The Best Android Apps for Healthcare Professionals

Chris Thorman, who blogs about EMR systems at Software Advice, has completed a very detailed article about the best medical apps for Android based devices. It certainly makes a very interesting read and you should definitely take the time to check it out.

"When we published our list of the best medical iPhone apps for doctors and students, we had so many requests for a follow up post highlighting medical apps for the Android operating system that we had to do it. We’ve reduced the over 1,200 “Health” apps in the Android Marketplace to 18 categories and 60 apps designed for doctors, nurses and students."

Read the complete article here.

Foosball with Nokia N8

This is how foosball should be played... a visual and technical feast of table football tricks to celebrate the upcoming global football event in South Africa and launch of the new Nokia N8.

T-Mobile & Blockbuster made my night for just a fiver!

 I love gaming, my second love is a good film, something like a few rounds of COD followed by sitting down to Avatar is pretty much all it takes to make my night perfect. On some occasions though I find myself at a loose end and fancy a change, but I just hate buying a game at full price and finding it is rubbish, so rental is sometimes the way to go. So, being on T-Mobile with my HTC Desire I took advantage of their special night in deal. To keep it simple, you have to text this special number and then they text you back a voucher code. Then you head on down to Blockbuster and you get a game and a film for two nights, plus a bottle of pop, some popcorn and a bag of the sugary stuff, all for just a fiver. This is just fantastic VFM.

I went for Avatar the Game for the PS3, having watched the film I really fancied a look at the game. Actually it was pretty fun, some awesome graphics and nice gameplay. The only downside are that the controls were a little hit and miss, but both myself and my mate had a blast at it. The film of choice just had to be The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, something weird and far out to go along with the popcorn. This film is so weird, following the life and adventures of the crazy doctor who has made a deal with the devil for eternal life. They travel around with this weird sideshow that takes visitors into another world. A plus point for myself is that Verne Troyer plays the part of Percy and I really like him as an actor. Although the storyline is quite hard to grasp, there are some wonderful visuals in the film that make it a very worthwhile watch. Even if I had paid £5 for just the film and game, I would rate it a bargain. The fact that you get drink, popcorn and sweets thrown into the mix, make it a no brainer. Thanks T-Mobile !

Full details of the deal are below, or simply follow this link.

  • Rent a movie and a game, and grab some snacks – all for £5
  • Pick a movie and a game, or 2 movies – for 2 nights
  • Grab a bottle of cola, bag of popcorn and a bag of sweets
  • Get this offer every single week, between Monday-Thursday
  • Just text ‘NIGHT IN’ to 3000 for free, get your voucher code and pop in to your local Blockbuster store
  • It’s that simple – and exclusive to T-Mobile Customers
  • You'll need to be a T-Mobile customer and a member of Blockbuster to take advantage of this offer
  • Simply text 'NIGHT IN' to 3000 for free. We'll send you a voucher code by text, which you have to show on your mobile phone in your local Blockbuster store to claim your 5 for £5

HTC Trio... Sense, Legend & Desire

HTC Corporation, a global designer of smartphones, today introduced an enhanced HTC Sense experience that will be available on two new smartphones that take Android to the next level, the HTC Legend and HTC Desire.

“At its essence, the mobile phone is the most personal item you have in your possession. HTC Sense was created to magnify your ability to create and define your own unique mobile experience,” said Peter Chou, chief executive officer of HTC Corporation. “HTC Legend and HTC Desire take Android to another level in both substance with HTC Sense and style with HTC Legend’s revolutionary crafted aluminum uni-body design.” 

HTC SENSE

HTC Sense is a user experience focused on putting people at the centre by making phones work in a more simple and natural way. This experience revolves around three fundamental principles that were developed by observing and listening to how people live and communicate. These core tenets of Make It Mine, Stay Close and Discover the Unexpected continue to be the key to the new HTC Sense experience.

The new HTC Sense experience continues to focus on improving your interactions with your most important people.  This begins with a new HTC application and widget called HTC Friend Stream that seamlessly aggregates all of your social communication including Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr into one organised flow of updates. This simple aggregation makes it easier than ever to focus on what friends are doing as well as to view the images and links that they share.  In addition to Friend Stream, people can be organised into specific social circles, such as groups of friends, colleagues or any other way that makes sense.

The new HTC Sense experience also introduces broad improvements to applications including the browser, email client and others. In addition, the new version of HTC Sense includes a new newsreader application and widget, as well as a new seven-screen ‘Leap’ thumbnail view for quick and easy access to specific screens. 

