By Karl Strom, editor of Hearing Review Products

I confess that only a few years ago I wasn’t completely sure what an App —that’s short for application Karl Strom-HR photoKarl Strom software —was. Since it often seems that I spend about half my day on the phone and the other half staring at a computer screen, I wasn’t crazy about carrying around a hybrid telephone-computer (what a person who is not a caveman like me calls a “smart-phone”) everywhere I went. So I didn’t. Consequently, when my friends or colleagues would talk about the new cool Apps for their phones or iPads, I would knowingly nod my head in befuddled App-roval—feeling a bit like a spoon that cannot taste the soup. “Cave man no like App,” I remember muttering to myself.

Times change, even for a caveman. Now this magazine has an App. And it’s a pretty cool one. I confess to still not being overly fond of smart-phones, but my household now has not just one—but two—iPads. My kids have a much greater App-etite and are better connoisseurs of Apps than I am, but even they think the HR App is cool. It gives you instant access to HR, HRP, and HR International. You can download the HR App by looking it up in iTunes or by going to: https://itunes.apple.com/app/the-hearing-review/id555646853?mt=8#

In addition to the new App and the HR/HRP Facebook page, we have also recently established a new Linkedin page where you can take part in some of the most important discussions in hearing care, play an active role by chiming in or “liking” participants’ comments, and get up-to-the-minute industry news. You can join the new hearing care professional community by going to LinkedIn.com and searching for “Hearing Review and Hearing Review Products.” As always, we’re interested in your comments, suggestions, and App-raisal.