TeleNav Track: GPS Tracking Service Gets Valuable Makeover
The latest version of TeleNav's mobile-phone-based GPS employee-tracking-service, TeleNav Track 4.1, gains interesting new features, including the ability to manage and control group timecards and set associated "geofences" around workers. But the service still has a few downsides, as well.
What's New in TeleNav Track 4.1
Even though the basic functionality of TeleNav Track largely remains the same, some of the new features could mean world of difference to users, depending on their lines of business.
According to Sal Dhanani, TeleNav co-founder and marketing director, the two most notable changes in TeleNav Track 4.1 are the addition of team time cards and signature and image capture functionality.
TeleNav has had timecard management features since its initial release, but version 4.1 expands that functionality: now, organizations with groups, or teams, of field workers, such as landscapers and painting crews, can choose to clock in employees as groups and not just as individuals workers. The new features are meant to make the product more attractive to smaller organizations that may not want, or can't afford, to issue handhelds to each and every worker. Instead, such companies can issue devices only to team leaders or supervisors, who then keep tabs on specific groups of staffers, Dhanani says.
There are also new overtime controls associated with TeleNav Track timecards, though they only work with TeleNav Track LITE, which is available only to Sprint customers. (TeleNav Track LITE is a basic version of the service that doesn't include advanced features like job dispatching, wireless forms, messaging and GPS navigation, according to the company.) The new controls enable administrators to create custom "geofences," around specific areas or work sites, so that users are clocked out when they exit the preset boundaries, helping to eliminate erroneous or falsified overtime charges.
The new version of TeleNav works with a third party, Bluetooth- or USB-connected peripheral--sold separately--to capture signatures on the go. So, for instance, a delivery driver who requires customer signatures for proof of service could use TeleNav Track to collect said signatures and transfer them back to headquarters in a matter of seconds.
TeleNav Track 4.1 also supports a number of digital-camera-equipped mobile devices, so that images can be snapped, geo-stamped with location information, stored in the system and sent through TeleNav Track to the appropriate parties.
And there's a new Hot Key Alert feature, which lets users type a specific combination of keys on their mobile devices--*help*, for instance⬠to distribute an emergency distress alert to pre-specified supervisors or administrators. The feature is meant for use in dangerous or unfamiliar territory, in which employees may need to contact colleagues instantly.
Finally, TeleNav also added what it's calling a TeleNav Enterprise Server (TES), and if that sounds familiar, there's good reason⬠think BlackBerry. The new TES, which is a separate product and must be purchased in addition to the TeleNav Track service, is designed to simplify TeleNav Track integration with organizations' existing infrastructure and applications, such as CRM or ERP apps, payroll, accounting and dispatch systems, TeleNav says.
TeleNav Track's pricing also hasn't changed much since our last review⬠though organizations that want to take advantage of the new TES will have to pay extra. Sprint customers can currently choose from five plans, starting at $9.99 per month up to $21.99 a month. AT&T customers don't have as many choices; the Plus membership costs $12.99 per month and the Premium account, which offers a number of more advanced features, goes for $21.99 a month.
What's Still Missing from TeleNav Track 4.1 >>
