According to the app, information on the individual body parts are pulled from Gray’s Anatomy or Wikipedia. So far with my use, most content coincides with Wikipedia’s data. This also means the information is extracted over the internet and without a data connection most of the content here will be inaccessible to the user.
The Quiz Function overall works how it is intended to: at random. I found the utility of the skeletal quizzes to be limited because of the repetitiveness of the questions due to the sheer amount of bones located in the hands, feet, teeth, and vertebral body. I would frequently get quizzes that have 4 questions out of 10 to be teeth identification questions. The musculature quizzes are frustrating to use as well because many of the muscles that are highlighted will be hidden from plain sight and will require some digging to locate. An updated algorithm on how the quiz functions will definitely be appreciated here.
I did encounter some rendering issues when panning through the 3D model. My Atrix 4G is an older 2011 model and the limited hardware resource may be contributing to the rending problems. Without ruling out the hardware issues, I cannot fault the developers for this one.
For those of you who are curious on how this app looks on the tablet, the developers have a Youtube clip demoing the app on a tablet.
Just a reminder: there are multiple online websites that provide 3D anatomy models for educational purposes similar to that of Anatronica. Zygote Body (known as Google’s Body Browser not too long ago) and Biodigital Human are just a few examples of these free online resources. Anatronica has their free and fully functional online version as well.
The only edge on having a 3D anatomy app on a portable device now-a-days is not really in the content or portability, but rather is in the multitouch interface: an interactiveness that a mouse and keyboard can’t always replace. So far, Anatronica has made a sleek and functionally loaded app that does just that.
Review Version: 1.29
Phone used for review: Motorola Atrix 4G
Price:
- Anatomy 3D – Anatronica: Free
- Anatomy 3D Pro – Anatronica: $4.99
Likes:
- Beautifully and accurately rendered 3D models
- Wide array of functions including Object Descriptions and Quiz Mode
- Smooth and intuitive navigation (other than the finger zoom) with Hide/Isolate toggle features
- Great Hierarchy System with built-in search
Dislikes:
- Makes no use of Android’s dedicated search, back, or menu buttons
- Multitouch finger zoom buggy
- Object data mostly gathered from Wikipedia
- Quiz Mode questions are randomly generated making utility limited
- Lacking certain essential anatomy systems
- No female models
Conclusion:
- Anatronica is an awesome option for students who appreciate the help of 3D models when studying human anatomy
- Although some minor bugs and kinks may still need to be ironed out and the content still needs some big updates, overall, my experience with Anatronica has been a positive and educational one
Anatomy 3D – Anatronica (free) Android Play Market
Anatomy 3D – Anatronica Pro Android Play Market
Anatronic Websitea
