I was recently contacted by an individual with a question. This woman said that she has been using an iPad for years to do her mobile inspections, but had heard that I use my iPhone, and was wondering how that worked. I’ve heard this question repeated several times: can I use my smartphone for inspections? In short, the answer is yes, you can! As mentioned above, I’ve been using my smartphone to do inspections now for several years. Here are some things that I’ve learned about using your phone for your work.
First, when I used an iPad, I used it to steady my laser when I was measuring walls. With a phone, you can’t do that. But I’ve found that using my elbow and arm works just as well. I just put my elbow up against the corner, press my body into the wall to steady my hand, and voila! My laser is just as steady as it is with the iPad. Secondly, when you’re working with a drawing, I’ve found that using the pinch-and-zoom technique works wonderfully well with keeping track of where you are, especially since you don’t generally work with the whole thing at once. This makes the smaller screen just fine for doing your appraisal work.
I highly recommend using your smartphone to do your work! It is less screen, but it’s also a lot less bulk to carry around. It works great, and everything you need (including flash for your camera and a data plan) is already included. While the iPad still works great, I think that using an iPhone works just as well. Say goodbye to having another piece of technology to lug around, and start using your smartphone.
For more information on this subject, please listen to The Appraiser Coach Podcast Episode:
Can You Use A Smartphone For Inspections
