ENR’s editors are always on the lookout for new and useful electronics that have the potential to improve the construction workflow. Over the course of 2013, we’ve run across or experimented with a few devices that show promise. Some of them might make it a bit easier to stay connected on the road, while others will be more at home in the office or on the jobsite.
ENR's 2013 Noteworthy Gadgets List
For those of us who are still on the way to a paperless office, the Neat Scanner offers a relatively painless way to digitize stacks of documents, receipts and business cards. The scanner features built-in WiFi connectivity, allowing it to upload scanned documents directly to cloud-based services such as Microsoft Skydrive, Dropbox and Google Drive as well as Neat�s own NeatCloud. Each Neat Scanner includes a free three-month subscription to NeatCloud, and users are free to use the other supported cloud services. A simple touch-screen interface walks users through the setup, and multiple pages can be queued up for scanning to the cloud. The scanner�s software also can extract key information from documents for importing into contacts and calendar applications. $499.95
The Neat Co.; www.neat.com
The Duracell Powermat is one of the commercially available versions of Powermat�s wireless-charging standard. The charging mat can charge up to two devices at a time, and it has a magnetic pad to ensure they are aligned. ENR found it charged at a rate comparable to a cable. Snap-on backup batteries and portable charging mats are also available. $129.99
Powermat; www.duracellpowermat.com
Ventev�s Powercell 5000 claims to deliver 15 hours of talk time and 12 hours of video use to a smartphone or tablet or both at once. The lithium-ion portable battery charger is two-thirds the size of a deck of cards and has two USB ports. When only one device is leeching from the power cell, it can undergo a rapid charge, meaning it can charge at the fastest possible rate the device will allow. When ENR tested the power cell by charging it and turning it off for several days, the cell then charged the Kyocera Torque (above right) from 1% battery life to 10% in about 10 minutes. $54.99
Ventev; www.ventev.com
Kyocera�s Torque is waterproof at up to 10 ft deep for 30 minutes. ENR editors dropped, tossed and kicked it from well above Kayocera�s conservative 5-ft, 9-in. maximum drop height. Though the phone is not overly bulky, what makes it stand out from other ruggedized phones is Kyocera�s Smart Sonic Receiver technology, which also is found on the Hydro Elite smartphone. On traffic-heavy Seventh Avenue in New York City, ENR could hear a caller on the Torque smartphone clearly. $350 (without contract)
Kyocera; www.kyocerasmartphones.com
Laser distance meters are nothing new, but Leica has introduced the DISTO D810 Touch, which features an integrated touch screen and camera. Jobsites now can be documented from a smartphone-style touch interface, with integrated distance measuring. Photos and distance measurements can be taken with the touch-screen interface. Photos with distance data then can be downloaded to a computer or synced to a smartphone. The D810 Touch can be synced via Bluetooth with the free Leica DISTO app to make sketch overlays and add text annotations on a smartphone. $849
Leica Geosystems; www.leica-geosystems.us
Kyocera�s Hydro Elite smartphone can stay three meters under water for up to 30 minutes and still make calls. To test the device, ENR made a call while the phone was submerged. Beyond the sleek design�it�s only a few millimeters thicker than the iPhone 5�and the ability to make a call at the bottom of a pool, another perk is Kyocera�s Smart Sonic Receiver tech, which sends sonic vibrations to the eardrum through the tissue of the caller�s ear and face, making it easier to hear calls in noisy environments. $430.00 (without contract)
Kyocera; www.kyocerasmartphones.com
