The focus it seems has been all toward the various alarm management middleware companies and value proposition that they can bring to the table. While that is all well and good one area perhaps overlooked is the devices themselves that are displacing traditional legacy overhand and paging.
The easiest route to take for some has been to simply use an IOS or Android “consumer” device. The of course appeal is the user interface.
From a RF standpoint these devices provide 3G/4G connectivity with option of WLAN and they also may have BTLE (4.0). In reality the the WLAN radio more than likely was not designed to function in a highly mobile enterprise with need to authenticate on the fly through the myriad of security schemas. So while they may connect well in a “hotspot” environment, the question is just how well they will work in a very difficult RF environment like a hospital. Then also one has to contend with the requirement to get at least a “full shift” of power out of a battery or more without a re-charge. This may be very, very difficult if the WLAN radio has to be changed to CWA versus PSP mode to ensure connectivity in a mobility and roaming environment. Attached is a white paper by Motorola that sheds a lot of light on this. “Selecting the Right Mobile Device for your Healthcare Environment”.
