How to select a mobile device - Part #3 (Mobile OS)

Assuming that you have decided to use handhelds in the fields, the next question is usually - what kind of device? What operating system? Rugged or a classic one? One that connects to additional devices such as printers, digital pen etc. or an "all in one" device with touch screen, barcode scanner and even printers?

Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Symbian, webOS, so many options, and each comes with many different form factors it's really hard to choose.

In this 3rd part of the guide How to select a mobile device I will try to review today's popular mobile operating systems and the differences between them.

 

Windows Mobile:

Good old Windows Mobile...

Previously known as PocketPC, built on top of Windows CE, with over 10 years of experience, hundreds of forms factors, models, manufacturers, versions and editions.

From what we have been witnessing in the field so far, Windows Mobile (although completely smashed by the competitors in the consumer market), is still the most popular mobile platform in field service. It's also the one with the largest number of features rich applications, not the kind of games you play in-between meetings, but the ones you work with all day long.

There is a large number of different form factors and a huge collection of rugged devices running Windows Mobile. The platform supports touch screens, working with styluses (for accurate/drawing stuff), limited finger friendly UI (if required) and integration with popular devices such as printers, barcode scanners, camera's, RFIDs and more.

Don't expect too much out of Windows Mobile. It's not an iPhone, and as much as HTC or Samsung tries to make it look sexy, most of the stuff they make is a cover, an improved shell to a very old platform. Nevertheless, multi-tasking is good, the OS API's are strong, development is straight forward and this is clearly my preferred option for field service users.

 

BlackBerry OS:

BlackBerry is already a proven platform. We all love it, it's comfortable, friendly, the trackball is great. The question is whether it's robust enough for your requirements. Most BlackBerry devices do not have a touch screen, the keyboard is very small which might be a problem for people with thick fingers, and the variety of applications is still limited. Integration with additional pieces of hardware might sometimes be problematic and development effort is not always short.

Nevertheless, for some organizations - BlackBerry devices can and will be a perfect fit. This is one of the reasons why we have decided to develop ClickMobile for BlackBerry which is already being deployed in the field.

One of the advantages of BlackBerry is that it can be used as a personal device as well, which can reduce costs.

 

Google Android:

Google's Android is an emerging force but yet to prove it's indeed what we all predict it to be (oh, complex sentence...). The question is: isn't it too soon for Android? Isn't it a bit risky to select one of the first devices of this young operating system?

It's enough to follow few of the technology sites to understand the amazing hype around Android. Many device manufacturers, open source, Google are deeply involved, exciting new releases - looks promising.

But for now, I would not recommend on selecting an Android device as it's still just too early to know what will happen with it in the next 6-12 months.

 

Apple iPhone OS:

As much as I'm addicted to my iPhone, it really is a limited operating system when it comes to actual work. There are many great applications for iPhone - not just silly simple games, but the lack of multi-tasking is a killer for any kind of productivity one can achieve from his mobile device. When you cannot run more than one application in parallel - it means poor productivity (switching back and forth between apps can really be painful).

On the other hand, for some specific needs, it may be good enough.

Oh, and of course, if improving your employees satisfaction is one of your goals - you better get them those iPhones!

Bottom line - trendy, fancy, but in 95% of the cases - not suitable for field service organizations.

 

Palm webOS:

There are a lot of Palm fans out there. I'm one of them as well, and when Palm announced their new webOS and the release of the Palm Pre I was very excited.

But, few months have passed since. All the competitors already stole Palm's synergy concept, and it seems like Palm is alone in the game, fighting monsters such as Google (along with HTC, Motorola, Samsung etc.), Microsoft and Apple, and I think it's just not strong enough to win this war.

With very little devices available with the new webOS and a small number of applications - the momentum is clearly not with Palm any longer.
I would not recommend on Palm at this stage even though I think they have a lot of advantages over other platforms.

 

Symbian:

I must admit I am not a Symbian expert nor big fan. With poor existence in the US and a negative momentum all around the globe, Symbian is an old but still dominant mobile OS.

Still, I'm no expect in implementing native applications on Symbian (most of our experience with it is with web based solutions) therefore I cannot recommend on using it in the field.

 

 

That's it for this part of the guide.
Next part will cover miscellaneous topics when picking a PDA or a smartphone device.

