ROMs and I'm not playing around with overclocking apps. If you're dying to overclock your Droid 2 or Droid X, you can try DX/D2 Overclocker (which is a $0.99 download).

Android 2.3 the next major update?

There are circulating reports suggesting that Android 2.3 may be the next "major" update to this smartphone operating system. I thought that Android 3.0 was going to be next, but maybe the folks at Google have something else in mind before they roll out 3.0.

What types of features will be included in the next version of Android? I suspect that we'll see some performance improvements and enhancements to the web browsing experience.

Mozilla's Seabird Concept Phone: A Dreamy Look into the Future of Smartphones

This is a guest post by Angelita Williams.

Mozilla's Seabird Concept Phone: A Dreamy Look into the Future of Smartphones

While faster and "smarter" smartphones are being brought out on the market with increased frequency, many of us are left wondering what a mobile phone will look like a few decades ahead. A few weeks ago, Billy May, a member of the Mozilla Labs community, released a mobile phone design that he developed in his spare time. Culling together information about technology that's already available and collaborating with others in the community, May put together a collective vision of the next generation of smartphones.

Mobile OMT Medical App Suite on iOS and Android for Health Care Providers

There's a new suite of medical apps available for clinicians and it was announced the other day. Here's the press release:

Mobile OMT Medical App Suite on iOS and Android for Health Care Providers

Seattle, WA Oct 19, 2010 in Medical

[prMac.com] Seattle, Washington - Announcing that Clinically Relevant Technologies, developers of medical applications for smartphones, have released a new suite of apps for clinicians who use manual therapy to treat musculoskeletal problems. This comes amidst a global push to implement smartphone and mobile tablet devices at medical education centers, hospitals, and clinics, along with an industry shift from textbooks to electronic platforms.

Did my Droid X kill my microSD card?

Yesterday, the 16GB microSD card in my Droid X stopped working. It's dead. I plugged it into my computer using several different adapters and the computer did not recognize the card. There was no way for me to reformat the card or do anything with it. It's a brick.

Fortunately, Verizon Wireless was kind enough to issue a replacement card through their warranty program. The technical support team did comment that some Verizon Wireless customers noticed problems with their microSD cards when they upgraded Android from 2.1 to 2.2 (Froyo).

Walgreens and Epocrates Collaborate to Provide Health Care Professionals Access to Prescription Savings Plan Information at the Point of Care

Now, more than ever, patients need to save on drug costs. Here's the press release:

Walgreens and Epocrates Collaborate to Provide Health Care Professionals Access to Prescription Savings Plan Information at the Point of Care

Real-Time Availability Helps Physicians and Other Health Care Providers Save Patients Money on Thousands of Medications

SAN MATEO, CALIF., Oct. 20, 2010 - Walgreens (NYSE: WAG)(NASDAQ: WAG) and Epocrates, Inc. today announced Walgreens Prescription Savings Club (PSC) formulary list of more than 8,000 brand and generic medications is now easily accessible to physicians and other prescribing health care providers using Epocrates' mobile and online drug reference products. The collaboration between Walgreens and Epocrates allows health care providers to be better equipped to identify lower cost medication options for their patients when writing or refilling a prescription.

HP webOS 2.0 and the Palm Pre 2

Now that HP owns Palm, webOS has been renamed HP webOS and they're coming out with version 2.0. Plus, there's a new Palm Pre called the Palm Pre 2 (at least they didn't call it the Palm Pre Plus 2). I like the Palm Pre, but those tiny buttons are simply too small for my medium-sized fingers.

So, what are all the benefits of webOS 2.0? Read the press release below:

HP Introduces webOS 2.0, the Next Generation of Mobile Innovation

Coming first on new Palm Pre 2 in France, the United States and Canada

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 19, 2010 - HP today announced HP webOS 2.0, the most significant update to the platform since its launch in 2009 and a substantial step in HP's vision to transform how people think, feel and connect.

Tiered data plans for Verizon smartphones

If you're a Verizon customer using a smartphone, get ready for tiered data plans. Fortunately, it appears like Verizon will still provide an "unlimited" data plan for smartphone users on the 3G network. We don't know what they will do to their data plans once they roll out with 4G. With the unlimited plan, you should not have any problems tethering and getting online with your laptop.

On a budget? Medical students and residents may find it difficult to spend $30/month for a data plan. Well, you'll have the option to spend $15/month if you use your data plan sparingly. You're probably living in the hospital, so you really don't need a data plan if you're connected via Wi-Fi and if you're surrounded by computers.

