Living up to the promise of Continuum for Windows Phone, Samsung Dex makes its way into police cars

One of the promises of Continuum for Windows Phone was to allow hotdesking workers to take the same device from the field to the car to the desk and get meaningful work done on the go without the hassle of data transfer and learning multiple applications.

In the heyday of Windows Phone several organizations, including police services and councils attempted to make this work, but these efforts ultimately died with Windows Phone.

There are however several parallels between Samsung’s Dex service, which brings a desktop to their Android phones when connected to an external screen, and Microsoft’s Continuum for Windows Phone, and now Samsung has announced that their solution is finding its way into police cars in Chicago.

The Chicago Police Department is rolling out a pilot of Samsung’s DeX in Vehicle solution, providing officers with the ability to dock their Galaxy smartphones and access policing applications on a dash-mounted display and keyboard.

Officers participating in the pilot will be able to access computer-aided dispatch and other Chicago Police Department systems to conduct background checks and complete reports. Photo and video evidence captured on the smartphone will also be immediately accessible to attach to reports.

“Nearly half of all Chicago Police officers have a department-issued Samsung smartphone already,” said CPD Superintendent Eddie Johnson. “The pilot we are announcing today will pair these phones with the Samsung DeX in Vehicle solution. The idea is to give officers everything they need to process a scene or respond to an incident in the palm of their hand.”

Chief Jonathan Lewin of the CPD Bureau of Technical Services described the evolution of in-vehicle computing over the past three decades. “The old computers had to stay in the cars,” he explained. “With this solution, it really creates an ecosystem that takes all the technology and makes it available to officers on the street in real-time and at significantly less cost than we are paying now.”

Beyond the vehicle, DeX can also be leveraged to replace computing terminals in the police station. Returning to the report centre, officers can connect their smartphone to a monitor, keyboard and mouse to complete paperwork. This further consolidates endpoint management, while providing a seamless digital transition for personnel from the street, to the vehicle and the station.

“Chicago Police Department is one of the largest and most tech-savvy public safety agencies in the country,” said Reg Jones, head of public sector sales at Samsung Electronics America. “They are leading the way through the adoption of mobile platforms and applications in a way that really makes a difference for officers in the field.”

In a case study commissioned by Samsung, the Public Safety Network estimated transitioning from rugged in-vehicle laptops to a full one-to-one deployment of Galaxy smartphones and DeX in Vehicle could save agencies more than 15 percent in year one savings and more than 32 percent in annual savings thereafter.

“Smartphones offer so much potential in public safety, improving information access, situational awareness and officer safety,” said Jones. “Samsung DeX means departments can more proactively invest in mobile devices and applications because they are extending that benefit into the vehicle and station. In the long-run, it offers greater capabilities, greater access and reduced costs.”

The initial pilot will roll out for CPD’s 11thdistrict.

Via Engadget