Telstra tilts for tech in tradies' trucks

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by Stephen Withers

Wednesday, 18 June 2008

! Tradespeople and other mobile workers aren't renowned for treating gadgets with kid gloves. So why not give them technology that was designed to be rugged enough for the military? Related stories UK Population 60 million, UK Mobile Phone Connections 70 million Yahoo!'s Zimbra spiffs up iPhone support Google goes to 'Android Market' in App Store challenge 'Pay by phone' gets new meaning with Visa trial Optus launches big caps for small businesses That's the thinking at Telstra (Australia's largest telco) and mobile computing specialist AvanTEC. The two companies have teamed to provide tradies and others with a General Dynamics GoBook VR-2 complete with a 3G wireless broadband module and the option of lockable in-vehicle installation. "Productivity for vehicle based employees and tradespeople is often hampered by poor job scheduling, as well as the use of old fashioned, time consuming work practices for billing systems and inventory management," said Ross Fielding, executive director, Telstra product management. "This solution will benefit these customers by allowing them to stay connected while working in the field. It can help them to complete work faster, bill clients instantly, look up information, and order parts online," he added. AvanTEC general manager Dave Cawsey suggests the bundle may provide a partial answer to the shortage of skilled staff by improving productivity. "To prosper amid a skills shortage, vehicle based service engineers, contractors and tradespeople need to lift their productivity. Our new solution gives field services organisations an affordable way to improve their productivity, and benefit from the latest Internet technologies," he said. Hardware features include a Core 2 Duo CPU, and an LCD screen that's visible in direct sunlight. You want rugged? How does meeting military standards for resistance to shock, vibration, dust and humidity sound? The GoBook is supposed to withstand a 75cm drop onto a hard surface. You probably wouldn't want to throw in into the back of the ute, but the GoBook sounds capable of withstanding moderately rough handling, and Telstra says its NextG network covers 99 percent of the population, which should help users keep in contact. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to post your comment! Tags See All Tags Hardware  Military  Mobile Broadband  Mobility  Notebooks  Stephen Withers  Telstra  Get stories like this delivered daily - FREE - subscribe now

 

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