I'm planning on sticking with the unlimited data plan so that I can listen to music on Pandora while I'm in the car and so that I can tether when I'm traveling.

Smartphones: Our national obsession (on CNN)

On CNN, you'll find a 5-day series about smartphones and their impact on our lives and culture. It's titled, "Smartphones: Our national obsession"

We truly are obsessed about smartphones, aren't we? We're always plugged into the information highway that keeps our stress levels high whether we're at work or at home. One in five Americans may own a smartphone in 2010, but that number will continue to change each year.

Does multitasking on a smartphone degrade our ability to concentrate or think creatively? Are we smartphone users more easily distracted? Can we develop ADHD by using a smartphone?

Smartphones are no longer cell phones stuck on a PDA. They are becoming powerful computers, multimedia players, and gaming consoles. They're changing our daily lives and the way we interact both professional and socially. I believe they're improving patient care, but let's make sure that they're also not leading to new health problems such as "driving while distracted."

CoPilot Live GPS navigation app for Android

If you like to use your Android smartphone as a GPS navigator, then you may want to take a look at CoPilot Live.

Now, I mainly use free Google Maps and Google Navigation on my Droid X, but CoPilot Live is a nice low-cost option (only $4.99).

Here's a snippet from their press release:

Already a popular choice for iPhone and iPad owners, CoPilot Live USA for Android provides easy to follow, powerful turn-by-turn guidance with clear 3D guidance views and voice directions throughout the USA. Detailed street-level maps are stored directly on the Android device, not downloaded each trip, so drivers don’t need to rely on a mobile internet connection for navigation.


Destination entry is made easy thanks to predictive address matching that finds addresses as you type. Millions of useful Points of Interest (POIs) are pre-installed as standard, including gas stations, restaurants and attractions.  The app also features sophisticated guidance features such as ClearTurn™ realistic display with lane indicator arrows and real sign post information for clear guidance at highway exits and complex intersections.

Learn more here: http://www.alk.eu.com/

Epocrates Rx for Android updated!

The latest version of Epocrates Rx for Android is version 1.191. You can check your version by going to "updates" and then looking at the top of the screen. The latest version fixes two known bugs:

• automatically turning on Wi-Fi during updates
• storing Epocrates images in your photo gallery

Over 1,000,000 healthcare professionals, including more than 40% of U.S. physicians use Epocrates’ innovative mobile and web-based products to help them reduce medical errors, improve patient care and increase productivity.

ReachMD Wins Award for Best Medical Brand of the Year

In front of hundreds of leaders in the industry at a prestigious black tie event held at Cipriani Hotel in NYC, ReachMD won the gold award for the Best Healthcare Professional Media Brand of the Year.  The Medical Marketing & Media Awards were held last night and which are recognized as one of most prestigious and meaningful awards for pharmaceutical marketers, agencies and media companies. 

The MM&M Awards recognize exceptional creativity and marketing effectiveness in healthcare. Each year the entries are judged by an independent panel of judges who represent all sectors of the industry. The rigorous judging process ensures that hundreds of submissions are judged fairly and independently, and with the authority and respect they deserve, ensuring that only the worthiest work is rewarded. 

From the Award Book- Best Professional Brand: GOLD AWARD
ReachMD

ReachMD is a unique multichannel healthcare communications and education network for doctors and other healthcare professionals. Founded by David Preskill, MD, ReachMD is the only 24/7 national satellite radio channel (XM160) dedicated to helping practicing doctors, and it's evolved to include a website (reachmd.com) and two iPhone apps. The site and apps have expanded content and free CME/CE access beyond satellite radio subscriptions. Audience reach exceeds 300,000 weekly, and the website gets more than 1.6 million page views annually.

Journal Watch Goes Mobile

Journal Watch is now available for your mobile device (powered by Skyscape). It costs $59.95 for a 1-year subscription for a single specialty area. 

Journal Watch, produced by the publishers of the New England Journal of Medicine, publishes medical information in 13 specialty areas, including Cardiology, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Gastroenterology, General Medicine, HIV/AIDS Clinical Care, Hospital Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Neurology, Oncology and Hematology, Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Psychiatry, and Women’s Health.

More than 130 physician-authors in 13 specialties routinely survey more than 250 medical journals and select, summarize, and comment on the most clinically relevant research.

