Find Academic Mobile Apps and Sites

This resource guide introduces some key mobile applications and mobile websites that are aimed for academic teaching, learning and research.

All mobile apps listed here are free. UNSW-subscribed apps and mobile sites have been especially mentioned in individual apps and sites listed in this guide.

A mobile app is a computer software application. It is designed to run on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers.

Apps vary depending on your device and its operating system. For example, there are iPhone, iPad, Android and BlackBerry apps. Online software stores have been developed to allow users to browse and download available applications. The two most popular online stores are Google Play for Android and App Store for iOS. A detailed list of mobile application distribution platforms is available on Wikipedia.

A mobile site, also called mobile-friendly or mobile-enabled website, is a website that is designed specifically for small screens of handheld mobile devices, such as iPad, iPhone, iPod, Android phone, tablets, Windows phone, etc.

A good example is Taylor & Francis, whose online resources have been enabled by responsive mobile design. No matter which type of mobile device you use to access this database, the site will optimize the layout and navigation automatically.