The Apple iPhone was voted recently as one of the 10 greatest modern inventions ever, all while being hailed as “changing the universe” due to allowing us to have everything we need at our fingertips.  The iPhone’s sister device, the iPad, has further pushed the technological envelope while easing basic tasks such as email, note-taking, reading, and other endless applications that could only be done at a computer.  One area where the iPad can have a tremendous impact in its utility is academia and the research setting—helping to increase productivity, creativity, planning, and even streamlining daily tasks. While there are many niche, specialized, helpful apps for a wide range of scientific disciplines, and an even bigger subset for science fans, few apps can truly be called indispensible for researchers.  Below are five that any academic research scientist could and should have on their iPad:

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What does it take to be an effective and efficient researcher? The Upturned Microscope has a few additional suggestions…

Today we launched the free Labguru iPad app for academic scientists who juggle multiple concurrent experiments and seek to better organize their experimental notes. The Labguru iPad app syncs the bench-relevant information from experiments planned and tracked on Labguru’s collaborative research management web service, helping scientists effortlessly transition from planning and analyzing experiments at the desk to executing protocols and collecting data at the bench.

From the feedback we received on our recent 10 Ways to Annoy Your Labmates post, we gather there’s demand for more detailed instructions:

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TechCrunch published an article today about Labguru. Check it out!

Labguru Offers Project Management For Science People