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Apple iPhone for remote proofing
August 2, 2008

I have had my iPhone for three weeks now, and I was sure when I got it that it would become a valuable tool for me. Here are some of its obvious uses: navigating, finding the nearest Starbucks, checking on eBay auctions while on the road (I have actually done this), and using the Magic 8-Ball application (I use this in conjunction with the Bloomberg stock finder application – it’s surprisingly effective).


And, last week, while driving up California’s monotonous Highway 5 (I was passenger, not driver), I approved a proof for a printing project I had designed a few days earlier. This was a first for me. I downloaded the PDF of the job over AT&T’s slower Edge network (there is no 3G coverage in California’s Highway 5 corridor), checked it carefully, and then signed-off on the proof (electronically speaking) and sent my approval by e-mail.

Later on the same drive I ordered a book from Amazon using One-Click, and I answered a phone call from my son. It’s all in a day’s work for the iPhone.

I am seeing a lot of television commercials for competitive devices from LG and others. These devices provide e-mail, web browsing, GPS navigation and other features which rival the iPhone. This is, I am certain, the beginning of a revolution in digital hand-held devices. Though my college-age friends do it regularly, I have never rented a movie on my iPhone (give me a few weeks... I’m sure I will try it) and I have never owned an iPod, so the music capability of my iPhone is, so far, barely tapped. I put a playlist of Greatful Dead songs on it last week, but I haven’t listened yet.

But, I am an avid radio listener, and one application I love on my iPhone is an “app” that allows me to listen to streaming audio. This application worked perfectly while I was on the highway in a long stretch of Highway 101 where the choices are mostly in Spanish (I like KHDC Radio Bilingüe in Salinas) and as a result I was able to listen to my hometown station as an Internet stream as I drove along that road. Even with the “slow” Edge network, I was able to listen for over two hours on my drive home.

When I got back, I double-checked the approved proof, and found no errors. This showed that it was possible to view a PDF and approve it while on the road – literally. The iPhone has a small, but very high-resolution LCD screen, and its quality is more than adequate for the occasional review of a print piece. I probably won’t make a habit of it, but I certainly enjoyed the ability to do it while traveling.

It saved a couple of days in the production of this priting project, and those days are valuable.

Posted by Brian Lawler on August 2, 2008 | Comments (4)