Tech Lister

For most of us in academia, the name brand Wiley is synonymous with scholarly journals and handbooks.  But, what most do not know is that Wiley is the parent company of familiar publishing brands such as the Dummies, Frommer’s, and CliffNotes series.   In a recent newsletter to librarians, Wiley launched its mobile apps page which lists their bestselling series apps.   What I especially like is that Wiley offers many of the apps in a lite version for free with the option to purchase the full version later.  I’ve found some fun and free apps that I’d like to highlight.

First, I have grown fond of How to Cook Everything Essentials app from bestselling author Mark Bittman.  I recently had to butcher a whole chicken and resorted to this app to find step-by-step instructions with visual images.   If you’re a novice in the kitchen like me, you’ll find the free app enough to meet your culinary needs.  However, if you cook in the gourmet realm, consider upgrading to the full version.  The not so free, but $0.99 valued Dummies Mobile apps, are generally worth the small investment. The most popular is Basic Spanish which includes phrases, a dictionary of commonly used words, flashcards and videos.   I wouldn’t pay any more for the app since the sound feature is problematic, but there is enough content to satisfy those who need to learn or refresh their Spanish language skills.   The Frommer’s Travel Tools app offers a converter for several types of measurements, time, tip calculator and a packing list.  I personally like the packing list because I usually forget something when travelling and the suggested list prompts me to pack for different climates and settings. This app is free but can be clumsy to use.   Hamlet on CliffNotes is free, but most other popular fiction titles were around $2.99.  For the amount of content that CliffNotes offers, the small price to pay is an exceptional deal.   Feel free to follow up to this post and let me know what other Wiley mobile apps you use.

Posted by Liz Lorbeer