Key Features

* Journal Watch physician-authors survey more than 250 general and specialty medical journals
* Timely, authoritative, and independent summaries are presented with a clinical perspective
* New summaries are delivered to you on a weekly basis
* Easy-to-navigate index of key medical terms
* Access to a year’s worth of archived articles

Journal Watch is a publication of the Massachusetts Medical Society, located in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Click here for more information. 

TweetDeck Releases Android App

TweetDeck released their Android app yesterday. TweetDeck for Android is now available for free in Android Market. I wasn't involved in the beta testing phase of TweetDeck for Android, but downloading the official app today so that I can start using it on my Droid X.

Are you on Twitter? Make sure forget to follow me: @DrJosephKim

HCPLive on your iPhone and iPad

Take trusted content from the HCPLive Network along with you on your iPad and iPhone.

iPad

• MD Magazine
• Pharmacy Times

iPhone

• HCPLive To Go
• ONCLive To Go
• Pharmacy Times CPE

A touch screen with "texture" so you can "feel" each icon

Imagine if you could "feel" each icon on your smartphone screen. You'll be impressed by the technology that's currently in the pipeline. Will this type of technology improve on-screen typing? What if you could "feel" each key on that on-screen keyboard?

Here's a video showing that Nokia has developed a prototype of its N900 smartphone that lets you feel the texture of icons on the screen – a technology that would add a whole new dimension to touchscreen apps.

On-screen keyboard vs. hardware QWERTY keyboards

I've had the opportunity to use a variety of different smartphones. Some have physical QWERTY keyboard buttons. Others are slates that only have an on-screen keyboard. As I've compared different QWERTY keyboards, I've found that some smartphones (like the Palm Pre) have tiny buttons that are literally impossible to push unless you have small hands. Others (like the Motorola Droid) do not provide enough tactile responsiveness. This has been changed in the Droid 2 - which has a much better keyboard compared to the original Droid.

My favorite QWERTY keyboard was the one found on the HTC Touch Pro2.

Now that I'm mainly using the Motorola Droid X which lacks a physical QWERTY keyboard, I'm finding that the large 4.3" screen provides plenty of room for a great on-screen keyboard that is very easy to use when I hold the device horizontally and type using two thumbs. The Droid X also provides the option to use Swype so that you don't have to lift your fingers or thumbs off the screen as you enter text. Which input method do you prefer?

Frisbie Memorial Hospital Adopts iPhones for Point-of-Care Communication

We're seeing more hospitals truly becoming "digital" as smartphones become more powerful. This is even happening to smaller hospitals. Here's an interesting recent press release:

Frisbie Memorial Hospital Adopts iPhones for Point-of-Care Communication
Innovative Voalté solution to improve nurse communication

SARASOTA, Fla. Oct. 12, 2010 – Nurses and other point-of-care workers at Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.H. will soon be using iPhones to improve their communication and increase efficiency, thanks to Voalté’s first-of-its-kind integrated communication solution.

The Voalté application consolidates voice, alarm and text on the versatile iPhone platform. The solution will enable the nurses and clinicians at Frisbie to send and receive presence-based text messages and make high definition voice calls across the hospital VoIP system, providing faster response to patient needs.

Frisbie’s selection of the Voalté solution was the result of a technology review and assessment that began more than one year ago.

Smart Hospitals: Embracing Smartphones at the Point of Care

Voalté has a free whitepaper titled, "Smart Hospitals: Embracing Smartphones at the Point of Care".

Here's a partial summary:

Compared to today’s medical breakthroughs, hospital communication systems fail to keep pace. Outdated paging systems and multiple communications device cause confusion and reduce efficiency in hospitals. Smartphones offer a solution to many of today’s healthcare communication issues. With PC-like functionality and advanced capabilities, smartphones provide a single interface to make calls, send texts, manage schedules, organize tasks, view online literature, and...

You can download the white paper here (PDF).

Voalté provides compelling software solutions for healthcare institutions that solve communication problems at the point-of-care. We believe that better, more efficient communication improves clinical performance, which in turn improves patient care, safety and satisfaction.

My thoughts about Windows Phone 7

The new smartphones running Windows Phone 7 will feature great hardware from companies like HTC, Samsung, Dell, and others. Does that mean we'll see high-performance devices?

