Please comment on the following blog posting from constructonomics blog. Thanks
I was browsing some of my favorite blogs today when I ran across the
Construction Informer blog by Duane Craig which posted an
interesting piece on the new iphone application that turns your phone into a level. My comment to this post was as follows:
"This is great. I can’t wait to lay my hardwood floor. I shudder at the thought of what could be next".
And the truth is that I am actually shudddddering as I write this because the potential of this little phone for not only construction is mind boggling.
After being a loyal Verizon customer for nearly eight years, I switched to AT&T just so I could get my hands, or palms, on this little piece of technological genius. And while the AT&T service is far inferior to Verizon in my opinion, the phone kicks butt. However, I still ask the question of where the progression of hand held computers can take the construction industry?
Hand held devices have been around for years, but this one is bit different mainly because of the application feature and its striking screen resemblance to personal computers. Many web pages are already providing iPhone applicable pages that allow their content to be more easily viewed on the phone.
The following are some interesting iPhone apps that I've found for the construction industry:
InerTrak by Inertron Software allows users to monitor the time they spend on projects for more accurate billing, create client lists with hourly rates, and start and stop the timer as you switch from task to task and then e-mail data to their computers. Download price: $9.99.
InchCalc+ by River Studio eliminates the challenges of feet/inch/fraction calculations (always a tough one for me). It measure length, area, volume, rise, run, and pitch. Download price: $6.99.
Conference Call by IfByPhone will send selected contacts a phone call that connects them to your conference. No need to wait for others to dial in. Download price: free.
Sketches by LateNiteSoft. allows you to create a line drawing from scratch, or snap a photo of the client’s home or a particular feature and draw right on it. The tool lets you change colors, zoom in and out, and send images to others. Download price: $4.99
MarginCalc by Steve Greenley. The program has regular calculator functions but also includes three pairs of pricing buttons for margin, cost price, and sell price. Just enter the two numbers you have and MarginCalc will calculate the third. Again, I think I'll be downloading this one. Download price: Unsure.
EverNote by EverNote lets users keep all their ideas, lists, and other notes in one place, accessible both by the iPhone app and the
Web-based desktop version. Written notes, photos, and voice notes can be recorded and saved, then synced so that both devices (phone and computer) are up-to-date. Download price: free.
Most of these apps are geared more toward the self-employed re-modelers but I see this thing breaking into the commercial construction world before too long (I wish I knew how long that was, perhaps when the economy turns around).
Some of my suggested apps included the "How much are you going to rip me off app" which, upon placement on somebody's forehead, will tell you how much money (+/- $500) they will try to gouge you for during the project. Also, the "When are you going to be done app" which predicts the actual schedule of any particular contractor again after placement on the forehead of the project manager.
While Steve Jobs will get more and more rich, the construction industry will be much more informed.
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