iPad Ideas: PubMed Searching, Part I

So, how many of you out there have an iPad, or other sort of mobile device?  I just got an iPad2 a few weeks ago (thanks, University Libraries!), and have been experimenting pretty much nonstop with what I can do with it!  It's so lightweight and easy to carry around that it's replacing my laptop (and netbook) for quite a few of my daily tasks.  This means that, for a lot of us in the university, iPads (and other mobile devices) need to be up to the task to aid in research.  Because of this, I will be featuring regular reviews and tips related to iPad research apps.  I'll be defining "research apps" pretty broadly, because a lot of iPad apps have broad applications (no pun intended!).  I'll be tagging all iPad/mobile device posts with iPad and mobile technologies so, as always, use the tags on the right-hand side of this blog to find all posts categorized as such!

For my first iPad app discussion/review, I want to talk about using the iPad to search PubMed.  I usually go about looking for relevant apps two ways:  (1) search the App Store for keywords (in this case, PubMed), and (2) Google a keyword (PubMed) and "ipad app" to see what people are saying about them.  When I searched the App Store for "pubmed," I discovered that most PubMed-related apps are not free, which is definitely not what I had hoped for.

Click screenshot to enlarge 

However, I discovered that one free PubMed iPad app--PubMed On Tap Lite--does, in fact, exist, and I quickly installed it.  You'll see from the image below that the app works on the iPod Touch and iPhone, in addition to the iPad:

Click screenshot to enlarge

The app is "Lite" because a full version does exist--PubMed On Tap--and the Lite version limits the user in a few different ways.  I'm currently experimenting with the app, and will write back in a few days (Part 2 of this post) with some specific information about using the resource in the best way(s) possible.  Until then, check out these helpful descriptions I found of this, and other, PubMed apps:

PubMed On Tap
PubMed Library
Best PubMed Search Apps (discussion of 6 apps)
Pubmed Clip

Finally, PubMed does offer a Gallery of Mobile Apps and Sites: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mobile/

Are there any resources, or types of resources, for the iPad that you'd like to see me review on this blog?  Just let me know!