I think the more important question is this: how critical is the operating system? As devices converge, will we find that we're less concerned about the OS and more concerned about the hardware? Take a look at computers. Do we really care if we're running XP, Vista, or Mac OS X? Maybe we'll reach that point with smartphones too. Maybe it won't really matter if you're running iOS 4, Android 2.2, BlackBerry 6, webOS, or Windows Phone 7. 

So, what are my thoughts about Windows Phone 7? I'm eager to try it to see how it compares with all the other mobile platforms that are out there. I'm confident the devices will have some great hardware. There won't be many apps (especially medical apps) at first. Let's give it some time to see how Microsoft will get the developer community engaged to build medical apps for this new OS.

A way to get free Epocrates

Have you noticed the EssentialPoints program on Epocrates? You may have seen this if you're using an Apple iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Through the EssentialPoints program, you can earn free one-month subscription to Epocrates Essentials. Here's some more information:

What are Epocrates EssentialPoints?

The Epocrates EssentialPoints* program contains sponsored+ learning activities provided by third-party vendors. Each activity requires only a few minutes to complete. At the end of each activity, you will be asked to allow Epocrates to provide the sponsor of these activities with your personal identifying information. By completing the activity, you may also become eligible to receive a one-month subscription to Epocrates Essentials. All sponsored content is selected independently of Epocrates.

EssentialPoints can be accessed from the "More" menu option at the bottom of the Epocrates screen on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad device.

When you complete an EssentialPoints activity that is valid for a license to Epocrates Essentials, we will automatically add it to your account. There is no need to do anything further.

* Epocrates EssentialPoints is currently only available for our iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad users. We are looking into expanding this program to other platforms in the future, but currently do not have any dates as to when that may happen.


+ Not all Epocrates EssentialPoints are sponsored.

Samsung Focus for AT&T running Windows Phone 7

The Samsung Focus may be one of the first smartphones running Windows Phone 7. This device will be available on AT&T. HTC will also be releasing some smartphones running Windows Phone 7.

I'm guessing that both Samsung and HTC will focus on developing more smartphones running Android instead of Windows Phone 7. Then again, maybe they'll create the same hardware that can run either OS. Wouldn't that make more sense?

Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 launch tomorrow

Are you excited to see what Microsoft has coming? Windows Phone 7 is an entirely new operating system (which also means that older apps won't run on Windows Phone 7).  Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 launch is schedule for tomorrow. Stay tuned for more about this new OS!

5 Excellent Medical Apps for Patients

This is a guest post by Melissa Tamura.

"There's an app for that." Most of us have heard that slogan at some point over the past year, and for good reason. Thanks in great part to its endless selection of interactive applications--apps--Apple's iPhone is revolutionizing the way we interact with the world around us. Chances are that no matter what we need to do, there probably is an app for it, and that includes staying healthy. So let's take a look at some of the best apps on the market designed for doing just that.

1. Epocrates
Epocrates is often cited as both the first and the number one medical app available for doctors and patients alike. And it's with good reason. This versatile app comes in numerous releases, ranging from free (Epocrates Rx) to $199 per year (Epocrates Essentials Deluxe), and provides the user with instant access to answers to clinical questions, drug information (including side effects and interactions), a medical calculator, and even a pill identifying tool. If there is any app that no patient should be without, it's Epocrates.

Epocrates OTC drug module for BlackBerry

If you're a BlackBerry user, don't forget that you can get the Epocrates OTC drug module for Epocrates Rx.

The Epocrates OTC drug module provides the latest information on hundreds of brand name over-the-counter drugs. Each product-specific monograph answers questions such as:

* What are the active ingredients and their uses?
* What's the dose for my patient's age?
* What flavors are available?
* Does the product contain alcohol, sugar, or dyes?
* Will it interact with prescription and herbal medications?
* Is there another product with the same active ingredients, but in a chewable or liquid form?
* My patient needs an analgesic, an antihistamine, and an antitussive; is there one product with all of these?
* Is this product covered by my patient's health insurance?

Watch this module in action in this video:

Is the Apple iPhone really coming to Verizon?

I'm a Verizon customer. People are constantly asking me if the Apple iPhone is coming to Verizon in 2010 or 2011. I've heard the rumors, I've read the blogs, but the reality is that I don't know (and I don't know how knows). Maybe Verizon still doesn't know. Maybe Apple doesn't know.

My gut tells me that at some point Verizon will be carrying the iPhone. I just don't know if it will happen in 2011, but I suspect that the Verizon iPhone will be a 4G smartphone. Maybe it will be the first 4G smartphone.

