The driving experience redefined?

By Ed Oswald | Published April 1, 2008, 1:57 PM

That's what Motorola is promising with its new Smart Rider device, aimed at offering a new in-vehicle solution that appears to be aimed at enterprise use.

The in-car system allows for location-based services and fleet management applications, making it a good candidate for jobs that require heavy travel -- like truck driving.

In addition, the GPS that the device uses is equipped with traffic report reception technology, and can guide drivers through turn-by-turn voice assisted navigation. The device sports a 2.8" color display, according to specifications.

Obviously, the device also has phone features, which employ GSM technology. The Bluetooth functionality allows for hands-free operation, as well as enable contact data and other information to be transfered from the handset to the Smart Rider.

As said above, this could see use in trucking fleets where a vehicle may see multiple drivers. Motorola has answered what otherwise would be a problem by creating a secure profile system which allows for up to three users on a single in-vehicle device.

Voice activated technology is also included, the company said, making true hands-free usage possible.

The Smart Rider should be available in June 2008.

Comments

View comments by with a score of at least

The name "Smart Rider" is already in use by the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia for a bus and train ticketing system.

Score: 0

|

Trucking companies and truckers need a specific solution that can give them up-to-date information

Score: 0

|

Mark Russinovich on MinWin, the new core of Windows

The next version of Windows three years hence will likely build onto a significant architectural change implemented in Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2.

Security firm: Windows patches not responsible for 'Black Screen of Death'

On second thought, maybe that access control list thingie with the lockdown something-or-rather didn't trigger an alleged, perhaps non-existent, pandemic.

My Windows 7 confession (and why you should confess, too)

I've held back the real reason for sticking with Windows 7, even as, gulp, iLife calls me to go back to the Mac.

Apple settles with Psystar except for 'circumvention devices'

The fracas with the Florida clone computer maker might have ended today had Apple not have muddled the issue over a cheap piece of Psystar software.

Google begrudgingly adjusts news crawling for paid publishers

If publishers want to make readers pay for news content, and thereby drive down its popularity and Google ranking, the company says, they can just go right on ahead.

Fee or free? Murdoch, Huffington square off over the cost of Internet news

Participants in an FTC workshop yesterday witnessed the two extremes of the Web news publishing debate, still centered on the issue of long-term profitability.

Microsoft denies latest 'Black Screen of Death' claims

After an anti-malware producer announced a fix to what it says is a swarm of recent KSoD problems, evidence of the swarm itself has yet to turn up.

Latest Firefox 3.6 beta fixes 133 bugs, promises faster page load times

A once-sluggish beta testing process has kicked into overdrive, with astonishing success at finding serious bugs. Will Mozilla be able to fix all the others in time?

Confirmed: Office 2010 to ship in June

Two weeks after Microsoft had been expected to draw a clearer roadmap for its principal applications suite, it's finally ready to commit to the end of H1.

New EU antitrust commissioner will oversee Microsoft, Oracle+Sun, Intel issues

As one of Europe's most prominent politicians shifts positions in January, her replacement remains a question mark over technology's biggest issues.

Without its own 'iTablet' yet, is Apple missing the boat?

Steve Jobs is on record as dissing "single-purpose" devices like e-readers. But given their recent popularity, was that a mistake?