Available in F-Series trucks starting in the second quarter of this year, the F-Series Mobile Office, dubbed Fordlink, will feature a Global Positioning System-enabled handheld computer with a touch screen mounted on the transmission tunnel and powered by the truck's battery, said Steve Weiner, Ford's Super Duty Assistant Marketing Manager. The setup is designed to enable workers, such as plumbers, contractors and cable installers, to stay in touch with their offices while on the road, Weiner said.
'We're targeting it initially to the contractor-type customer, someone who drives an F-Series pickup and is out on the job site and who needs to stay in communication,' Weiner said. 'You can use GPS to get to the job site, you can check e-mail, you can access plans and diagrams, and you can order supplies over the Internet to have delivered to you. Anything you would do from your office, you can do at the job site.'
First unveiled in November, the companies used last week's Computer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to publicize the mobile office.
The Ford mobile-office system features a Stargate Mobile tablet PC running Windows XP Professional with full Microsoft Office capabilities, GPS navigation and broadband Internet access, according to Weiner. The computer is a rugged lightweight model mounted within easy reach of the driver, he said. The driver can remove the tablet computer and take it from the truck just as a user would use an ordinary laptop, he said.
The computer itself is built to withstand the rigors of a typical construction job site, Weiner said. A special console will be available for optional accessories such as a printer, digital camera and credit card scanner.
'The computer runs on Microsoft Windows XP software and has all the standard Windows XP stuff like Office, Streets and Trips and Outlook,' Weiner said. 'We mount the computer in the vehicle, and it's hooked into a GPS antenna so you can get GPS navigation and directions using Streets and Trips. The computer is hooked into the vehicle's power and audio systems, so it will be charged off the truck's electrical system, and the voice commands for Streets and Trips will come through the audio system. The Internet connection is through wireless broadband like a Sprint or Verizon setup. You could use cellular as a backup, but it works best with wireless broadband.
'It's an open configuration, so whatever your service provider is, you can go with them -- we're not going to choose service providers,' he said.
Weiner said the tablet computer screen is about 8 inches wide, and the computer is ruggedized. There are no moving parts, he said.
'It's all flash memory, so it's more durable. It's designed for the job site. The screen is bright enough so you can actually see it outside -- you can undock it from the mount and carry it around the job site,' Weiner said.
Available through Ford dealers as a dealer-installed option, the target price for the system is around US$3,000, which would include the tablet computer, the carrying case -- which has a keyboard and a mouse in it -- as well as a desktop mount and charger, Weiner said.