Merck Manual Apps Valued by Diverse Users

Merck Manual Professional Edition

Less than a month after their launch in the iTunes App Store, the  Merck Manual apps are already proving to be convenient resources valued by healthcare professionals and consumers on the go. Both apps have received excellent reviews and are among the Top Paid Apps in the medical category.

Customer comments and reviews for the Professional Edition (App Store link) have come from a variety of sources. Rickkus wrote in the Australia App Store, “Lots of cross references and they are all linked. Just click the link and you are there. Much more information than similar medical apps I have bought, and less than half their price.” In the US App Store, Nursemedic99 commented, “If you like the Merck Manual, you’ll definitely like this app. I use it on a regular basis. It’s well worth the $30 to have the Merck with you at all times.” Before purchasing the app, a healthcare professional who works in a hospital contacted us to confirm that a WiFi/Internet connection is not needed (“we do not have WiFi in my area”). We confirmed that’s true and  then modified the App Store description to emphasize that particular feature of the app. The Professional Edition app has also received positive reviews from lawyers. Jeff Richardson, an attorney and publisher of iPhoneJD.com, wrote a high quality and in-depth review where he concluded, “I suspect that many lawyers have, like me, found the need to look up medical terms, such as during a break in a deposition…the Merck Manual apps are excellent sources of medical information and it is very useful to have all of this information at your fingertips on the iPhone for quick and easy access.”

Merck Manual Home Edition
The Home Edition (App Store link), which is among the top 20 paid apps in the medical category as of this writing, is proving to be a valuable resource for consumers. In the US App Store, Kessee wrote, “Great reference too, easy to navigate, tons of info at a reasonable price!!” and Mehall7 commented, “Easy to use and well worth the price. You won’t regret buying this.” Heather Leister, TheiPhoneMom who’s been mentioned in TechCrunch on more than one occasion, wrote, “This is one heck of an impressive app” and “I’m the type that likes to go into a doctor’s appointment having done some research and love having all this medical information on my itty bitty phone.” In his thorough review of the app at Medtapp.com, family physician Dr. Jojo Ferrer noted that the app enables users to “report bugs, suggest features, and sign up for the newsletter. Kudos to Agile Partners for enabling these in-app; it shows how much importance they give to customer feedback.”

As we said in our blog post when the apps launched, we’re proud of the work with our partners at Merck on the iPhone versions of The Merck Manuals. It’s now fulfilling to see the apps starting to be recognized as valuable references for consumers and healthcare professionals alike. To learn more about both iPhone applications, please visit the Merck Manuals page.

Announcing the Merck Manual Apps

Merck Manual Home Edition We’re delighted to announce our two newest apps: The Merck Manual – Home Edition (App Store link) for consumers and The Merck Manual – Professional Edition (App Store link) for healthcare professionals. These two Merck Manual apps bring to the iPhone a medical reference that has been trusted for over 100 years.

A Bit of History
In 1899, the pharmaceutical company Merck first published a small book titled Merck’s Manual of the Materia Medica. The Merck Manual (as it was later known) became a favorite of those involved in medical care or in need of a medical reference. Albert Schweitzer carried a copy to Africa in 1913 and Admiral Byrd brought a copy to the South Pole in 1929.

By the 1980’s, the book had become the world’s best-selling medical reference and was translated into more than a dozen languages. In 1997, The Merck Manual – Home Edition was published. Written in everyday language, the Home Edition is meant for anyone interested in medical care, but who may not have a medical degree. It has received critical acclaim and sold over 4 million copies worldwide.

The Merck Manual iPhone Apps
Agile Partners collaborated with Merck to bring the trusted content of the The Merck Manuals to the iPhone and iPod touch. “For over 100 years, healthcare professionals have relied on The Merck Manual for essential information on diagnosing and treating medical disorders,” said Robert S. Porter, MD, Editor-in-Chief of The Merck Manuals. “These two iPhone applications now provide the trusted information in a form that is even more valuable for consumers and healthcare professionals on the go.”

The Home Edition app for consumers puts the trusted medical reference at the user’s fingertips, whenever and wherever it’s needed … while on the soccer field, a family vacation, a business trip abroad or getting ready to see a physician. An “Emergencies & Injuries” section that is accessible from the home screen was developed expressly for the application.

Merck Manual Professional Edition The Professional Edition app for healthcare professionals addresses thousands of diseases and treatments, features clinical approaches to each category of disorder, and provides specific guidance on patient evaluation. The app includes a ‘Find by Symptom’ section that is accessible from the home screen.

Agile Partners and The Merck Manuals
Agile Partners’ contributions to the The Merck Manuals actually began well before the development of the iPhone applications. In 2005, Agile helped Merck develop The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library which includes the Home Edition and Professional Edition. The online Home Edition won the 2005 Webby Award for Best Health Website and was a finalist in the prestigious Best Practices category. (The 2005 winner in the Best Practices category was a small, up-and-coming company named Google.)

We’re proud of our work on the online and iPhone versions of The Merck Manuals, and hope they continue to serve as valuable references for consumers and healthcare professionals alike. To learn more about both iPhone applications, visit the Merck Manuals page.

Rave Reviews for TabToolkit

TabToolkitJust two days after its launch on the iTunes App Store, TabToolkit is already receiving rave reviews from guitar enthusiasts, major media writers, mobile tech bloggers, and most importantly to all of us here at Agile Partners, our customers. These reviews have helped propel TabToolkit to the #30 position on the Top Paid Apps list in the iTunes App Store Music category (as of this writing).

