Electronic research databases provider EBSCO Publishing (EBSCO), US, has released EBSCOhost Mobile, allowing researchers to access their EBSCOhost databases via smartphones and other handheld devices. The product seeks to provide a convenient way for customers using mobile devices to find quality content. The main EBSCOhost Mobile screen offers a number of options including choosing which EBSCOhost database(s) to search plus setting search options, accessing field codes and specifying preferences.
All databases and services currently available on the EBSCOhost platform will be available via EBSCOhost Mobile. The EBSCOhost interface claims to be the most-used research platform currently available in more than 100,000 libraries around the world. Since the interface is the basis for EBSCO Discovery Service, EBSCOhost Mobile is expected to dramatically impact mobile searching.
Many of the existing EBSCOhost features such as search modes, limiting to full text, date ranges, peer-reviewed content or by publication are available. Users will also be able to search images from their mobile devices. The result list is scrollable and available data includes citations, Image Quick View and access to full text articles. The result list also features a relevancy indicator and users are able to e-mail results.
Clicking into a result provides researchers with information including author information/affiliation, links to the source, document type, subject terms, NAICS/industry codes along with the abstract, ISSN, Accession Number, persistent links, images, links to full text, etc.
In addition to providing access to smartphone users, EBSCOhost Mobile will also work on desktops helping libraries with low bandwidths since it uses only a fraction of the bytes compared to a traditional EBSCOhost search. EBSCOhost Mobile will also open up access to research databases to researchers in remote locations who are only able to access via satellite links.
According to estimates, more than 40 million smartphone units were sold in the second quarter of 2009. Improvements in mobile technology have brought a new level of sophistication to what users are able to do with smartphones and other Internet-enabled mobile phones. Handheld devices have moved beyond phone calls and users expect a lot of functionality from their equipment.
This trend has led to the launch of various platforms and content services specifically aimed at the mobile phone user. Earlier this week, portable medical reference provider Tarascon Publishing announced the release of the Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia iPhone application. The product provides continuous updates to critical drug dosing information important to healthcare providers at the point of care facing evolving medical challenges such as H1N1 (‘swine flu’) and other infectious diseases.
Also this week, QStar Healthcare announced that it is set to launch its new vendor-independent SntryDICOM archive appliance. The company is showcasing the new version of DICOM Publisher with advanced CD and DVD encryption capabilities at RSNA 2009.
Last month, Harvard Health Publications launched an iPhone application focused on the H1N1 flu pandemic. The application includes video content as well as text, animated illustrations, and links to government databases.
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