iPhone, worth the hype??

One of Apple's newest i-gadget is the iPhone. I did not know much about this product so I decided to do some research. From what I have found this product is very versatile and stylish. The iPhone comes with an 8 GB flash drive, can connect wirelessly to Bluetooth, Edge, and Wi-Fi, and runs on Apple's OS X operating system. The iPhone also comes standard with a variety of operator friendly features, such as a datebook to set up your schedule in. In my opinion the iPhone has 3 features that set it above the rest: The ability to search the internet from your palm, the ability to coordinate all of your music on a product as versatile and stylish as this, and the ability to have your music, phone, and pda all in one.

Now that I have said many of the good things about the iPhone it is time to give you the reasons I am not purchasing one. First off it is $399 before the cost of the phone plan and currently AT&T is the only service that is providing. Secondly, the iPhone does give you all the features in one but are you really going to run with your iPhone in your pocket? I like the smaller MP3 players for this. Thirdly, the iPhone is only a substitute for a pda if you don't need a specific software to necessitate the pda. Currently, there are not many (I couldn't find any) programs out there set up to be run on an iPhone unless you access it via the internet. Fourthly, unless you are somewhere where you can get free Wi-Fi the connection produced by AT&T (Edge) is very slow.

Quick recap- iPhone= very cool gadget that gives you the internet in the palm of your hand. Only product out there to give you 3-in-one like this.
Downsides- Bulky for an MP3 player, not a good pharmacy based pda, have to push a couple buttons to make a phone call = Not for me!

For more information on the iPhone I thought this video was helpful: ghttp://video.about.com/cellphones/iPhone-Review.htm

CNET: Compare Prices and Review PDAs and Smartphones

As I searched for a final topic to write about on our PDA blog, I wanted to find a resource that my blog co-sponsors and myself could utilize as we prepare for rotations that are approaching in May. Fumbling through Hardin Library for the Health Science's web page, I came across PDA resources. This web page includes: University of Iowa Subscribed PDA Downloads; Free Downloads; Discounted PDA Downloads; UI PDA Resources; Other PDA Sites; and Hardware Buying Guides. All of these subject headings contain useful downloads and links pertaining to PDA hardware, software, Outlook syncing, UI wireless setup, and other websites. One hardware buying guide link that I found to be very informative, especially when it comes to purchasing a PDA/Smartphone, is CNET Reviews: PDAs and GPS.

CNET is a website dedicated to providing the latest technological product reviews, news, downloads, tips & tricks, and price comparing. This website enables consumers to compare various desktops, laptops/notebooks, TVs, MP3 players, digital camcorders, digital cameras, printers, storage, software, car electronics, cell phones, PDAs, monitors, GPS, networking, peripherals, gaming, home audio, home video, VolP, video cards, computer parts, and flash memory. Of course, we are going to look at how to compare and review PDAs and smartphones.

In order to review and compare PDAs, just click on the reviews or compare prices tab on the www.cnet.com homepage. If you select the review tab, this will bring you to the CNET Reviews web page. Look for and select PDA under the Review by Category. Then select the PDA tab on the left (you can also get to this point via the Hardin Library web page as discussed above). Once you are here, you can review PDAs based on price range, manufacturer, size of RAM installed, operating system provided, input device type, built-in devices, or wireless connectivity. Once you select a category to compare on, you can sort by product name, lowest price, editor's rating, or review date.

If you select the compare price tab, find the PDA tab on the left and select it. This will bring you to the CNET Shopper web page. Now, find the PDA tab on the left and select it. You can compare devices based on the same categories as the PDA Reviews above. (Before you choose a category though, there are a couple of very informative paragraphs on whether a consumer should choose a Palm OS or Windows Mobile). If you select a category to compare devices, you can sort the results by: most popular, product name, manufacturer name, or lowest price.

Smartphones can be found underneath both the review tab and compare prices tab. Once you find the smartphone reviews, you can compare smartphones based on: price range, manufacturer, service provider, RAM size installed, communication band, OS provided, input device type, weight, or wireless connectivity. Once you select a category, you can sort the results by the same criteria as the PDA reviews.

For the compare prices tab, you can compare smartphones based on the same categories as the smartphone reviews above. However, you can sort the results the same way as the PDA compare prices web page.

Overall, I think that this website is very useful for all consumers looking to purchase newer technological devices. More specifically, this website will help us as pharmacy students select a PDA or smartphone that fits us economically and professionally.

