Ford touts truck line as mobile offices

13.01.2006
For truck-driving workers who are always on the go, Ford Motor Co., Microsoft Corp. and Stargate Mobile are making it possible for them to take their offices with them.

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.