Author: Rebecca

This low cost technology can help to improve efficiency overall, including both smartphones and tablets.

The managing director of TBS Enterprise Mobility, Steve Reynolds, has been making technology news with his announcement that mobile devices will “transform fleets in 2014,” as they are employed to help to boost efficiencies further than they already are.

This makes it looks as though smartphones and tablets are on their way in to fleet management in an important way.

Reynolds has explained that as the costs of these mobile devices drop, but their durability rises, this trend will “drive a shift in the industry from paper-based to automated processes.” The most recent data available has indicated that in the United Kingdom, about 61 percent of the adult population is currently a smartphone owner, and that this number is rising. This also suggests that the majority of the workforce is becoming increasingly familiar and comfortable with the use of smartphones and tablets.

This makes 2014 the easiest time in history for deploying mobile devices and enterprise apps.

According to Reynolds, “More and more, blue collar and task-oriented staff are coming to expect to carry out their work supported by user-friendly consumer devices.” In this same vein, smartphones and tablets are expected to take on a growing role when it comes to processes that take place in the field. Their low price point makes this mobile development a practical and realistic opportunity for businesses of this nature.

This year, it is already expected that the global sales of these gadgets will reach the 1.7 billion mark. Reynolds has predicted that with the combination of all of these factors, there will be a notable spike in the adoption of smartphones and tablets by businesses, this year, “transforming fleet management.”

Mobile app development companies will also be interested to note that it isn’t just the hardware that will be increasingly embraced by fleets. Cost cutting through improved efficiencies could also be improved through applications and gamification. That said, as there are already approximately two million downloadable apps across all operating systems at the moment, this could mean that the competition will be fierce in this new category.

Apple’s CEO has placed the spotlight back on the ability to complete transactions with iOS devices.

Tim Cook, the chief executive at Apple, recently dropped some hints regarding a mobile payments strategy for the iPhone manufacturer, as well as for the use of the Touch ID feature that was recently added to their mobile devices.

Though this was clearly not an announcement, it was certainly a hint about things to come.

Cook linked the idea of mobile payments with the Touch ID system technology that is included in the latest smartphone releases from Apple. When he held a conference call with analysts, discussing the earnings of the company, he stated that this is sector “we’ve been intrigued with,” and added that “It was one of the thoughts behind Touch ID.”

The feature was unveiled as a security enhancement but could also provide mobile payments verification.

The TouchID until now has been meant for making it easy and convenient to unlock the iPhones without having to enter a password. That said, ever since it was first seen, there have been speculations made regarding its potential use for verifying an individual’s identity if the device is used for making a purchase.

That said, Apple has not yet given any other online merchants the opportunity to use the device for making verifications of purchases. It has also not provided access to the fingerprint scanner of Touch ID to third parties. Equally, it hasn’t provided third party access to the Secure Enclave verification computing resources from A7 for any other reasons.

During the conference call, Cook did say that there has been a positive response from the public to the existing form of Touch ID functionality. He expressed that Apple is seeing that people enjoy being able to use it for verification in order to make purchases from the iTunes store. He said that they have been watching people liking the opportunity to purchase content ranging from books to music and movies. His description of the purchases using Touch ID was “incredibly simple and easy and elegant.”

More specifically, he did go as far as to say that in terms of mobile payments, “It’s clear that there’s a lot of opportunity here.”