Get the Picture?

I discovered this Internet News article by Patricia Fusco entitled "Get the Picture?" on Techdirt and it describes how small businesses in the US are using camera phones in new and exciting ways to save their businesses time and money.

What's also interesting is that each of these companies subscribe to Sprint's PCS Free and Clear services for business called "Unlimited Picture Mail". But as Patricia Fusco points out, "customers should generally be wary of the fine print of any cellular plan, as dome "unlimited" picture phone plans charge by the kilobyte, which could rack up unforeseen charges in the future".

Excerpts:

-- Maintenance Systems, a Chicago-based painting company, arms each of its painting crews with a Sanyo 5300 cellular phone and "Picture Mail" — a service that enables business owners to capture, store and send images from any location. Once a crew completes a painting job, they snap a picture of the final product and e-mail it to the hiring company for billing.

-- Heroman Plant Services is a regional interior landscape company based in Baton Rouge, La. Heroman's field representatives use Sanyo 8100 cellular phones to gain expert second opinions from supervising horticulturists. Heroman technicians take pictures of sick, damaged or newly installed plants and e-mail them to the corporate office. After examining the photos, treatment recommendations or design changes can be made on the spot, without needing to send someone out on location.

-- CS Bechtold Designs, an Ohio-based kitchen and bath design company, uses camera phones to prove its case to vendors when incorrect shipments arrive at a customer's worksite.

For more on innovative ways of using camera phones, cf How people are using camera phones .

emily | 9:04 AM | Business Applications |
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