Verizon iPhone in early 2011

The Wall Street Journal is telling everyone that an Apple iPhone is coming in 2011. Actually, they're telling everyone that "according to people familiar with the matter," the iPhone is coming to Verizon in early 2011. At this point, it's more than a rumor.

I'm still planning on sticking with Android, but it's nice to have another solid option. Here are some interesting charts about smartphone usage in this country:

Should you lease a smartphone?

Many people lease laptops. Should you lease your smartphone? Just as an example, you can lease the Palm Pre (which is now an HP smartphone) for $13 month for 48 months. Here's the fine print about leasing an HP smartphone:

Lease products available through Hewlett-Packard Financial Services Company (HPFS) to qualified commercial customers in the U.S. and are subject to credit approval and execution of standard HPFS documentation. Lease prices shown are based upon HPFS’ current lease rates for premium risk rating customers (as determined by HPFS in its sole discretion). All customers may not qualify for this pricing. HPFS lease rates may vary depending upon HPFS’ credit review and approval of the customer and the transaction. Other restrictions may apply. HPFS reserves the right to change or cancel this program at any time without notice.

Given that smartphones are changing so rapidly, it probably makes sense to lease them so that you can stay current with the latest technology. Otherwise, keep them in mint condition and sell them on eBay. That's what I do. 

Cleaning a trackball on a BlackBerry

There are several tutorials online that will show you how to clean the trackball on your older BlackBerry device. The short version is this: you may be able to remove the trackball without taking the device apart. You can probably pry the plastic rim that surrounds the trackball and pop the ball out. That's what I did the other day. I simply used my fingernails to pry around the silver ring and then I carefully removed the ball. After some cleaning, the trackball worked just fine!

If you're having some problems using the trackball on your older BlackBerry, just clean it carefully. (Oh, and if your desktop computer uses a mouse that has a ball, you can clean that too.)

The DROID Pro reminds me of the Palm Treo

Some of you lived in the era of the Palm Treo. I did. Well, the upcoming DROID Pro is a candybar smartphone running Android 2.2 (Froyo) and it has a hardware QWERTY keyboard that looks like the types of buttons you would find on a BlackBerry. So, if you're thinking about switching to Android, this could be the device for you if you're a former Treo or BlackBerry user who really wants to have a QWERTY keyboard that doesn't slide out.

Primary Care Pocketbook Mobile Edition

The Tarascon Primary Care Pocketbook, Mobile Edition is packed with essential lists, figures, and tables concisely covering the full spectrum of primary care medicine, providing instant reminders of hard-to-remember yet critically important clinical facts for the primary care physician. While it has been designed for the busy family physician, internist, primary care nurse or other health care provider, it is also the perfect succinct resource for specialists who are periodically required to treat more general practice issues.

Features:

* Available for iPhone®, Blackberry®, Palm®, and Windows Mobile®
* Customize your own application by book marking your most commonly searched terms and disease states.
* Searchable index
* Get quick answers while on the ward or in the clinic

Click here for more information.

PC World rates Epocrates for Android 5 out of 5 stars!

PC World recently reviewed Epocrates for Android and they gave it 5 out of 5 stars.  It doesn't get better than that!

This free app, used by thousands of health-care professionals, is a valuable source of information about prescription drugs and their interactions.

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Get it with this QR code:

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Get quick access to reliable drug information with the #1 mobile drug reference, Epocrates Rx! You can tap into multiple clinical tools in one easy-to-use application. Join more than 1.1M healthcare professionals who rely on Epocrates’ innovative clinical products to make more confident decisions at the point of care.

MIT students develop mobile app for remote areas (or developing nations)

Those MIT students are at it again. They've developed an Android app called Sana. Here's a brief description from the MIT press release:

Now, a team of student and faculty volunteers based at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) under the guidance of Peter Szolovits, professor of computer science and engineering and of health science and technology, has developed a way to use mobile-device technology to improve health-care access in developing countries. Known as Sana, which means “healthy” in Spanish and Italian, the open-source software system relies on smart phones running Google’s Android operating system to connect health-care workers in rural regions with physicians in urban areas. Using the Sana application on their phones, the workers collect patient data, including pictures and video, and send them in a text message to an electronic -record database. A doctor then reviews the data and sends a preliminary diagnosis to the health-care worker by text.

Click here to read the full story.