Previous parts of this guide:
How to select a mobile device - Part #1 (Keyboard)
How to select a mobile device - Part #2 (Laptops vs. PDA's)

Comments, feedback, or any kind of information is more than welcome!

iPhone is closing in on BlackBerry

Found this nice Chart of the Day showing that the iPhone 3GS is taking share, while Research In Motion is stalling

ChangeWave Research who performed the survey - surveyed 4,255 consumers in September, and found 39% of them now have a smartphone, which is up from 37% from July and almost double from a year ago.

(Source)

How to select a mobile device - Part #2 (Laptops vs. PDA's)

We continue our 'How to select a mobile device' guide and in this part of the guide we will cover the main differences between PDA's (or smartphones) and laptops (or tablets of course).

Of course, one group includes big computers while the other includes smaller handsets, but with the mess in today's mobile devices, the size is no longer a factor as we see some gigantic PDA's which are almost bigger than tiny laptops, netbooks or UMPC's.

So it's not a matter of size then. It's a matter of operating system, user experience, and how well it can support your business needs. In this guide I will try to relate to those aspects and how they can affect your organization.

(In the picture: ClickMobile running seamlessly on both PDA's and Laptops)

How portable do you need your mobile device to be?

No matter how you try - laptops & tablets simply cannot act as PDAs.

First of all - most of them cannot fit a pocket, which means – someone has to carry them. Secondly, they cannot act as phones. The third reason is that they have a long boot time which means that waking them up, and loading applications is a long painful process.

Besides, if you really want to operate a laptop, you must place it somewhere, on a steady surface, which leads me to the following statement: If you are looking for a truly portable device, one that can be used everywhere, and by that I mean - while climbing, bending, scanning stuff behind equipment and other strange positions - PDA's or smartphones would fit you better than a PC based device like a tablet or laptop.

(In the picture: Dell's smallest rugged tablet PC - but can it fit a pocket?)

How flexible is your organization for ongoing changes? Reacts almost in real-time? Completely static?

By their nature, PDA's and smartphones will act better in a dynamic environment where the users should react almost in real-time to ongoing events (new jobs, changes in priorities, emergencies). Those devices are always awake, they are truly portable and they can trigger good alerts when needed.

How complex are the field activities? How many applications are used by the field resources in parallel?

Remember that even the strongest PDA with the best multiple threading model might end up being too clumsy. In most cases, it's not that simple to switch between applications and when combining heavy applications (like GPS navigation etc.) running simultaneity - performance might even become an issue.

(In the picture: BlackBerry Bold - strong multi-tasking support)

What will be the most common 2-3 tasks when using the mobile device?

The number of applications is important, but also their nature: lot's of typing will hint towards a full QWERTY keyboard, but will a small one belonging to a tiny smartphone be enough for your users? Worth checking.
Drawings will probably require a touch screen, but will a small PDA screen be enough? For signature capturing - sure, but for maps & redlining - might become a problem.

 
(HTC Shift running 2 operating systems in parallel: WinMo and Vista)

Summary:

It's important to make sure the requirements are well defined and that the device supports the nature of the activities and needs.
In today's endless options, the differences between each option become blurred. Laptops now have a shorter boot time, PDA's are much stronger and bigger than they used to be, UMPC's are actually very small and some of them are even running 2 operating systems in parallel, and the differences might be smaller to identify.
Still, a healthy process that starts from defining the requirements, business procedures, workflows, frequency of each activity, importance of each process - will clear the picture in terms of what's a mandatory demand and what's nice to have.

Visit our previous posts in this series:

How to select a mobile device - Part #1 (Keyboard)

We Are The Champions! Says Aberdeen...

Old news, but we didn't have the MobileFever blog when this one was published and of course, this is a good enough reason to mention it all over again...

In case you haven't seen it earlier, Aberdeen Group named ClickSoftware as the “Champion” in its 2009 Aberdeen AXIS™ Report on Mobile Field Service.

The ClickMobile field service solution was the primary focus of the report’s scoring methodology, but report author Sumair Dutta also cited the close integration of mobility with the broader Service Optimization Suite and ClickSoftware’s strength as a company in explaining the ranking.

