Online resources devoted to health and diseases abound, but Healthagen's free app for smart phones uses GPS to help you find nearby healthcare providers, determine which insurance they accept, their experience, areas of practice or specialties, etc., all by way of an easy to use, intuitive interface.
The company says iTriage was developed by emergency room physicians, and its mission is to serve as a "healthcare compass," providing a nationwide physician directory and information about thousands of symptoms, diseases and medical procedures. The app lets you search by symptoms and possible causes, then assists you in finding the most appropriate healthcare provider.
Partner hospitals, which in this area includes Tulane Medical Center and Lakeview Regional Medical Center, can even upload emergency room wait times, reported as a four-hour rolling average, updated every 30 minutes.
The free app is currently available for the Apple iPhone/iPod Touch and Android-powered smart phones, but versions for for BlackBerry and Palm devices are reportedly also on the way.
You can also logon to the company's website, iTriageHealth.com, for the same information, plus visit blogs where you can post questions and comments, get the latest information about a specific illness, or obtain timely tips, such as how to beat the summer heat.
Studies say that emergency rooms in the U.S. treat over 120 million people each year. Having the iTriage app on your smart phone can save precious time if a health emergency occurs while you're on vacation or traveling on business. You can quickly find hospitals, clinics, urgent care centers, doctors, pharmacies, and other assistance within 10, 25, or 50 miles of your location. For more information, visit iTriageHealth.com.
 | | Motorola DROID X will be available from Verizon Wireless beginning July 15th |
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Verizon Wireless DROID X
It's no secret that Verizon Wireless, Motorola, Google, and Adobe would all like to see an end to Apple's dominance in the smart phone product space. As such, the new DROID X is the fruit of the foursome's recent efforts towards that end, and it is a formidable iPhone foe.
The unit is Verizon Wireless' fourth Android-powered offering, and without a doubt, the DROID X is all about the screen, a massive 4.3-inch, high-resolution display (800 x 480 resolution) that is ideal for viewing video and movies that can be purchased or rented directly from Blockbuster.
The device has a dual-LED flash, 8-megapixel camera, which is also capable of recording 720p HD video, and HDMI output. Other features include three built-in antennas for optimum 3G/Wi-Fi performance, a superb noise-canceling microphone system, 8 GB of internal memory, a 16 GB MicroSD memory card (included), user-accessible battery, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
The DROID X comes with Android 2.1, but Android 2.2 and Adobe Flash Player 10 will be provided later this summer as a no-charge, over-the-air update. The new Flash player will reportedly be hardware-accelerated to allow the unit to play rich media right in the browser, including games, animations, music, video, audio and more.
The Android 2.2 upgrade will also provide push delivery of e-mail, live widgets, and other enhancements for corporate email users, including security protocols that will allow remote password control and remote wiping of the device.
The unit goes on sale at Verizon Wireless dealers July 15th. List price is $299.99, minus a $100 mail-in rebate. Details about service plans, upgrades, and other information is available at VerizonWireless.com.
 | | Lenovo's C315 all-in-one desktop PC features IdeaTouch |
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Lenovo C315 Multi-Touch All-In-One Desktop
Lenovo calls the C315 series an "essential desktop," but it strikes me more as the perfect PC for the kitchen. I mean no disrespect, but the unit seems ideal for mom to check email, organize photos, shop online, or watch the Fox 8 Morning News while she's having her morning coffee.
Referring to the C315 as an "all-in-one PC" is no exaggeration. It is fully-equipped. The unit comes with a built-in webcam, stereo speakers, combo DVD, wired keyboard/mouse, and NaturalTouch touch-screen technology. Some models even include a live TV tuner, complete with a full-size remote control.
Don't for a moment confuse this Lenovo with some anemic, Intel Atom-powered nettop PC. With AMD Athlon dual core processors, 4GB of memory and ATI Mobility Radeon graphics, the C315 has enough horsepower to handle whatever you throw at it.
Unfortunately, while the 20-inch, 16:9 widescreen display provides more than enough real estate for normal desktop computing, it underdelivers when it comes to watching HD videos, Internet television, or live TV. The picture quality simply isn't equal to a run-of-the-mill, 20-inch flatscreen TV, but it does the job. If you're not picky, it's not a deal-breaker.
To round out the package, Lenovo ships the C315 with 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium and bundled software, including IdeaTouch, a suite of touch-optimized multimedia applications, which includes PowerCinema, VeriTouch and AutoCollage software. The latter automatically creates a collage from selected image files. Trialware versions of McAfee security software and Microsoft Office are also thrown in for good measure.
The MSRP is $899, but with discounts, promotions, etc., you can expect to pay around around $750 for a nicely-equipped C315. For more information, visit Shop.Lenovo.com.
