Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly – Week of July 29, 2012

The Field Mobility and M2M News Weekly is an online newsletter made up of the most interesting news and articles related to field mobility that I run across each week.  I am specifically targeting information that reflects market data and trends.

Also read Enterprise Mobility Asia News Weekly
Also read Mobile Commerce News Weekly
Also read Mobile Marketing News Weekly
Also read Mobile Health News Weekly
Also read Mobility News Weekly

Companies and retail organizations are turning to RFID technology to prevent employee theft, especially of electronic equipment and sensitive files.  Read Original Content

The new Garmin fenix GPS watch, expected to launch in August 2012, could be a useful tool for Realtors.  The wrist top GPS with handheld capabilities can be used to program the geo-coordinates of the property corners right into the watch and the watch will navigate the user directly to the property boundaries.  Read Original Content

In an effort to stimulate the usage of 2D barcodes, the Open Mobile Alliance has developed a standard that it hopes will direct mobile phone users to websites more easily.  Read Original Content

Since 1995, Syclo has enabled hundreds of companies in 37 countries and industries supercharge their businesses with mobility.  This newsletter is sponsored in part by Syclo.

Using an Intermec CN50 terminal and partnering with SkyWire, VISA Global Logistics has improved their service delivery to customers and the reliability of communication with their transport fleet.  Read Original Content


Some M2M applications benefit immediately from LTE data rates, which run up to 100 times faster than 2G technology; however, many of today’s M2M devices simply do not require LTE performance.  Read Original Content

GIS Cloud has launched the Enterprise Geo 2.0 Platform for “today’s expansive, distributed enterprise workforce”.  The platform will address “the diverse needs of segments ranging from transportation, utilities, municipal and local government, as well as other owners of geo-located assets”.  Read Original Content


Hersheypark amusement park in Pennsylvania has deployed a fully integrated cashless POS system using Smart Band RFID wristbands.  The goal of the system is to improve customer satisfaction and increase profits at the park.  Read Original Content

As part of an effort to return the store chain to profitability, JCPenny will replace traditional barcodes on price tags with RFID chips and will implement self-check-out machines, phasing traditional checkout counters by 2014. Read Original Content

Utilizing M2M asset tracking, Southwest Airlines Cargo will provide commercial freight customers with around the clock visibility regarding the location and environmental status of high-value and time/temperature-sensitive items shipped on its cargo flights.  Read Original Content

Belgacom has announced a new field force automation system, which includes Mobile Client, for iOS or Android mobile devices, and offers mobile employees the tool to receive and access work orders, to report on work status and costs incurred and to fill in work sheets.  Read Original Content

The City of Oakland California has selected Accela, Inc. to provide enterprise software in the City’s Department of Planning, Building & Neighborhood Preservation.  The software’s mobile capabilities will enable field staff to access, update and share key data and GIS maps in real-time.  Read Original Content

Mobile field service management software provider Service Skeds has added a series of “new features and upgrades designed to fully equip the technician in the field with accurate information and support dispatch and accounting in the back office”.  Read Original Content

Two Dubai students have developed a new smartphone app, iPurse, which utilizes RFID tags and scans the contents of the user’s purse to ensure everything needed is there.  Read Original Content

According to eMarketer’s new report, “QR Codes: Marketers Keep Hitting ‘Go,’ but Consumer Adoption Still Slow”, marketers need to give consumers what they want, instead of just pushing content to consumers via mobile barcodes.  Read Original Content

A trap monitoring system and notification solution from New Frequency is being utilized by a USDA research project in Colorado. The Trap-Alert system is a combination of hardware, software, GPS and wireless technologies allowing agencies and wildlife control operators to monitor and actively receive trap status updates and locations through a web-based and mobile application.  Read Original Content

Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg predicts there will be 50 billion devices connected to the web in 10 years, with mobile broadband and inexpensive chips as major factors.  Read Original Content

“M2M relationships will generate connected data that will affect every aspect of your life”, according to Joseph A di Paolantonio in this article in Forbes – “The Internet of Things and Change - Will You be Ready for the M2M World?”  Read Original Content

ILS Technology provides ready-to-use cloud based platforms to implement and manage M2M (machine to machine) and embedded wireless devices that connect to SAP.  ILS Technology simplifies deployments and offers unparalleled security to protect company and customer data and to ensure regulatory compliance.

A new study reveals the potential for GPS to detect many consequences of climate change, including ice loss, the uplift of bedrock, changes in air pressure—and perhaps even sea level rise.  Researchers found a way to use GPS to measure short-term changes in the rate of ice loss on Greenland and reveal a link between the ice and the atmosphere above it.  Read Original Content

The Australian Fisheries Management Authority and Northern Prawn Fishery Industry Pty Ltd are collaborating to test the use of new mobile devices to enable field crew members to collect and instantly transfer data to a database on the mainland.  Read Original Content

A local fire and rescue department in Pierce County, Washington has found that utilizing electronic patient care reporting software and tablet devices has eliminated its reliance on time-consuming and error-prone paper processes, saving significant resources, creating efficiencies and improving the quality of patient care.  Read Original Content

Whitepapers of Note


You can follow me on Twitter @krbenedict and read my blog, Enterprise Mobility Strategies.

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Kevin Benedict, Mobile Industry Analyst, Mobile Strategy Consultant and SAP Mentor Alumnus
Follow me on Twitter @krbenedict

Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility analyst, consultant and blogger. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.

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