Kevin Benedict is a TCS futurist and lecturer focused on the signals and foresight that emerge as society, geopolitics, economies, science, technology, environment, and philosophy converge.
Symbol MC35 - More Smartphones and Handheld PDAs
Warnings for Companies Considering Mobile Handheld PDA Business Solutions
Here are some issues to consider:
- Is your mobile solution going to be upgraded every year as mobile operating systems and handheld computers are upgraded?
- Who is going to be your in-house expert on the latest mobile operating systems and how to support them? It will take an investment of resources to stay current.
- When you buy new handheld computers or PDAs, they are generally sold with only the latest most current operating system on them. So how can you buy new handheld computers, unless your mobile solution can run on the latest operating system. Over the life of your mobile software application you may need to upgrade the OS many times.
- Often a business unit funded the original mobile software application development project. Are they willing to continue funding your mobile operating system upgrades each year. The answer is most often NO! So how can IT support it after the first year?
- One solution to prolonging the life of a mobile software application is to pre-purchase all the handheld computers or PDAs you will ever need. This will ensure that you have the supported hardware and supported operating system available to you over the life of your mobile software application. But let's be real....who is going to fund a pre-purchase of all the hardware you will ever need? No business unit I have ever met. If you find one, let me know...I would like to sell them all the mobile software they will ever need in the future as well.
The most reasonable approach to keeping current with mobile operating systems and the latest handheld computers and PDAs is to develop your mobile handheld application on a supported mobile software platform like MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform. Why? MobileDataforce and other companies that author mobile middleware and mobile development platforms committ to keeping them current on the latest supported operating systems - so you don't have to. The cost of the operating system updates/upgrades are generally covered in your annual support contract. Companies like MobileDataforce employ legions of software developers who are paid to be experts on mobile operating systems and how to keep mobile middleware and mobile software platforms current and updated.
Mobile Clinical Assistant and Inspection Software
SoMo 650 Socket's New Mobile Handheld PDA
How to Develop a Slow and Unreliable Mobile Software Solution for Mobile Handheld PDAs and Smartphones
- Make sure you purchase the slowest available processors on your handheld PDAs
- Develop your mobile software applications in complete isolation from your real world working environment - chance and fate make life interesting if not entertaining
- Make sure you purchase the least amount of memory possible on your chosen PDA
- Purchase outdated and end-of-life handheld PDAs (try eBay)
- Develop new mobile solutions to run on old operating systems (try pocket pc 2002 or 2003)
- Choose a dial-up modem option for synchronizing your PDA (forget wireless broadband)
- Develop mobile solutions that assume you will always have good wireless carrier coverage
- Make sure if you lose wireless coverage, that your mobile software application is useless
- Take your existing desktop server application and force it to run on your PDA
- Don't filter the data you want to synchronize from your Oracle or SAP databases, just download the entire corporate database to your handheld PDA
- Don't synchronize only "changed" data, download the entire corporate database each time you synchronize
- Make sure if your connection is broken, you start the entire synchronization process over again - none of this starting where you left off sissy stuff
- Don't consolidate your enterprise data into one simple mobile synchronization "view", leave the data in dozens of different databases and database tables spread liberally around your IT ecosystem - this proves your courage and fortitude
- Don't bother optimizing your application for mobile environments
- Maximize the amount of encryption and security you use on every aspect of your mobile solution - with enough security and encryption you can slow the data synchronization down to a mere trickle
- Make sure you have all your mobile workers synchronize their handheld PDAs at the same time in batch mode
- Hard code your mobile software solution to work only on one specific handheld PDA that can only synchronize with your backend database in one specific manner
- Ensure that the software programmer that develops your mobile software application is ambitious and feels he/she is under paid and under appreciated, and/or their green card is about to expire
- Develop your own synchronization middleware...so what if other software companies have spent the last 15 years perfecting it...no time like the present to begin your own 15 year odyssey.
- Make sure this is your first time developing a mobile software solution - it brings out the pioneering spirit
- Give yourself some unrealistic development time frames - make sure you commit to these time frames publicly and in the presences of senior management. Make sure that senior management then develops their business strategy around the dates you provided
- Don't include testing and debugging time in your project plan...you need to cut corners somewhere
- Documentation is only for forgetful minds, don't waste your time here
- Purchase all your handheld PDAs before you develop your mobile application. Purchase enough to last the next 8 years. Who knows how long they will be available on the market and you don't want to re-develop your mobile software application for new operating systems and features
- Allow your mobile workers to download all the games, music and videos they want onto their handheld PDAs
- Don't standardize on a particular operating system or handheld PDA specification - it will stifle creativity
Handheld PDAs in the Kitchen
I walked over to the kiosk and noticed a synchronization cradle sitting next to a connected desktop computer with a flat panel monitor. I noted that the Symbol PDA had a built-in barcode scanner, monochrome screen and was running the Palm OS. I walked slowly around the kiosk, pretending to be captivated by the flexible cutting boards, but I was really trying to determine the purpose of the handheld computer. I noted that the Symbol PDA was their low-end ruggedized device, and that it seemed to be positioned for the use of their customers, not for their own internal inventory purposes. I imagined I was Sherlock Holmes out to solve a case and reached for my pipe.
I nonchalantly picked up a wooden spoon with a price tag of $49 and pretended to be fascinated by its craftsmanship. I looked closer at the kiosk and noted a sign mentioning the registration of gifts. That's IT! The Symbol PDA was used by people wishing to create lists of over-priced gifts, they would never think to buy for themselves. They would scan the barcodes on all the exotic wooden spoons and then synchronize the list to the kiosk computer. Once the products were in the database application, anyone could access this list over the internet. Wow! So much technical ingenuity from a kitchen supply store!
I best finish blogging and return to carving wooden spoons.
Crop Dusters and Mobile Handheld PDAs
Building Inspection Solutions on Handheld PDAs
It is the season for Building Inspection solutions here at MobileDataforce. We are currently involved in 5 different Building Inspection projects. We are working with county governments, private building inspection companies, mold inspection companies, water conservation organizations, and a housing authority in Europe.
There are a lot of similarities:
- Identify the building and building owner
- Identify the physical location
- Identify the inspector
- Identify the date and time of the inspection
- Inspect the premise
- Identify and document the areas that were examined - building, floor, room, wall
- Recommended action steps
- Inspection Report
- Mobile Invoice
Sometimes there are work orders or preventative maintenance work orders that get activated based upon an inspection. For example - NE corner of the roof is damaged, schedule repair. Other times work and cost estimates are associated with the inspections. For example - NE corner of the roof is damaged - estimated repair time 16 hours - materials costs $345.
We often support the mobile component of existing database applications for Building or Property management, but other times we develop both the mobile component and the enterprise building management application.
Mobilized Work Order System for Mobile Handheld PDAs
A customer calls in to report a broken heating system. The office staff takes the phone call, enters the relevant information into the work order database application on the desktop computer which creates a unique work order number. The work order database application, with GIS integration, can compare the location of each service technician to determine which service technician is closest to the work location. This is accomplished with GPS tracking on the service vehicles or handheld computers used by the service technician.
Enterprise Mobile Software Solutions for Handheld PDAs and Smartphone Report
In an earlier blog article I wrote in detail about the support requirements of enterprise mobile software solutions. Companies simply need to understand that mobile handheld PDAs and smartphones and wireless networks often come with a new and fresh set of support considerations.
iAnywhere / Sybase has invested heavily into developing enterprise solutions for managing mobile devices called Afaria.
Interviews with Kevin Benedict
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