Picking the Right Device
This page provides a high-level overview of all of the types of devices that CommCare operates on, and provides guidance on which device to select.
Types of CommCare Devices
| SMS | Android Phone | Android Tablet |
Hardware Factors | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Availability | All Phones | Country Dependent | Country Dependent |
Battery Life | Same as phone | 1 – 1.5 days | 1 day |
Durability | High | Medium | Medium |
Initial Cost | n/a | $200 - $250 | $400 - $600 |
Usability Factors | |||
Questions per Transaction | 1 | 1,000s | 1,000s |
Cases stored per device | 0 | 1,000s | 1,000s |
Questions per screen | 0 | 3-5 | 5-7 |
Works Offline | No | Yes | Yes |
Android Phone vs. Android Tablets
When debating on whether to use an Android phone or tablet for your CommCare project, it is important to consider the following:
How much multimedia will your CommCare application use? If your application plans to use a lot of images and videos, it may be better suited for deployment on a tablet; it is easier to view media on a larger screen.
What is your budget for purchasing mobile devices? Mobile phones are less costly than tablets and are an effective way of deploying an application to a large number of FLWs.
Does your project feature lots of data collection? If your project will be heavily focused on data collection (like a large questionnaire or survey), it may be better to consider a tablet. With a larger screen size, a survey can include multiple questions on single screen without requiring FLWs to swipe after each individual question.
Will the mobile device be needed for communication (i.e. make calls or send SMS)? While tablets present a lot of benefits to a project, they also limit the ability for traditional mobile communication. It is important to consider if communication would be an aspect of your project.
Is device theft anticipated to be a problem? Tablets are less discrete than mobile devices and may be more of a target for possible theft.
A Note About Feature Phones: As of 2016, Dimagi only recommends beginning new projects on Android phones. It has become increasingly difficult to find large quantities of feature phones that support CommCare, Androids aremuch more common and affordable, and most CommCare active development is focused on the Android platform. While we still support our Java platform, we do not recommend that any new projects begin on a feature phone platform.