Google launches dedicated iPhone app for its team logistics service Coordinate

Google on Thursday released a new iPhone app called Coordinate. You can download it now from the official Apple App Store, but you should note that the mobile workforce management tool is targeted at businesses and requires a Google Coordinate license to work, meaning it does not work with consumer Google accounts. You’ll also need iOS 5.1 or later to install it.

The new app was first discovered by iDownloadBlog, which said it’s only available on in Apple’s New Zealand store. We were able to download it just fine in San Francisco, however, meaning it’s still trickling out around the world at the time of writing. Here’s how it looks:

The iOS app has a corresponding Android version, the longer-named Google Maps Coordinate, available on the Google Play Store. The initial iPhone version lists the following features:

• Share real-time location. Employees are increasingly on the move in today’s business environment. Google Coordinate enables easy collaboration by enabling businesses to leverage real-time location sharing in just a few clicks.
• Manage jobs. Your business has lots to do every day. Google Coordinate makes it easy to capture all the information needed for a job and to assign them to your team members with instant notifications.
• Collect data. Mobile teams often need to collect information while out in the field. Google Coordinate allows the admin to customize the fields that the mobile team needs to capture and collect – from measurements to client contact details – directly in the app.

If you’re unfamiliar with how the service works, Google has the following YouTube video to show you around:

Google Maps Coordinate (30-day trial) is designed to “improve the efficiency” of groups “by getting real-time visibility into where teams are and what jobs they are doing.” With this information, you can use your resources better to allocate work and thus manage your mobile workforce.

Google argues that real-time visibility of your workers’ location is a great thing. That’s true, but only now that you can send them job assignments whether they have an Android phone or an iPhone.

Image credit: Jozsef Szoke