Tom McNeela, senior product manager at Motorola, said the telemetrics supported by the device will give drivers and dispatchers access to information on the next route they need to find, as well as automatic information on factors such as excessive vehicle idling or excessive speed. Barrett said the telematics applications tested successfully so far included truck speed, RPM, braking data, and idle time, although more functions will be tested later.

Kevin Burden, an analyst at , said vehicle telemetrics have often been controversial, with objections by driver's unions worried that managers will be tracking a driver and invading his privacy. A year ago, thousands of New York City taxi drivers . But Burden said managers for delivery operations have learned they can use GPS and vehicle information to "stay on top of the work force in the trucking business, where time is everything." The technology has proven to be , including J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc.

It is often the mere threat of installing such devices that will improve the productivity of a driver, Burden said.

Even though UPS appears to be adopting the Windows Mobile platform with the VC6096, Burden said the transition to standard and modern operating systems has been surprisingly slow with many companies, partly because of the training involved with large work forces that are familiar with old, but reliable systems.

"There's still a ton of DOS devices out there," Burden said.