Dutta praised the seamless integration between ClickMobile and supporting ClickSoftware solutions for enabling workflows to move smoothly between scheduling and field service. That seamlessness, he said, empowers mobile technicians to manage operations from the field, which directly impacts service efficiency and productivity while driving customer satisfaction. Performance in these metrics drives the Value Delivered component of the Aberdeen AXIS™. Aberdeen’s research has found that integration complexities continue to be the top challenge in effectively leveraging mobile automation solutions and Best-in-Class service firms are 42% more likely than all others to be utilizing integrated mobile workforce management solutions.

“Customers today are looking for mobility solutions that go beyond just transmitting data back and forth from the field. They are looking for solutions that will act on such data in real time in order to improve field operations. By taking a holistic approach that integrates data transmitted from mobile devices, such as hand-held devices and GPS locators, with decision making engines, we enable service operations to act in real time and improve customer responsiveness and field force productivity,” said Dr. Moshe BenBassat, ClickSoftware chairman and CEO.

“Having listened so closely to our customers and invested so much in meeting their needs, we are experiencing fast growth in ClickMobile deployments and this report is very gratifying recognition for us.

The AXIS survey puts a heavy emphasis on customer input, so scoring this highly confirms that we’re doing the right things by our customers and they recognize that. We can’t ask for better feedback.”

To receive a copy of this report, please send an email to info@clicksoftware.com.

(Source)

Dell Latitude XT2 Announced

What is the smallest rugged tablet PC?

The answer is Dell Latitude XT2 XFR.

Few days ago, Dell unveiled the 12.1-inch rugged convertible tablet PC that is also the first with a multi-touch display, called the Latitude XT2 XFR.

The system is designed to meet the unique and demanding needs of customers in the military, police, border patrol, field service organizations, factory fulfillment and first responders.

The Latitude XT2 XFR adds to Dell’s Rugged Mobility Solution offering that includes the fully rugged Latitude E6400 XFR and the semi-rugged Latitude E6400 ATG laptops. It also joins purpose-engineered products like the Latitude Z, Latitude 2100 netbook for education and Dell Precision™ M6400 mobile workstation as another step in Dell’s strategy to develop differentiated form factors and solutions that meet specific customer usage needs.

Here's a promotion video followed by a detailed examination video:

 

More details can be found in this link.

ClickMobile Client for BlackBerry - Released

A few weeks ago ClickSoftware has released a new ClickMobile client for BlackBerry devices.

BlackBerry devices have been with us for almost a decade, but in the last couple of years RIM really managed to find the perfect combination of useful and productive handsets, along with a solid and friendly form factor.

RIM was recently announced as the fastest growing technology company in the world (visit: fortune).

ClickMobile for blackberry is compatible with multiple blackberry devices and was developed with close orientation to the operating system user interface standards. It means that BlackBerry users will find it extremely intuitive and simple to use ClickMobile in order to view and maintain their daily schedule, report their progress, capture data, fill-in completion reports, and report the parts they have used during their work.

ClickMobile for BlackBerry (slangily called: the ClickBerry), is easy to deploy, and can be distributed over the air.

Deployment of ClickMobile on BlackBerry handsets is already taking place and the first customer to use it will be APX-Alarm. You can read more about it in this press release.

More updates about this one - very soon...

Motorola VC6096 - in-vehicle fixed mount with Telematics

Motorola has recently announced that it will be dumping Windows Mobile completely and switching to Google's Android, but in the rugged division there are still plenty of PDAs running Windows Mobile.

One of those PDAs is the VC6096 .

Motorola VC6096 is an in-vehicle/fixed mount mobile computer, optimized for work force on the roads. Designed for transportation and logistics providers Motorola VC6096 promises to maximize driver productivity, improve safety and vehicle utilization.

The form factor is unique, comparing to the other rugged PDAs out there. Seems like Motorola tried to make it more user friendly this time by including a quite big screen and full QWERTY keyboard.

Connectivity looks promising with 3.5G GSM HSDPA WWAN as well as 802.11a/b/g WiFi… For transportation the Motorola VC6096 also has a SiRF Star III GPS receiver and of course Bluetooth.

Other hardware specs include SD card slot, five programmable soft keys, mic and speakers; all running on 128MB of RAM, 256MB flash, 624Mhz processor and Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro.

Here's a short video demonstration:

Check out Motorola VC6096 homepage