The site includes features that provide a new level of convenience and ease of use for today’s busy clinicians. The mobile site now offers advanced search, a dedicated locker for readers to store relevant articles personal to the reader’s interest and the ability to email those articles to the PC.
The original Lancet mobile site was developed by Roundpoint in 2002 and gave readers easy access to editorials, commentaries and other news items. Roundpoint has now updated the site to make The Lancet even more accessible and easy to read on the move. The mobile site has been developed to cater for 3 types of access permission:
• Free - Visitors who are not digital subscribers or registered users who can browse titles and summaries but not the articles themselves
• Registered users - who can read and download a limited amount of free content and who can pay from their phones to read individual articles on a pay-as-you-go basis
• Premium - digital subscribers who can log in to access content available to subscribers only
The mobile payment functionality offered by Roundpoint allows readers to purchase articles from any mobile phone. They are given the option to buy via either:
• A secure mobile website for smartphones
• A Java application for older phones
The storage facility allows readers to view articles, save them as PDFs and forward them to their individual locker or simply their email account for larger screen viewing and later printing. This enables readers to access the content they are most interested in quickly from their PC as well as on the mobile, saving them time and effort.
Roundpoint’s search engine enables readers to perform advanced searches and find more relevant and appropriate information. Readers are initially shown just the number of results that match their search criteria. They can then choose whether to look at those results or further refine the search. This reduces the amount of information being transferred to the phone thereby vastly improving speed and relevance of search from mobile.
All the podcasts available on The Lancet website are also available on the mobile site. The personal locker allows readers to place articles and their own material of interest in it to read at their convenience at a later date. The site now functions as a personal storage area which can be accessed wherever the reader happens to be.
Speaking about the mobile service Justine Davies, Executive Editor of TheLancet.com says “I am delighted to announce the global re-launch of the mobile version of TheLancet.com. The site works on all mobile devices and key features have been developed specifically to meet the needs of our readers. Existing users of TheLancet.com can log in using their email address and password and new users can create an account for free. Subscribers can access all content available to them as part of their subscription.”
About Roundpoint
Roundpoint says: “Roundpoint is one of the most experienced mobile solution providers in the UK. Originally a spin out of Cambridge Consultants in 1998, Roundpoint works with leading publishers and other businesses across the globe. Roundpoint provides an extensive range of services including mobile publishing, marketing, business applications, payment systems, alert services, videos, event guides, social networking and voting systems.”
