Android's Google Reader App Gets More Muscle

Author: Mehdi Rais, M.D.

Last week, Android’s Google Reader app received some dynamic updates that bring the app closer inline with the online experience, and in some ways now exceeds the web version.  I lean on this app to keep up with over 225 news feeds a day ranging from Health IT to technology to emerging clinical best practices to a myriad of other topics.  Among the updates to the Android version of Google Reader include:

• Unread Count Widget: any feed can be chosen within your Google Reader (labels, person, specific feeds, or all items.)  You’ll have a pulse on developments in your reader inbox as they happen.  Clicking on such feeds will send you to the respective feed.

• News Ticker Widget: any feed within Google reader can cycle through those headlines and stream on the homescreen. Much like the previous widget, clicking on a given article will take you to the article.

• Mark previous as read: this feature isn't available in the online version; currently you can only mark a time period (last day, week, etc.) as read, not everything prior.  In your reading list view, you can simply press “Mark previous as read” to mark feed listings above the screen as read.

These developments are right in line with the spirit of Google Reader's aim to streamline your online browsing experience.  Have you made the leap yet to Google Reader?

About the author:

Mehdi Rais is a physician, medical lecturer, medical writer, and self-proclaimed “tech nerd.” When Dr. Rais isn’t honing in on his trades, he spends his time scouring publications and the web for the latest trends in technology in the medical field, new applications in Health Information Technology, and emerging legislative & regulatory changes in medicine. 

Dr. Rais' interests are greatly focused in the realm of mobile computing and the use of cell phone technologies in the clinical setting.  He received his Medical Doctorate from St. Christopher’s College of Medicine after spending his undergraduate years at the University of Texas at Dallas.  

Dr. Rais can be reached on LinkedIn or followed at his blog here. Look for him on Twitter @DrMedBlog.

Medical Translators: Google Wants Your Job

Author: Mehdi Rais, M.D.

Last week, Google announced an updated version of Android Translate. In the previous rendition of this app, Android Translate allowed users to speak words and phrases and translated them to text, allowing the user to SMS these messages and translate messages from foreign messages. In its updated form, this app has introduced a game-changing translation tool, coined Conversation Mode, that will bridge the communication gap between clinicians and patients allowing for real time conversational translation.  

Google previously highlighted this mode in an alpha preview at the IFA Conference back in September of 2010.  Fast forward to 26:24 to get a glimpse of its power in a conversation between German and English speakers, and you'll begin to see why I'm so excited.

At its core, this new functionality within Android Translate allows real time translation between English and Spanish during conversation.  The function is uber simple: press the microphone button for your language and start speaking; Android Translate will translate the speech to text and dictate it out loud such that the other participant in the conversation can hear the translated version and see the translated text.

The clinical application of this is enormous with on-the-fly translation with patients and family members. In a rural setting, hospitals and clinics often struggle to find translation services in this urgent setting, costing clinicians valuable time to initiate treatments.

Currently Android Translate only supports this conversation mode between English and Spanish, and is only available in the Android Market. Many forecast it will become available soon to iPhone users.  

With Google's growing dominance in the mobile computing market, I believe very soon this application will become the new standard for translation services in the clinical setting for most languages.  It is only a matter of time for Google to acquire the enormous data set it needs to identify and break down the many different dialects that exist for each and every language and add this data to the computing cloud for Android's Translation.

The app is available for free in the Android Market by searching for "Google Translate." Else, you can use the QR code below.

iPhone ECG Coming to Android

Author: Mehdi Rais, M.D.

Alivecor announced an Android version of their ECG product will be made available soon. You may recall our previous articles here and here that highlighted the wonders of this ECG system: a two electrode lead iPhone case in coordination with its phone app.

In a recent interview, Dr. David Albert, the device's inventor and a cardiologist by trade, went to great lengths to say what the device isn't,"...this is not a device for diagnosing acute MI (myocardial infarction).  It is not a device for detecting long QT. Both of those require a 12 lead electrocardiogram. This is a single lead rhythm script device. It is clinical quality — ours is not a sub-quality, sub-standard ECG — it’s just a single lead."

Despite these limitations, the device does serve a distinct purpose for different groups.  In reference to his research with emergency respondants, Dr. Albert stated,“[EMTs] told me that this is a tool that not only let’s them know the patient’s rhythm status, but it also gives them the ability to transmit that information back to the physician in the emergency room.”

He went on to highlight that EMTs complained that devices such as the LifePak15 had no application when the patient was stuck in small spaces and other compromising positions such is in motor vehicle accidents, falls into remote isolated areas, etc. In such scenarios, Alivecor would have an advantage in providing needed data.

In regards to Big Pharma, this inexpensive device could assist in recording cardiac event data in an incredibly accessible and inexpensive fashion.  The FDA could utilize such  additional data to determine the true efficacy of a given drug.

Alivecor is working on a credit card-sized device that will work with any tablet, smart phone, or laptop. A launch date of the device to the general public was not available at the time of publishing.

iPad 2: More Fact than Fiction...

Author: Mehdi Rais, M.D.

Kevin Rose, founder of Digg.com, reported this weekend that Apple will be announcing the release of the iPad 2 within the next month.  This coming at a time of heightened rumors, during the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas. 

Among the upgrades to the device, industry experts are speculating the following additions: 

• 128gb on board solid state drive
• Front and rear camera
• Higher quality speakers
• Lighter weight
• Higher definition screen. 

As component manufacturers for the iPad continue to spill the beans on what parts are being ordered and crammed into the device over the coming weeks, we should begin to have a clearer picture of what Apple has in store.

Be strong and fight the urge to grab a tablet today...

About the author:

Dr. Mehdi Rais is a physician, medical lecturer, and self-proclaimed “tech nerd.” When Dr. Rais isn’t honing in on his trades, he spends his time scouring publications and the web for the latest and greatest trends in technology. Dr. Rais interests are greatly focused in the realm of mobile computing and the use of cell phone technologies in the clinical setting in an effort to increase efficiencies while reducing discernable risk. He received his Medical Doctorate from St. Christopher’s College of Medicine after spending his undergraduate years at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Honeycomb Countdown Begins...

Author: Mehdi Rais, M.D.

Yesterday, Google released a sneak peak of their upcoming Android 3.0 platform, Honeycomb.  This rendition of Android has a primary focus on the tablet experience through designing the UI on a larger screen interface.  After having played with platforms 2.0 and 2.2 enabled android tablets, the collective experiences have come up short for me.  

While both Android platforms were built around the mobile phone experience (which are brilliant in their own right), they just don't seem to shine versus the iPad experience for me.  With that said, the gap in this fluid UI experience isn’t much between the two big players, and I have good reason to believe this release will even the playing field.

Among the promised improvements in the Honeycomb platform:

• Refined multi-tasking.
• Home screen customization with a new 3D experience and redesigned widgets that are richer and more interactive.
• Upgrades to the web browser (including tabbed browsing, form auto-fill, syncing with your Google Chrome bookmarks, and incognito mode for private browsing.)
• The latest Google Mobile innovations including Google Maps 5 with 3D interactions and offline reliability.
• Access to over 3 million Google eBooks, and Google Talk, which now allows you to video and voice chat with any other Google Talk enabled device (PC, tablet, etc.)