Jerry Fahrni

Tag: Mobile Healthcare

  • Lots of Interest for the Samsung Galaxy Tablet

    A small video showcasing some of the features of the Samsung Galaxy Tablet made its way around the internet this week. The slate tablet includes a 7 inch screen, Android 2.2, video calling – which I think will become more important as we move forward in healthcare – plus other features. The device is scheduled to make its official appearance on September 2, 2010 at the IFA in Berlin, Germany. Boy, would I like to attend that event.

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    I like the look of the device, but only official reviews will tell me if the it’s any good. I’m concerned that the 7 inch screen might be too small, but this is consistent with recent tablet designs like the Cisco Cius and rumors of a new 7 inch Apple iPad. For me it makes more sense to design a tablet about the size of a standard legal pad, but there must be something to this 7 inch design as I assume manufacturers don’t waste their time and money on baseless design. I would really like to get my hands on this device.

  • “What’d I miss?” – Week of August 15, 2010

    As usual there were a lot of things that happened during the week, and not all of it was pharmacy or technology related. Here’s a quick look at some of the stuff I found interesting.
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  • Do you think this is the future of mobile computing, or the past?

    I came across this post at Mobile Health Computing, one of the many blogs of Dr. Joseph Kim.

    Is this the future of mobile computing?

    Here’s a great photo of an Apple iPad on a stand with a keyboard on the desk. Is this the future of mobile computing? Will we all end up using thin slate tablet computers that are held up on stands? While we’re sitting on a desk, we may use the keyboard. When it’s time to go, we grab the slate and we run off. No keyboard needed since we’re probably going to be computing on-the-go.

    The image from Dr. Kim’s post reminded me a similar setup I’ve seen in a pharmacy before. The image to the right is a J3400 tablet PC attached to the Motion FlexDock. The FlexDock offers support for an external monitor, RJ45 nectwork connectivity and multiple USB ports for keyboard, mouse and printer. In addition the FlexDock includes a charging bay with room for an additional battery.

    Would it surprise you to learn that the setup to the right was introduced more than a year ago (early 2009), and that the J3400 is an “older” model tablet PC that was recently replaced by the J3500? I find that interesting.

    Either setup would be great.

  • Toughbooks aren’t just cool, they save money too

    I’ve mentioned Panasonic Toughbooks on this website before. I’m a real fan of the Toughbook C1 tablet PC with its multi-touch digitizer, 10 hour battery life, spill-resistant keyboard and tough magnesium alloy exterior. It’s definitely on my short list of most desired devices.

    It turns out that Toughbooks are more than just cool technology, they may actually save healthcare a little money when used the right way. NHS Kirkless, a primary care trust in the UK estimates that they are saving more than $900,000 per year by deploying 600 Toughbooks to their care providers in the field.
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  • Recent travels with the iPad

    During my vacation last week I spent a couple of days in Nashville. The trip to Nashville was supposed to be short, fly out on Tuesday morning and return on Wednesday afternoon, but it didn’t turn out that way. I typically carry a laptop or tablet PC when I travel, but decided not to at the last minute secondary to the short turnaround. Instead I threw my iPad in my bag along with my DROID in an effort to travel light.

    The trip to Nashville was anything but smooth. My flight was delayed twice in Sacramento and I ended up needing two connections to get to Nashville instead of one. Fortunately for me I had the iPad with its long battery life to keep me entertained for most of the trip. I started in Fresno at 3:00am PST Tuesday morning and arrived in Nashville at 11:30pm EST Tuesday night. I used the iPad to play games in the Sacramento airport during my first 3 hour delay. I made sure I stayed close to an electrical outlet to ensure that I had plenty of battery life for the flight. Between using my DROID heavily, landings, takeoffs and walking from gate to gate I had no trouble making it to Nashville on a single charge.
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  • Thinix Touch UI for tablet PCs

    I’ve seen Thinix Touch before, but have renewed interest in the product as I continue to explore new uses for various tablets in my possession. The application has been available on touchscreen computers like the HP TouchSmart series for a while. There’s even a Thinix products page on the company website that lists several devices that are available with the Touch UI.
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  • Motion J3500 gets a wicked upgrade

    Earlier today I mentioned the Motion J3400 in reference to the mobile computers we use in pharmacy.  And right on queue Motion Computing announces the release of the Motion J3500, the big brother to the J3400. Several of the key changes include availability of Intel Core i5 and i7 vPro Processors, a dual touch display – optimized for digitizer and touch input, Gorilla Glass, a View Anywhere display and an optional 128GB Solid State Drive. Throw in 7 hours of battery life plus the rough and tumble nature of the J3500 and you’ve got yourself a pretty nice tablet.

    There’s a great look at the J3500 over at RuggedPC Review including photos and a video.
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  • Visual diagnostic aid: VisualDx

    VisualDx is a point-of-care application designed to help clinicians generate a diagnisis for various skin conditions; skin lesions, rashes, etc.
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  • iPad + ClamCase = awesomeness?

    There is no question that the iPad has met the expectations of most. Crud, probably exceeded the expectation of many. It certainly has redefined the slate category and is on its way to rewriting the history of that class of tablets. Apple wisely built a device that is easy to use, has an incredibly user friendly interface and is simply great for watching movies, surfing the web and consuming textual information, i.e. ebooks. For me, however there is one thing that’s missing, a keyboard.
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  • Motion Computing updates their tablet PC lineup

    I received an email from Motion Computing today informing me that the company has updated their C5 and F5 line of tablet PCs; now know as the Motion C5v MCA and F5v Mobile Field Tool.

    Upgrades include availability of the Intel Core i7 or Core i5 vPro Processors along with new levels of power and security. The big ticket items that caught my attention were the reported 50% performance improvement, hot-swappable batteries with 30% longer life, availability of a solid-state hard drive and the use of Gorilla glass as the standard display. C’mon, anything with “Gorilla” attached to it has to be cool.
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