Skyscape is now on the iPad with over 50 medical apps – Epocrates still notably absent [iPad App Review]

Skyscape has ported over their base application, Skyscape Medical Resources, to the iPad – and now you can enjoy your Skyscape apps on the full screen of the iPad.

Lexi-Comp was the first major medical reference app company to take the leap into the iPad, and now the question remains, where is Epocrates, and why are they taking so long?  But before we go into that, lets talk about how this Skyscape app looks on the iPad.

Currently, Skyscape is not yet utilizing the double panel screen that enhances the user experience on the iPad – they are basically using the extra space to display more text – but according to the description of their iPad update, specific functionality custom made for the iPad is coming very soon.

The nice thing with Skyscape apps are they use the same base interface for all their apps.  Those not familiar with the skyscape structure, here’s how it works:  You download the free Skyscape Medical Resources app.  Within that app you are provided some of the same free functionality you get with the free version of Epocrates and with the Medscape app.  If you want to download other “apps”, you download them within this main application.  An example is the recently reviewed 5-minute clinical consult app [click on the pictures for a more clear view].

This app can be bought as a separate app in the App Store, but can also be bought within the Skyscape Medical Resources App.  Either way, all of your medical apps from Skyscape will be accessible through the free Skyscape Medical Resources App.  While this streamlined integration is great, the base interface is replicated throughout each application, and it’s not the most aesthetically pleasing, but is definitely very functional and gets the job done.  The other nice thing about skyscape is they have a large collection of apps, last I checked, over 50 medical apps.

Using the Skyscape Medical Resources App you can access all of your skyscape apps.  So basically, Skyscape has effectively transitioned more than 50 medical apps over to the iPad by porting over their base Skyscape medical Resources app.

The other exciting thing about the iPad transition for Skyscape is many of their medical apps are famous reference texts.  The pictures I included in this app review are of me using the 5-minute clinical consult text that has been converted to app form by Skyscape.  Notice how much more you can see verse the iPhone review we did.  You can see how the open space is really useful in these text based apps.  Tables, charts, and graphs are displayed easily and are significantly nicer to read.

The ability to utilize tables, charts, and graphs is great when using a medical reference tool – and it’s why we’re eagerly anticipating the arrival of Epocrates for the iPad.  We know they are working full speed ahead on an iPad version, and we know its only been a month since the iPad was launched, but seeing Lexi-Comp, Skyscape, and independent medical developers already port over their medical apps to the iPad makes us wonder why Epocrates is taking so long.  They were one of the first mobile medical reference makes to announce their plans to have an iPad version of their app – and with their aesthetically pleasing yet functional interface, it would seem like a natural and exciting fit on the iPad.

Skyscape as a Medical E-Book reader

With all the medical text based apps Skyscape has – we’ve reviewed Pocket Medicine and the Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics – Skyscape really has the potential to be the lead in converting medical texts into iPad form.  The biggest issue with the medical texts on the iPhone version of e-books has been the lack of space, and the inability to read the tables and pictures without zooming in and out.

It’s going to be interesting to see how iPad specific functionality will be built into the Skyscape applications – but for now, we’re just grateful for some extra space.

Links to Skyscape Medical Resources App: Website, iTunes