your week 2 questions answered
Molly K
Hello, I am a new user of an Android smartphone. We are obligated to accept free app conditions (access to personal info, right to modify SD card content,etc.) and I find this is quite intruding. Do the same conditions apply for paid apps?
Most apps will ask permission to access something on your smartphone in order to stay updated or look up information …you will inevitably see this question whenever installing an app, free or no.
If you think accepting app conditions are intruding, take a look at how companies may use your information once you register:
http://www.imedicalapps.com/2011/06/hidden-costs-favorite-free-medical-apps-part-1/
http://www.imedicalapps.com/2011/07/hidden-cost-free-apps-part-2/
For those with concerns about recommending free mobile apps which may share your info, 2 good suggestions from our Fall class were 1) post a ‘no liability’ disclaimer next to any free mobile medical apps that you might share on your library webpage. 2) Encourage your patrons to give as little information as possible when registering for a free app (this is especially true for Dynamed, which installs through SkyScape.com but is free w/ an institutional subscription through Ebsco.) Search this group for "Skyscape" to find our discussions on this from Fall 2011.
Is PubMed mobile and EBSCO mobile (and others) going to give the same kind of results? Does it have the same or limited search functionality?
My thoughts:
PubMed mobile has limited search functionality compared to the full site. It does not map to subject headings. The only Limits (“Filters”) are free full text and review. You can plug in a specific year but a date range search does not work. In terms of viewing results, you get the full abstract, related citations and links to full text at publisher, so that is pretty good. It’s still in Beta so hopefully more robust limits are on the way.
Here’s a review: http://www.imedicalapps.com/2011/03/pubmed-web-app-mobile-smart-phone/
(On an aside, I have not been successful getting PubMed.gov to work on an iPad – anyone else notice this?)
As far as I can tell, the web app of Ebsco Mobile has all the same limits you get in the full web version. Full text is displayed with the results. Overall it’s fairly easy to use. You can enable the mobile site in Admin settings, I think. I haven’t played with the native Android app yet but here is a review of EbscoMobile w/ iPhone screenshots by a librarian in Maine:
http://browsingroom.blogspot.com/2011/10/resource-wednesday-mobile-ebsco.html
Overall, Ebsco Mobile = same functionality; PubMed mobile = limited functionality
Let me see if I have this straight -- a mobile site is one kind of web app? Or no? Is it accurate to say that apps are generally more interactive than mobile sites?
Good question. Yes, a mobile site is one kind of web app. “Web apps” are not specific to any type of phone, since basically you are calling up the app in a browser on your phone. Web apps do require an internet connection to access the information, whereas some native apps download content to your phone, and thus not need internet.
Is it accurate to say that apps are generally more interactive than mobile sites?
Tricky question….I don’t know if one can generalize interactivity for apps vs sites…I think it depends what the app or the mobile site is trying to do. For example, you can download Angry Birds as an app, but they also have a web app for Google Chrome.
Would a library with limited resources and no mobile presence be well advised to develop a mobile site vs native apps that require development for different platforms?
This is highly up for debate. It depends what level of computer support you might have and commitment level. Native apps take more time and support (you have to write programs for multiple devices & keep them working through hardware upgrades, etc.) A mobile site requires less device support. I’ve also noticed that a lot of software is starting to incorporate mobile templates. For example: LibGuides and WordPress have ways to reformat content for small screens that requires little effort on your part. My opinion is a mobile site /web app will probably be less work & support than native apps. We will discuss this more in Week 6.
I found these PubMed apps with PICO searches:
http://pubmedhh.nlm.nih.gov/; http://pubmedhh.nlm.nih.gov/nlm/picostudy/pico2.html; and http://pubmedhh.nlm.nih.gov/nlm/picostudy/pico3.html
Does anyone know if the apps yield the same results?
These PubMed PICO apps were created in 2004 - during the PDA era - and do not offer the same functionality as PubMed Mobile. In fact, the links to Abstract,full text & related citations do not even work when you click the link! NLM needs to take this down.
Also, can someone explain what a widget is?
A widget is small application that can be installed and executed within a web page, desktop, or smartphone by an end user. Some examples are: clocks, countdowns, stock market tickers, flight arrival information, daily weather etc. One type of widget is a mobile widget, which is basically a native application that can be downloaded to your mobile phone to add some type of service or functionality.