App Specs

App Icon URL: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KdvN1UJWNw6sBlH80T3RO01SM0OmDRlli_vq9ShVEL6SAoekKVmAPAoQGgfF8CFrCtc=w300

App Name: Mendeley

App Developer: Mendeley Ltd.

App Developer Website: http://www.mendeley.com

App Price: FREE (premium storage upgrade options)

Apple App Store URL: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mendeley-pdf-reader/id380669300?mt=8

Google Play Store URL: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mendeley&hl=en

Category: journal, educational, reference, clinical, research

Tags: #research, #PDF, #organizer, #cloud, #iOS, #android, #works-offline, #free, #metadata

Works Offline: [Y]

FDA Approval: [NA]

Promotion Code:

Quick Review

(1 star: lowest/5 stars: highest)

Overall Rating (1–5): 5

Content (1–5): 5

Usability (1–5): 5

Pros: Free 2GB cloud-based database with offline PDF viewing and annotation syncing capabilities. Integrates with desktop client to provide full-featured citation management, article metadata matching, and library organizing tools.

Cons: No integrated Pubmed search engine. Lack of direct web import option for Android devices (iOS Safari bookmarklet available).

At a Glance: Free 2GB cloud-based article management system for platform-independent access to personal collection of research publications. Database abstracts and article metadata are searchable, with downloadable full-text PDFs for offline viewing on iOS and Android devices. PDFs can be highlighted and annotated, and changes propagate to the cloud when online. Integrates with desktop client which includes citation manager and automated library management system with customizable file/folder tree naming schemes. Browser-specific extensions for one-click importing from any online computer are very useful and integrate with automated article metadata matching.

Full Review

Intro: Information management is a critical skill to master to successfully wade through increasingly vast bodies of knowledge available for consumption. A multitude of information management tools and services exist aimed at increasing the time efficiency of clinical research, education, and publication, and Mendeley is one such tool.

Purpose/Features/Content:

Mendeley is a cloud-based article management system accessible via a multitude of mobile, web, and desktop clients. Users may register for a free account, which includes 2GB of cloud storage for centralized access to collected publications. Mobile apps are available for iOS and Android devices, with keyword searchable article abstract and metadata. Available full-text PDF’s may be downloaded for offline viewing and annotation (text and highlight), with changes propagating to the cloud when online.

Usability: Mobile app provides a functional PDF reader with basic annotation tools and facile email sharing. Article metadata can be edited within the app; however, article matching is only available via web or desktop client. Direct importing via PC/Mac browser extension or iOS Safari bookmarklet is available for PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Google Scholar, PLoS, Elsevier, Scopus, and ScienceDirect, among others.

Good: Free and exceptionally functional.

Room for Improvement: Overall an excellent piece of software. Integrated in-program Pubmed search could be useful on the mobile app, although this is a feature more sorely missing from the desktop client. Lack of web importing option for Android devices is notable, however, does not substantially diminish the utility of the app even on Android devices.

Screenshots (Minimum of Two; Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4)

Fig. 1
figure 1

Main menu

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Fig. 2
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Article preview

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Fig. 3
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Creating PDF annotations

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Fig. 4
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Cloud syncing of local PDF annotations

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