Truckcom Lockdown is our kiosk mode application which has been available on Android since the initial launch of Truckcom Mobile. It’s core purpose to is to hide the native operating system functionality from users and helps prevent unintentional changes to device settings. It also prevents usage of data intensive applications such as YouTube which often come preinstalled on phones, usage of such applications may lead to an unexpected high mobile bill if the allocated data limit is exceeded. So in summary lockdown ensures a phone is not used for anything else other than Truckcom.
A challenge we faced when Truckcom Mobile was launched on Windows Phone was the inability to lockdown the phone. Due to the restrictive nature of the Windows Phone operating system we were unable to simply develop a custom kiosk application like we did on Android. For many months we thought kiosk mode on Windows Phone was not possible until we recently discovered Microsoft Intune.
Microsoft Intune is a cloud based mobile device management service that helps organisations manage their smartphones remotely. It has various features one of which includes application restrictions, the ability to choose what applications users have access to, this is effectively lockdown. There is however a per user monthly cost of $6 which is charged by Microsoft for use of the service.
The screenshot below is of a Windows Phone locked down device using the Microsoft Intune approach. As you can see three applications have been disabled however Truckcom Mobile has been left enabled meaning Truckcom Mobile can be launched but the three disabled applications cannot.
Hauliers looking to purchase phones that will be locked down now have a wider variety to choose from because they are no longer restricted to Android phones, they can now also purchase Windows Phones.