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What software and hardware requirements do you need to consider before buying mobile devices for Resco?

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I want to use Resco on mobile & wearable devices. Do we need to consider SW and HW requirements? If yes, can you tell me these requirements?”
(a quote from an email we’ve received)

Let’s talk about devices. In particular, which devices will work best if you are planning to use Resco mobile solutions including Mobile Sales & Field Service, Resco Inspections, Resco Rotes and City Smart Services.

Software requirements

Resco Mobile CRM supports following platforms:

  • iOS 10+
  • Android 5+
  • Windows 10 (build 17763 – October 2018 Update or later)
  • Wear OS 2.0+

Therefore, any device running on one of these operating systems and browsers will work. 

Please, remeber this information may change regularly. You can check the most up-to-date software reuqirements at Resco wiki documentation.

Resco’s specifics & Operating systems

New updates: Whenever Resco creates a new update, it has to be approved by the app store. Google Play (Android and Wear OS) is, from our experience, faster in doing so. Apple takes its time. That’s why, when a new app is released, Android users can get it the next day while iOS users wait a few days.

Advanced customizations/development: Android is generally a more open platform because it allows the application (in this case Resco’s products) to communicate with other applications and the system. iOS does not allow this type of integration.

Features: There is also a slight difference in the functionality of Resco’s application across different platforms. These differences come mainly from the fact that we implement features at a pretty quick pace, which means a feature that is done by the release date on one platform gets out (the rest will follow afterward).

Other differences are because of the platform specifics and restrictions.

 

iOS (iPhone/iPad)

  • uses Apple maps and Google maps
  • can run for max. 10 minutes in the background (therefore we advise to keep the app running in the foreground during synchronization)
  • takes a few days for the new app to get published on the App Store

Android

  • uses Google Maps
  • usually takes a day to be on the Google Play store
  • when choosing an Android device, make sure the manufacturer has a history of providing regular and long-term operating system updates.

Windows

  • uses Bing maps and Google maps
  • no calendar sharing (syncing Mobile app calendar with a system calendar to fuse personal and professionals schedules)

Wear OS

Can I get a list of supported devices?

Well, no.

Not that I don’t want to help you out. But making one would take too long. And so would reading it. And don’t get me started on keeping it up-to-date.

What I am saying here is, there’s just too many of them.
In fact, it’s real simple: all devices that run on one of the above-listed platforms are supported.

Hardware requirements

Available space: Resco mobile solutions require as much database space as is decided by the system admin (by using sync filters). There’s no way you can copy the whole database into a phone or a tablet (you just don’t have that much memory), so synchronization filters need to say how much of the data will be stored in the local database for offline access. This can be as little as 100MB. Records don’t take much from the available space, attachments do.

Note: the current size of the app itself is 90.8 MB on iOS and 59.32 MB on Android. Compared to e.g. OneNote with 190MB, it’s still quite small.

Minimum 512MB RAM: A database of 15,000 records can run very smoothly on a 512MB RAM whereas a database of 2.5 million records can display average performance on a 1GB RAM. In most cases, it depends on the way you’ll use it. But generally speaking – the more RAM you have, the better the performance.

Camera autofocus is needed for barcode and QR code scanning. So bear this in mind in case you want to utilize this feature. Most phones and tablets sold nowadays have autofocus anyway, but better verify it upfront.
GPS location system for tracking activities, updating addresses, navigating, etc. You need for the device to have a GPS module in case you want to utilize maps and navigation.

Before you go and buy, give it a try

There’s no better approach towards going mobile than to go ahead and try it!
Here’s our advised plan to follow when deciding on which tablets/phones to get:

  1. Go through this list and consider what functions you require or are likely to require in the future – eliminate accordingly.
  2. Think about what your users want/ are likely to adopt (user experience makes a huge difference too).
  3. Consider the costs of device, accessories, upgrades in a few years’ time…
  4. Buy a sample device and try it out (create customization with our free trial of Woodford, sync the device with your server and test it out). Is the sync fast? Does the device respond instantly? Are other useful applications available too? These all are the ‘little things’ that can prevent a lot of frustration in the long run.
  1. Go ahead and make the order (provided everything went well) or go back a step (provided the test didn’t go as expected).

Words of advice:

Stay current! Don’t purchase devices that are 2 years old. Buy something new that is likely to last longer and serve better.

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