Verizon Wireless Oct. 18 made its Field Force Manager application available for all smartphones based on Google's Android operating system. That spans the popular Droid line.
Verizon Wireless Oct. 18 refreshed its mobile worker management application
to work with phones based on Google's Android operating system.
The wireless carrier's Field Force Manager is a location-based Web
application that companies use to help track and communicate with mobile
workers in the field.
The app is especially useful for industries such as transportation,
distribution, health care and other business services where keeping in contact
with workers is core to the job.
Previously offered on Research In Motion BlackBerry devices and various
handsets from Motorola, Casio and LG, the Field Force Manager is
available
for all Verizon Wireless Android smartphones.
These include the Motorola Droid, which launched nearly a year ago; the
Droid 2; the HTC Droid Incredible; and
Motorola Droid X. Users of those devices can see these
instructions
to download the app to their handset.
With the
Field Force Manager app for Android devices, customers
using these Droid devices can access a search bar to find forms, locations and
messages; easy job scheduling and bar code scanning.
The addition of Android support for this mobile management app is the latest
sign that Android smartphones are becoming more accepted in the business
community as vehicles for secure mobile communications.
Good Technology has
noted that businesses are increasingly letting employees use
their Android devices for work.
While Android's safety level won't be mistaken for that of RIM's BlackBerry
platform at this point, Android 2.2 features several added enterprise features,
including Microsoft Exchange support and remote wipe functionality.
Verizon has two price points for Field Force Manager: limited and basic. For
$15 per user per month, the limited option provides
management of field
teams, including details of current and past travel history.
For $20 per user per month, the basic choice provides everything the limited
app offers, but adds location-validated
mobile timecards and basic job
dispatch.
The basic Field Force Manager also offers turn-by-turn driving directions
when combined with the Google Maps Navigation GPS
app.
Verizon's support for Android in its corporate mobile resource app comes
just days after the company pledged to
sell the WiFi + 3G Apple iPad tablets Oct. 28. Rival AT&T is
also
offering the iPad on the same day, with a bent toward business
users.
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