November 1, 2017 (Vol. 37, No. 19)
URL:
apple.co/2hbU2LP
Rating:
Strong Points: Good utility, convenient
Weak Points: None
Platform:
iPad/iPhone
Cost:
$1.99
Summary:
Just as advertised, the Chemistry Keyboard app provides—in addition to the standalone app itself—a keyboard extension for your mobile device that allows you to quickly and easily enter symbols that are pertinent to chemistry (and in particular, chemical equations). The keyboard makes it easy, for example, to enter numbers as either superscript or subscript, and it also includes an arrow symbol. The letter keys correspond to common chemical elements, with two additional pop-up menus with even more two-letter element abbreviations. A menu housing lowercase Greek letters is available, as is a menu containing phase abbreviations (e.g., [aq] for “aqueous”). The keyboard is both simple to use and easy to install as a keyboard extension. And if you would prefer to keep it separate, the app contains full functionality so that you can easily copy and paste your chemical equation masterpieces into other applications as needed.
