Picture Phones -- Part Two

Yesterday I posted an entry pointing out the growing use of camera phones by small business. Here is another article illustrating innovative uses of camera phones by businesses: The Year in Picturephones.



The article, citing sources at Picturephoning.com, provides the following examples:

People have been taking pictures of washing machines or plumbing fixtures that need repairing, then sending them off to the repairman so he'll bring the right parts.

Real estate agents are using them to send pictures of homes to prospective buyers, giving the realtor a speedy edge in a competitive market.

A contractor in the business of sealing driveways, has been taking pictures of any pre-existing tar splatters on a customer's garage or house. "Just so if a customer asks, I can say, "Here, look, that was there before I started."

A company, RealSafe.net Network , is suggesting real estate agents user their camera phones - not to shoot property - but to snap pictures of their clients (with their permission), as a form of insurance and stored in a secure database, which can only be accessed by court order.

At a Welsh hospital, senior doctors are allowing interns to send them pictures of an x-ray, thanks to pioneering mobile phone technology, speeding up the diagnosis and suggested treatment process.

Sounds like the imagination is the limit for business uses of camera phones. Expect the demand by businesses for camera phones to grow.