Friday, February 20, 2009

Chemistry on the iPhone

The iPhone has had plenty of press since it's initial announcement. In my view, one of the best features is the App store. With some 15,000 applications currently available there is something for everyone - including Chemists! From straight reference to 3D visualisation with touch interface these applications demonstrate what scientists could do on a smartphone. This is by no means an extensive list, but some apps that have caught my eye:
The App Store categories is the obvious way to find these, specifically in Education, Reference or Utilities. However, Solutions falls under Health & Fitness!

Anyone can write an App for the iPhone (and iPod Touch) using the SDK. It is Objective-C, not something I'm familiar with so that goes on my to do list for post-thesis!

Other smartphones are also introducing SDK's as well, e.g. Android. The mobile platform is becoming an increasingly important development arena. It is good to see that Chemistry has a presence there too.