Last week I reviewed two mobile apps for construction professionals. Just got my blog up and running, thanks for the patience.

Construction Master Pro:

This app by Calculated Industries simply displays a Construction Master Pro calculator on the screen of your iPhone or iPad. The company’s website touts “no learning curve” because users navigate the app the same way as they would navigate the calculator. With a $19.99 price tag and the same functionality as the physical calculator’s—which runs from $79.95 to $89.95—this app could be a popular virtual-construction stocking stuffer this holiday season. 

AutoCAD WS: 

The AutoCAD WS mobile app is free and allows users to upload drawings to their iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. It is designed to allow viewing and editing functions simultaneously by multiple parties. Within 10 days of its Sept. 29 release, the app had been downloaded over 500,000 times, but comments online suggest some users want to move faster.

The tools included are Circle, Polyline, Line, Rectangle, Measure, and Text. Most are self-explanatory,but here’s the breakdown for anyone unfamiliar with the software:

1. The Polyline tool draws only straight segments, not curves like AutoCAD.

2. The Measure function enables calculation of an object’s dimensions. This predictive tool allows the user to easily find any intersection. 

3. The Text function allows comments to be written. 

4. The Line, Circle and Rectangle tools draw lines and shapes.

E-mails do not transmit the original drawing to the recipient—this is the core of users’ complaints—but only link to the AutoCAD WS website where they can log on and modify it. 

At the iTunes.com app customer reviews section, the ubiquitous complaint has been that AutoCAD WS is slow, because users have to work on projects directly from the autoCAD WS cloud workspace. However, this is only the first version released.