Links to these web pages:
CNET PDA Reviews: http://reviews.cnet.com/4566-3127_7-0.html?tag=dir
CNET PDA Shopper: http://shopper.cnet.com/2001-3127_9-0.html?tag=shfd.dir
CNET Smartphone Reviews: http://reviews.cnet.com/4566-6452_7-0.html?tag=ont.pda.sp
CNET Smartphone Shopper: http://shopper.cnet.com/4566-6452_9-0.html?tag=shfd.dir

P.S. Another website similar to CNET is ZDNet. There is also a direct link to ZDNet Reviews: PDA on the Hardin Library website for PDA Hardware Buying Guides.

Link to ZDNet Reviews: PDA:
http://review.zdnet.com/Handhelds/4566-3127_16-0.html?tag=ont-pda

Diagnosaurus

Diagnosaurus is a source that has become new to me in the past week. I have not used this source before, but upon learning about it I find that it serves a very useful role in health care. Diagnosaurus can be accessed through the Hardin Library website via McGraw-Hill's AccessMedicine. Once there, all you have to do is click on the DDx option in the top toolbar to access this source.

Diagnosaurus is probably a more useful source for physicians than for pharmacists, but the variety of ways to find information can make it useful for any health care professional. Information can be looked up by searching based on symptoms, disease, organ systems, or all entries. If you have a patient come in and complains of an unproductive cough, all you have to do is search via symptoms, find cough, click on it, and find a list of the possible diagnoses that may be made for the patient. Once in the list of possible diagnoses, if you want more information on a particular disease, you can click on it to access multiple sources of treatment strategies as well as more information on the disease. This can also be a great source if someone is diagnosed with a disease that may not be correct. You can search by disease to look up the disease state in question and find possible differential diagnoses that can be made instead.

Although Diagnosaurus is probably a better drug/disease information source for physicians, there is also great utility in it for pharmacists and other health care professionals. It could also be a good option for a patient to look up information based on a symptom they have. From Diagnosaurus, they can find a list of possible diseases that can be associated with their symptom. This could be important because if the list contains alarming diseases, a patient may be more likely to seek medical attention rather than just ignoring the symptom. This could potentially allow health care professionals to diagnose and start to treat this disease earlier than if the patient simply ignored the complaint. I think that all of us as health care students need to recognize this source and learn how to use it for cases we may encounter as we become pharmacists in a year and a half.

STAT!Ref

, a drug information source search engine, is a personal favorite of mine. It is very easy to use, and it contains an enormous amout and variety of information.

First of all, STAT!Ref is easy to use. Searches can be approached from different pathways. One way to go about searching is to type your keyword in the search box, which will bring up a list of all the drug information resources that have information about your keyword search. If you misspell a keyword search term, the search engine will offer a similarly spelled keyword that you might actually be looking for, and you can redo the search. Either way, you can then choose to search within any of the listed resources for the specific information you want. Another way to find information is if you know specific DI resources you want to utilize. On the home page, select the advanced search button and then select the resources that you want the search engine to filter through when you perform your keyword search (You could perform the search first and then use the advanced search option to narrow your search). Howevery you get there, when you find the resource in which you want to find information on the keyword search, you can use the left hand collapsable shortcuts to quickly find the specific info that you want to utilize. Another way to look for information in a specific resource is to click on the Title tab in the upper left corner of the home page. On the next page, select the resource you wish to search in. Collapsable shortcuts will appear under the topic you select. This way can be a little more time consuming if you do not know which category the information you are looking for is in.

Another great characteristic of STAT!Ref is that it contains a large amount and a wide variety of information that you can access within. Considering there are 44 different drug information resources to utilize within STAT!Ref, the breadth and depth of information is staggering. For example, preparations for a specific medication can be found in AHFS Drug Information, information on basic immunology can be found in Medical Immunology, and information on diseases can be found in ACP PIER & AHFS DI Essentials. These are just a few examples of the plethora of information that can be accessed in this vast drug information resource. Even if you are not sure which specific resource to seek the information you desire, the pure fact that there are so many unique resources within STAT!Ref odds are the appropriate resource will find you when you perform a specific search. How can you beat that?!

The aforementioned information about STAT!Ref are just a few of the reasons why STAT!Ref drug information source search engine is a personal favorite of mine.