The iPhone gets a Hardhat

In an earlier post, I spoke about how the iPhone can be used in business.  But what about the construction industry?  The people there know that they face unique challenges and chief among them is the environment thier phones are subjected to.

After managing the use of phones of many makes and manufacturers for a large commercial contractor, I can tell you that not only are they up to the task, but many characteristics make them uniquely qualified to do it.

iPhones have a very nice touch screen.  It has crip colors and multitouch sensors and serves as the primary method of human interaction.  It also serves as the number one way to ruin your iPhone.  Even if the device is still functional after you crack your screen, its beauty is past and your enthusiasm for using a device with parts of the screen malfunctioning will wane.

For critics of the iPhone, it all stops there.  There is no mention of what to do when this happens or how to prevent it from happening in the first place.  They just want you to think that your investment is wasted and you must now purchase a new device without a contract...ouch, thats expensive.

Fortunately, the iPhone is more resilient than that.

For starters, you can get some very nice cases for the iPhone that can add a little protection and style on one end, or go all the way to military style ruggedized cases.  Many of these cases are minimalistic in design and yet will provide considerable protection during an impact.  Otterbox makes cases that are stylish but effective, and they even make a model that will make your iPhone survive running over it with a truck.

Now lets say you drop your naked iPhone.  For starters, the screen isn't that fragile and the rest of the unit has no moving parts so the most likely thing to happen is that you might scratch the corner of the outer shell.  But lets say it comes to the worst case scenario and you crack your screen. 

Fortunately, the iPhone allows you to replace the screen. There are low cost kits you can buy that have a few small tools that enable you to revive your fallen iPhone.  You simply use a suction cup to pull of whats left of your screen, disconnect three cables connecting the electronics, plug in the new screen and push it into place.  There are videos on YouTube demonstrating the procedure.

For the quality of the device, ease of use, and availability of business software, the iPhone stands well ahead of the competition.  With protective cases suited to the environment and the ease at which to can replace the screen in case of an impact, it is capable of holding up on job sites as well or better than other cell phones with far inferior feature sets.  As more software pops up targeting the construction industry on the iPhone, there really isn't a compelling reason to not suit the iPhone up for work.  Just make sure you (and your iPhone) don't forget your hardhat!