Etak Launches Traffic Touch: Personalized Road & Traffic Information
Service for the Palm VII Connected Organizer
BUSINESS WIRE - 01:00 p.m May 24, 1999 Eastern
Delivers Localized, Up-to-the-Minute On-Demand Traffic and
Road Condition Information
MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 1999--
Etak Inc., a leading publisher of digital map databases, software
technology and traveler information services, Monday announced a
real-time traffic information service "Traffic Touch" for users of the Palm
VII(TM) connected organizer, a new and wireless handheld computing
product shipping today from Palm Computing, a 3Com company.
Designed especially for the innovative Palm VII connected organizer,
TrafficTouch allows users to simply tap a traffic button on the Palm VII
organizer to receive information on the obstructions, construction delays,
accidents, road closures and rush-hour congestion that may affect their
commutes.
The Traffic Touch service is available initially in the New York and
Washington areas, however Etak's other services allow Palm VII
organizer users to quickly and easily obtain real-time traffic services for a
total of 21 metropolitan areas throughout the United States.
With mobile connectivity to Etak's real-time traffic service, Palm VII
organizer users will be able to find out exactly what's happening on their
particular route through up-to-the-minute text displays of local traffic
conditions allowing them to avoid traffic incident areas and commute
slow-downs.
"Real-time traffic information is one of the most requested services among
customers," said Craig Lynar, vice president of marketing for Etak.
"Traffic Touch not only puts traffic information right at a traveler's
fingertips, but it personalizes the information to the individual's
commute."
Using Traffic Touch's non-subscriber service, Palm VII organizer users
can receive traffic reports that provide a simple listing of incident
descriptions by metropolitan area.
However, users obtain the full benefits of Traffic Touch by subscribing to
the service that provides enhanced features including personalized, highly
detailed traffic reports customized for the subscriber's specific routes. A
30-day trial subscription will allow all Traffic Touch users to experience
the full-featured service.
The Palm VII organizer product will include a CD-ROM containing the
Etak query application and descriptions of the various data services
available. To use Traffic Touch, users simply choose Etak's application
from the Palm VII organizer CD-ROM or they can download it from either
the Traffic Touch Web site at traffictouch.com. or the Etak
Web site at etak.com.
"Etak's Traffic Touch application provides a great example of how our
new Palm VII organizer will become a valuable timesaving tool in peoples'
everyday lives," said Andrea Butter, acting vice president of marketing for
Palm Computing.
How the Technology Works
The Palm VII connected organizer is the first handheld solution for
out-of-the-box wireless communications and Internet access. In addition to
providing fast and simple access to personal and business information, the
Palm VII organizer enables users to quickly, easily and securely obtain
information from Web sites and conduct e-commerce transactions via a
wireless connection to the Internet.
To access the basic Traffic Touch service, commuters simply select the
"traffic" button on the Etak query form on the Palm VII organizer screen.
At this point, users can either view the traffic incidents for the local
metropolitan area or select a "city" icon from the list of cities in a pop-up
menu.
Once a metropolitan area has been selected, the Palm VII organizer sends a
"request" for information to Etak. Real-time traffic incident descriptions
are then returned to the Palm VII organizer. Incidents can be scrolled
through on the screen and displayed.
The Traffic Touch subscriber service, a personalized and more
comprehensive version of the service, is available for a small yearly
one-time charge. Users wishing to subscribe to this service may visit the
Traffic Touch Web site (www.traffictouch.com) where they can also
establish and change their personal routes.
Subscribers can create and save unlimited routes, changing or updating
them anytime they wish. Once these routes are established on the Web
site, they are displayed on the Palm VII organizer as user-selectable
options. Travelers can then choose from this personalized list (work
commute AM, work commute PM, route to daycare, etc.) to view detailed
traffic conditions on a particular route.
Subscribers also can view incidents in smaller subsections of a
metropolitan area where they may be traveling at the time. For example,
while the non-subscriber service may display a selection of only the most
severe incidents from the "San Francisco" area, subscribers would be able
to choose from four regions within San Francisco and quickly see all
reported incidents for each of those areas in far greater detail.
Etak is the premier publisher of location-based technology and digital
maps for in-vehicle information systems, mobile traveler information
systems, real-time traffic services, utility damage prevention and
commercial business geographics markets. Etak maps cover the United
States and mainland Great Britain
With headquarters in Menlo Park, Etak is a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Sony Corp. of America, which is owned by Sony Corp. with
headquarters in Tokyo.
For more information on Etak's products and services contact Etak Inc.,
1605 Adams Drive, Menlo Park, Calif. 94025. Telephone: 800/765-0555.
E-mail: info@etak.com. Internet: traffictouch.com.
Etak is a registered trademark and Traffic-Touch is a trademark of Etak
Inc.
3Com and Palm Computing are registered trademarks, and Palm VII is a
trademark of 3Com Corp. or its subsidiaries.
Copyright 1999, Business Wire
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