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A few months ago, before the iPad came out, I wrote a post about some potential applications that contractors could use it for.  It wasn’t a very strong post, but after actually handling one, it would be way too distracting for anyone to use at a jobsite, office, or anywhere else where productivity is needed.  I initially suggested we get the sales team at my company them to do our presentations with instead of using laptops, but realistically, if someone ( a prospective client) had never handled or used one, it would be very hard to pay any attention to a powerpoint when instead you would be playing with an iPad.  Down the line when people are much more accustomed to fancy, touchscreen technology, it might be a useful sales tool or a way to expedite some processes on construction job sites, but for now, in my humble opinion, it is a distraction.  Anyways…

I was just reading an article in Constructech Magazine about smartphone technology for contractors.  Nothing groundbreaking.  But good to see a few app developers working on an underutilized section of the marketplace.  However, not extremely excited about a magazine article that focuses on the ‘ruler’ app for smartphones.  It was featured in the initial TV ad for the iPhone almost 4 years ago, and in using it at home to hang pictures, isn’t all that impressive.  Basically, if I paid you to build a building for me, I’d hope you would use more advanced tools.  As smartphones and their applications become more advanced, I don’t doubt there will be an upswing in construction technology, but not holding my breath at the moment.  Sorry to be critical, if I could think of a better app idea for contractors, I’d be doing that instead of blogging/whining.

To sympathize with the app developers, I wouldn’t want to be blamed for phones or iPads that get broken because of jobsite use, or for being a distraction that leads to a drop in quality or productivity on a construction site.  Fingers crossed that a laser level enabled iPhone is available on verizon soon.