Fujitsu dual-touchscreen concept phone

Here's an interesting photo of a Fujitsu dual-touchscreen concept phone by the Engadget team at CEATEC. Is this giving us a glimpse of future phones to come? You can see more photos and a video here.

Epocrates (version 1.186) now available for Android (no longer beta)

Epocrates for Android is no longer beta! If you're using the beta version of Epocrates on your Android smartphone, you'll see that you can manually update to the final release version 1.186 of Epocrates on your Android smartphone.

After you choose to update the app, you'll need to sign in and prepare to be patient as your device updates by downloading clinical content.

To download Epocrates Rx free software to your Android,
follow these simple steps:

1. On your Android device, tap the “Market” icon and search for “Epocrates”
2. Select “Epocrates” and tap on “Install”. When the warning appears, tap the “Ok” button.
3. When application is installed, tap on “Epocrates” and follow the on-screen instructions.
4. Once Epocrates launches, you will see a welcome page.
   Existing user: Tap on “Sign In”, enter Epocrates username/password and tap “Sign In”

Today's Medical Students are the Most Technology-Savvy Yet

Today's Medical Students are the Most Technology-Savvy Yet

Students Share EHR Expectations, Smartphone Preferences in Fifth Annual Epocrates Survey

San Mateo, Calif., September 29, 2010 - Technology is a way of life for today's medical students with the majority choosing clinical references on their iPhone® device over teachers and peers to answer questions. The fifth annual Future Physicians of America survey conducted by Epocrates, Inc. revealed that medical students not only believe in the value of electronic health records (EHRs), but expect availability when they practice medicine.

More than 700 medical students, a third of whom dreamed of becoming a doctor since childhood, shared their opinions about a range of topics impacting the medical profession. Key survey findings include:

Doctor's can't make mobile connection

Make sure to read this American Medical News story titled, "Doctors, patients use smartphones, but can't make mobile connection." There is a lack of connectivity between mobile phones and practice and hospital systems.

A study cites a lack of payment from insurers to physicians for electronic monitoring and an unwillingness among patients to pay for that service.

The article is based on some data from a study released by the PwC (formerly known as PricewaterhouseCoopers) Health Research Institute. Click here to read the story.

T-Mobile G2 smartphones having hardware problems

The T-Mobile G2 (made by HTC) is going to be a very popular Android smartphone for T-Mobile customers. Unfortunately, early reports (on blogs like Engadget) are indicating that some of these G2 smartphones are having hardware problems. What type of problems? Loose hinges and missing memory. Sounds strange for a company like HTC to have quality control problems.

The G1 was the first Android smartphone in the U.S. market. It was only available on T-Mobile. Now, the G2 appears to be a very promising upgrade, but we need to make sure that these quality control issues get resolved first.

Verizon Wireless to refund 15 million customers for data charges

According to several reports, Verizon Wireless will be issuing refunds to over 15 million customers for "incorrectly charged data sessions." You can read about it here on CNN.

Don't expect too much money:

Current customers will receive notification of credits on their October or November bill of between $2 and $6 in most cases, while former customers can expect to receive a refund check in the mail. Some will receive larger credits or refunds.

NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for iPhone and Android

Access the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines™) anywhere and at anytime through free NCCN Guidelines mobile apps for iPhone and Android.

Recent data continues to indicate that clinicians are increasingly using smartphones to access medical information and bring faster, more informed decision-making to the point of care.

These new NCCN apps enable clinicians to easily access the NCCN Guidelines, which are updated on a continual basis and developed through an explicit review of the evidence integrated with expert medical judgment and recommendations by multidisciplinary panels from NCCN Member Institutions.

The NCCN Guidelines apps for iPhone and Android are free to download through the iTunes Store and Android Market. To use the NCCN Guidelines apps, an individual must be a registered user on NCCN.org. There is no fee to become a registered user on NCCN.org and to view the NCCN Guidelines.

Visit NCCN.org/mobile

Android Market Bar Code for Installation

Did you pick up an R2-D2 Droid 2?

I was originally planning on getting the R2-D2 Droid 2 on Verizon Wireless, but I opted for the Droid X instead. I figured that I could always add a case or sticker to make the Droid X look like R2-D2.

Speaking of R2-D2 and Star Wars, get ready to watch all 6 Star Wars movies in 3-D. That's right, all 6 movies will be coming out in 3-D fairly soon. Can't wait to get in line to watch them in 3-D.