HTC Legend

Built around a newly enhanced HTC Sense, the HTC Legend boasts a unique design with a smooth, continuous surface, machined from a single aluminum block into a seamless compact frame.  To complement its looks, the HTC Legend includes a stunning 3.2 inch, AMOLED HVGA display.  The traditional trackball has also been replaced with an optical joystick, surrounded by a narrow button to improve usability without interrupting its unique design.  

HTC Desire

The HTC Desire (pictured) is the richest way to visually experience news, friends, photos, favourite places and whatever else is important on a mobile phone. With one of the most advanced displays available on a phone today, HTC Desire is designed with a large 3.7 inch AMOLED WVGA display to enhance and maximise content, whether it is pictures and videos, browsing the Web or checking on friends’ status updates. HTC Desire is powered by a one gigahertz Snapdragon processor and is Adobeâ Flashâ 10.1 ready. As with the HTC Legend, the HTC Desire also includes an optical joystick. 

Patrick Chomet, Group Director of Terminals for Vodafone said, “HTC is a valued partner for Vodafone and has made a strong contribution to the growth of the mass market appeal of smartphones. Vodafone endeavours to offer our customers the widest and most compelling choice of smartphones and to that end the HTC Legend, the HTC Desire and the HTC HD Mini will be ranged in selected Vodafone markets across our footprint. I’m particularly pleased that through our collaboration with HTC, Vodafone customers will experience a differentiated experience on the HTC Legend which will come customised for them with pre-loaded Vodafone 360 Internet services.”

Availability

The new HTC Legend will be available in Europe through Vodafone and in the direct channel beginning in April.  It will roll out to other parts of the world including Asia in early Q2.  HTC Desire will be broadly available to customers across major European and Asian markets in early Q2.  The HTC Desire will be exclusively available in Australia through Telstra. The enhanced HTC Sense experience will also be offered as a free upgrade on the HTC Hero in Europe and Asia.

New Mobile Phones for Christmas

Throughout the first half of 2009 we have been given some really nice choices when it comes to mobile phones. The iPhone was updated to the new speedy 3GS. We have the HTC Magic and Hero, if you want to give Google some loving. Then for the masses, we have the likes of the Samsung Jet, aiming for that mass consumer appeal. As we near the holiday season, the moby manufacturers are not letting up. There are some gems coming that may well make it into your stocking.

First up we have the Palm Pre. This is a funny one this. For those in the know, Palm has gone through some really rough times. The PDA was no more and many say that the Pre is their last chance to survive as a company. When they released the handset in the USA, things were not that great, with potential customers experiencing less than awesome customer service. That aside, it is a nice looking handset. Like a smooth pebble, with a slide-out keyboard. You get a nice user interface too, with multi-tasking. Music, photos, videos, GPS, wifi, bluetooth, universal search and a nice calendar to boot. It seems very slick, but will the performance be acceptable. More than that, here in the UK, O2 have got an exclusive on the Pre. This is bad news for many, as their 3G network is not exactly the greatest.
For a more mainstream phone, but with a twist, we have the Samsung i7500. Also known as the Galaxy, this handset will not be that cheap. It does stand a good chance of opening up the Google Android platform to the masses. Android is a really nice mobile platform. It has multi-tasking, some really good applications available in 'Market' and excellent mail and texting apps. Where the Galaxy scores is in the specification that Samsung have given us. a 3.2-inch glorious AMOLED screen. Speed freaks will love the 7.2Mbps HSDPA support. Whilst multimedia junkies will revel in the 8GB of internal memory and ability to add a futher 32GB with a MicroSD card. Add to this, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, GPS, wifi, 5 megapixel camera and you can see that it offers up a lot. If it isn't on the Galaxy out of the box, then the Android Market will cater for your Twitter and other social networking needs. This is definitely a mobile phone to watch.
The wildcard for me in this seasons line-up is from INQ. They are releasing their INQ Chat 3G is the company's first qwerty-style phone. There is also the more compact INQ Mini 3G which provides an entry-level social mobile ideal for the price-sensitive prepay market. The INQ Chat 3G was developed in response to consumer and operator demand for a qwerty-style keypad device from INQ. It has a new email client developed by INQ that incorporates free push Gmail - removing a cost for push mail typically borne by operators or passed on to consumers.
Both of these handsets will appeal to a mass market. The current trend is social networking and both of the INQ handsets will not disappoint on that front. Twitter, Facebook, IM, Skype and web-based email services like Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail and GMail are all catered for. If you want a cost effective solution, then watch out for these two.
It is going to be an exciting run up to Christmas for sure. With all this choice, where will your money go?