Ari over at CellPhones.org sent along an article called "How Cell Phones Can Help Paleontologists" that might be of interest to some of you out there. Callan over at NOVA GeoBlog also points out another wonderful reason to own an iPhone (I do not sadly): you can add a clinometer application!! Who needs a Brunton (joke - but they are probably similar in price if buying new I guess).
Swing by and check them out.
6 comments:
Personally, I rather enjoy that there's no cell service in most of my field areas. . .I have a rock hammer designated "Thor, the Cell Phone Destroyer" for any of my students who think it's a good idea to bring one into the field. Guess I'm just old fashioned.
But I will confess that the iPhone clinometer is pretty cool!
LOL. I also usually enjoy that I get no cell service in most field areas, but it has been nice to have it a few times when I have been by myself*, stuck in deep sand and in need of rescue.
The iPhone clinometer is neat, but John pointed out to me that all of the gadgets on your phone do no good when your battery runs out. ;)
*which I know is not smart usually in the first place
I guess if you're serious about the iPhone clinometer, you could invest in a solar charger - or use the cigarette lighter attachment in your car to charge the iPhone.
I forgot to point out that I have used my iPod classic in the field. You can load and display color photos on the most recent iPods, and I used it to load historical photos of vertebrate localities that I was then able to match up in the field! At the time, I didn't have access to a decent printer, so the iPod was the easiest way to carry the photos in the field.
This is true. I have one of the solar chargers but have not used it yet. But I guess a manual brunton will not run out of batteries. I guess it depends on your preference. And if you have an iPhone to even start out with.
That is a cool idea! I have also used my iPod in the field (for pure tune enjoyment), but before I got my new one the original one I had was one of the older black and white ones that did not manage photos. I might have to give that a try!
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