We all know a person who is head over heels in love with their phone. Some of these people will tell you all about why their phone is the best and they’ll never use anything else. Plenty of people who fall into this “phone evangelist” category are iPhone owners. However, when it comes to the world of contractors, Androids are extremely popular and with good reason.
The price point doesn’t hurt
No matter which way you slice it, price comes into play when it comes to deciding on a phone, and that holds true for contractors who want to be smart with their money. Obviously, there are other factors as well, but the cheapest iPhone on the market right now is the $349 SE. If you do any amount of comparison shopping you’ll find that there are plenty of Android phones that have all the features you’d expect in a smart phone but have bigger screens and additional features the SE can’t touch. As an example, the Motorola Moto G5 Plus can be had right now for $229 and it has plenty of processing power, a 5.2 inch display and a 12 megapixel camera.
Your headphones still work
Your headphones still workPlenty of contractors use the headset features on their phone while on the job. Everything since the iPhone 7 requires that you use a dongle, get some new Bluetooth headphones or buy some headphones with the proprietary Lightning connector to use headphones. Androids on the other hand still have the good old 3.5mm headphone jack that will work with your fancy high fidelity headphones or the old foam covered beaters that used to plug into your Walkman. Avoiding the additional expense of new headphones, or worse yet, damaging and replacing expensive new headphones is another reason contractors shy away from the iPhone.
More choices and tougher phones
Clearly, many contractors put their phones through the paces, so having a phone that’s rugged is a big bonus. While iPhones aren’t exactly flimsy by any stretch, Androids offer models that have superior waterproofing, and there are even some commercially available that meet military testing standards for protection against extreme temperatures, dust, shock and water. The Sonim XP7 actually holds the Guinness World Record for the highest mobile phone drop from 25 meters. The phone is so tough it’s actually even resistant to petroleum oils and cleaning solvents. Check out CNet’s review here.
Default apps and better maps
Many contractors depend on their phone as their GPS as they go from job to job. Having an inferior map tool like Apple Maps isn’t just annoying, it can cost you money and upset your customers. Yes, it’s possible to add Google Maps to an iPhone, which many users do, but the default app when using Siri is always Apple Maps. Though Apple Maps has improved, it still has a tendency to use inefficient routes and doesn’t have as many neighborhoods accurately mapped as Google does.
In addition, Google allows you to select your default app for many actions. Don’t like the Chrome browser on your Android? Pick one you like better and set it as the default. Problem solved. Apple, unfortunately, doesn’t offer this option.
Expandable memory on the cheap
Many contractors use their phones to take pictures for estimates and store enough files to quickly eat up the allotted space on most smart phones. Many Android models offer the ability to expand the memory by simply adding a microSD card. If you want more memory on an iPhone you simply have to buy a more expensive iPhone. Many users, however, just need to add some extra space and the microSD option allows you to add 32 gigabytes for as little as $10. If that’s not enough, many models will support up to 128 gigabytes, which can be had for around $40. This cheap expandability helps contractors get a lot more out of their phones for a lot less.
Do you own an Android? If so, you should take a minute and download a free trial version of our JobFLEX estimate app. It’s one more reason to own an Android.
Why do you use an Android?
If you’re a contractor and you’ve got other reasons why you choose to use an Android, please let us know in the comments.
