World's thinnest smartphone is not ideal for medical professionals

The Nokia E71x is currently the world's thinnest smartphone and it's available on the AT&T network. However, it's not an ideal smartphone for medical professionals because this device runs Symbian S60 3.2 and you'll have a very difficult time finding medical apps for Symbian. Nokia has a loyalty to Symbian, but I have to predict that Nokia will have to branch out into Android if they plan to survive in the smartphone space.

So, although the E71x looks great, it's really not an ideal for health care professionals and students who want to leverage the smartphone in the clinical setting.

Opera Mobile 10 (beta) now available

I love the Opera mobile web browser. Opera is available in 2 different flavors for the smartphone/PDA:

1. Opera Mobile
2. Opera Mini

Opera Mobile is now available as version 10 in beta mode. To get it, visit: m.opera.com/mobile

I've been running the latest beta of Opera Mobile (which was 9.7), so I'm eager to see how version 10 will perform compared to version 9.5 and 9.7.

Version 10 beta is currently available for Nokia smartphones (Symbian) and Windows Mobile smartphones.

Opera Mobile 10 beta works on Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson smartphones running Symbian/S60, 3rd edition FP1 and FP2 & 5th edition.

Opera Mobile 10 beta works on both Classic and Professional editions of Windows Mobile 6.5, Windows Mobile 6.1, Windows Mobile 6.0 and on Windows Mobile 5 Pocket PC.

http://www.opera.com/mobile

Smartphone Operating Systems

I've been thinking about current smartphone operating systems (OS). Do you know which ones run on handsets made by different manufacturers? Which ones are tied to handsets offered by the OS developer?

OS on phones made by different manufacturers:

• Windows Mobile
• Google Android
• Symbian S60 (who in the medical profession uses this?)

OS on phones offered by the OS developer:

• iPhone (Apple)
  
• BlackBerry (RIM)
  
• webOS (Palm)
  

Now, here's a bit of interesting trivia:

• Android and webOS are based on Linux
• iPhone is based on NetBSD
• BlackBerry and Android are based on Java

So will a single OS predominate within the healthcare field? When you look at the exclusivity arrangements that each mobile carrier currently has, it's difficult to predict the future. However, let's assume for a moment that most mobile carriers will have a wider selection of phones running all the major smartphone operating systems. Then, we're on an even playing field. Which OS will win? Will it depend on mobile carrier exclusivity rights?

MobilePDR Survey

Looks like the online mobilePDR survey won't be available until July 17. It was supposed to be live on July 15, but now the site says July 17. I wonder if it will change again tomorrow.

To fill out the survey, visit: http://choice.mobilepdr.com/
(No use clicking on that link today)

I'm eager to see more medical references for BlackBerry and Android. Will Symbian gain enough traction to become a popular operating system for healthcare professionals? At this point, I doubt it.

The mobilePDR is coming back

The PDR or the Physicians' Desk Reference is a huge drug reference book. Several years ago, I remember using an application called the mobilePDR. Then, things changed and Thomson released the Clinical Xpert for the PDA/Smartphone (which included drug info). Now, it appears that Thomson Reuters is bringing the mobilePDR back.

The mobilePDR will be supported on:

• Apple iPhone and iPod touch
• BlackBerry OS 4.1 or higher
• Palm OS (original)
• Windows Mobile
• Symbian S60, 3rd edition (Nokia)
• Google Android

Hmm, I don't see WebOS for the Palm Pre on that list right now. Maybe they forgot to include it. Or, perhaps they simply think that everyone who owns a Palm Pre will end up running MotionApp Classic emulator.

It's about time we start seeing some medical applications for Google Android. According to Thomson, mobilePDR will require about 100 MB of space and will be available to purchase on a memory card for $14.95. Of course, you can also download the application and install it yourself if you have already have a memory card.

Nokia N97

Is the Nokia N97 a good option for medical students, residents, physicians, and other healthcare professionals? Unfortunately, I'll have to say no. Why? Because it runs the Symbian S60v5 operating system. You will have a very difficult time finding any medical software for Symbian. So, unless you plan to carry a separate PDA (who does that these days?), you're much better choosing another smartphone that runs a different OS.

I really like Nokia and their products. It's a shame for the medical community to see that Nokia has been slow to adopt operating systems that are more appropriate for healthcare professionals.

Perhaps if we eventually embrace Cloud Computing and run apps on the cloud, then we won't be dependent on native apps and we won't really care that much about the operating system. Until then, we (as healthcare professionals) must use smartphones that will allow us to run critical medical apps.



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Best smartphone operating systems for physicians

Many people often ask, "what's the best smartphone for physicians?" I wish it was a simple answer, but it's rather complicated. The smartphone industry is changing so rapidly and we see new and exciting phones coming this summer. Let's briefly review a few of the major operating systems (OS):

• Original Palm OS. This is a dead OS. Although Palm was very popular in the early-to-mid 2000's, it's now a dead operating system and it's been replaced with WebOS.
• Palm WebOS. This is a brand new OS. Hence, there is a serious lack of medical software. If the Palm Pre really takes off and we see many developers jumping in to create medical software, then we should see a plethora of software available by the end of 2010.
• Symbian. You'll find this on Nokia, but you won't find much in terms of medical software. Enough said.
  
• Google Android. This is still a new OS for the medical community. It suffers the same problem as WebOS - there's a lack of robust medical software. I love the capabilities found in Android, but we're not seeing much traction and uptake in the medical community. If Android becomes available on more carriers, then we may see more medical professionals demanding software on their Android devices.
  
• BlackBerry. The BlackBerry Storm has been a very popular device. More doctors are using their smartphones for e-mail, SMS, and other functions. Because the Storm uses a touch-screen, it's very easy to navigate. We're starting to see more medical software for BlackBerry, but it's still somewhat limited.
• Windows Mobile. This OS has gone from Windows CE to Pocket PC to Windows Mobile and now newer devices may be called Windows Phone (if that phrase catches on). Microsoft can't seem to make up its mind. For a while there, it looked like Windows Mobile was gaining significant traction (mainly because Palm OS was dying and none of the others were popular yet), but now it looks like Windows Mobile is quickly falling behind the others. Unless Microsoft makes some significant changes, it may suffer a similar fate as the original Palm OS. Plenty of medical software available.
• Apple iPhone. This is a relatively new OS, but it's gained tremendous popularity among medical professionals. As a result, we've seen a surge of medical software emerge over the past year. Will the Apple iPhone dominate the medical community? I think much of this depends on what the others do to compete against Apple.

So, what will it be? Will you choose a smartphone based on the form factor or the operating system?