When TabToolkit launched two days ago, Dave at fretbase.com wrote, “Just like GuitarToolkit, we love TabToolkit because it does exactly what it claims it will do … when you load your Power Tab and Guitar Pro tabs, TabToolkit makes you feel like you have been transported into the future.” Dave continues to say, “We think it is well worth its price of $9.99 and a must have for all guitar players who play with tablature.” Travis Ehrlich at geardiary.com wrote yesterday, “Agile Partners have really outdone themselves with this app! TabToolkit is attractive, easy to use and fast … this is a quality app!”

Matt Rosoff at cnet’s Digital Noise blogged, “…a very sophisticated app that performs well — no freezes or stutters, as I’ve experienced with other music-oriented apps.” TabToolkit was named a Cult of Mac Favorite by Lonnie Lazar, who also commented, “I can say without reservation that Agile Partners have created an incredibly useful, well-thought-out app.”

TabToolkit icon
TabToolkit has also captured the attention of mobile technology bloggers. Over at thismobilelife.com, the headline was, “TabToolkit: The Guitarist’s NEW Best Friend!” At TotalApps.com, David Kint wrote, “If you had asked me two weeks ago if I ever thought such a multi-featured application would run on an iPhone or even be possible I would have had serious doubts. Yet, here it is. If you own a guitar and an iPhone then the TabToolkit and GuitarToolkit are two essential applications you really must own.” Palm Sounds featured the TabToolkit video.

Finally, we’re fortunate to have received incredible feedback from TabToolkit customers around the world. JackHarteveld in the UK wrote, “This is a fantastic app, definitely worth the price! A clean, easy way to take tabs with you, with the added bonus of letting the device play the songs out for you! A great companion to GuitarToolkit and a highly polished app; an easy recommendation for guitarists.” NickMaher in Australia wrote, “Very polished application, well worth the money” and Vab-1971 in Belgium said, “Application très soignée, un vrai régal.” I’m not entirely sure what that last comment says, but it  came with a five-star rating!

Thank you to all the writers who reviewed TabToolkit in the first two days of its launch, and a special thanks to TabToolkit customers around the world for providing us with your comments and feedback.  Please keep it coming — we’re dedicated to enhancing TabToolkit and all our products, and keeping our customers happy!

Announcing TabToolkit

TabToolkit iconWe’re thrilled to announce TabToolkit (App Store link), our latest app for musicians. A perfect companion to GuitarToolkit, TabToolkit is a highly advanced tablature player for the iPhone and iPod touch. It’s a great tool for learning new songs and practicing exercises.

If you’re unfamiliar with what a tablature (or tab) file is, it’s a simplified form of music notation that started out for guitar music, but has expanded over the years to enable the creation of complete music compositions. Wikipedia entry for tablature

TabToolkit screenshotTabToolkit was a significant technical challenge in a number of ways. By rendering out music notation in realtime and coupling it with synthesized instrument output, we feel like we’re really expanding the capabilities of the platform. We initially planned on launching 1.0 without synthesized audio, but after hearing a prototype implementation work for the first time, we realized we just had to do it.

TabToolkit glyphCreatively, there were plenty of hurdles to overcome as well. We had to create our own font for the music notation display. The combination of Adobe’s licensing options and the lack of good, freely available music notation fonts made creating our own the most compelling option.

A few of the features in TabToolkit:

  • Support for the following tab formats: Guitar Pro, Power Tab, text and PDF *
  • Audio synthesizer allows you to hear the instrument being played
  • View both standard music notation and tablature notation
  • Automatically scroll through music with tempo control
  • Turn on a metronome with a wide range of sounds
  • Select from multiple instrument tracks
  • Display a fretboard (guitar or bass) or keyboard that shows finger positions
  • Upload tab files directly from your Mac or PC
  • Download tabs from the Internet using the built-in web browser
  • Portrait and landscape orientations for viewing while docked or on a music stand
  • Built-in help, news and feedback support features
  • Lefties welcome! Lefty-mode inverts the fretboard to display correct finger positions

* Instrument audio, metronome, auto-playback, music notation and multiple tracks are suppported for Guitar Pro and Power Tab files

Buy it in the App Store or visit the TabToolkit page to learn more.

GuitarToolkit 1.3 now available!

Huge new GuitarToolkit release! Here’s what’s new in 1.3:

  • Includes chords for alternate tunings. Massive chord library (over 500,000 chords now).
  • Chord finder: simply touch the notes on the fretboard that make up a chord, and GuitarToolkit tells you what that chord is! This is a lot of fun and a great way to learn about those great-sounding chords you’ve been playing.
  • You can now create your own custom tunings
  • Metronome is more stable and accurate
  • Direct support for 6- and 12-string guitar, 4-, 5- and 6-string bass, banjo, mandolin, and ukulele with a full chord library, standard and alternate tunings for each instrument
  • You can change the reference pitch from A440
  • Added the ability to show notes or intervals on chords
  • Added the ability to show intervals on scales
  • High contrast mode for the tuner
  • More chord types added
  • Help, news and feedback system added

Screenshots of a few of the new features:

High Contrast Tuner Mode

High Contrast Tuner Mode

Chord Finder

Chord Finder

New Instruments

New Instruments

Alternate Tuning Chords

Alternate Tuning Chords

Note Intervals

Note Intervals

Ukulele!

Ukulele!

Take a look a GuitarToolkit product page for more info or open GuitarToolkit in the iTunes App Store.