When we speak with contents restoration contractors about iCAT and the Fast Packout app, they always seemed impressed with the wide range of solutions we offer to make their jobs easier. However, these professionals increasingly ask about how they can leverage our solutions on the job site. Specifically, they want to know if they can use their iPad or tablet device to complete the packout process.

The short answer is yes. But we must then answer that question with another question: Why on earth would you want to?

That’s right — iCAT does you one better. While there are other packout software solutions out there that allow you to use iPads or other tablets, iCAT is the only one that gives you the ability to use your iPhone or iPod, which is much more convenient when digging through the chaos of a typical job site.

Sure, iPads and tablets are cool, but they’re not all that well suited to the packout process. On the job site, you and your team often have to dig around piles of stuff, get into tight spaces and work in dark areas. iPads can be bulky and difficult to handle in these environments, and so smaller devices are much more effective.

If you don’t believe us, here is a quick, three-step challenge we invite you to take that helps illustrate our point:

1. Pick up your iPad with two hands and walk around your facility for a half-hour continuously. Now do the same with your iPhone or iPod. Which is easier to carry around?

2. Drain your iPad’s battery and then plug it in. How many hours does it take to become completely recharged? Now do the same with your smart phone. These smaller devices take much less time to recharge, and their battery life is usually longer because their screens are smaller — so they use less energy to begin with.

3. Take your iPad into a dark area that has little to no light and try to take a picture. How does it turn out? Now, try scanning a barcode. How did that work out for you? Do the same with an iPod 5th generation or iPhone 4s or 5, and you’ll see that the flash on these devices makes this task much more possible.

iCAT is truly revolutionizing the contents restoration industry thanks to its innovations when it comes to fully leveraging mobile and cloud technologies. In addition to giving you the ability to use your iPhone or iPod to catalog contents, you also don’t need to rely on servers to keep inventory. As soon as you log an item, it immediately gets updated onto the cloud.

After taking this challenge, think again about the device you use to inventory and catalog contents. Is an iPad really at the cutting edge, or could you do better for you and your team?