Palm lends a hand in roadside emergencies
By Stephanie Miles
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
July 6, 2000, 11:25 a.m. PT
A new service is aiming to let stranded drivers use their Palms, rather than their thumbs, to flag down help.
A wireless version of an auto club, 1-800-TOW-TRUCK's Traveler SOS service provides free tow truck referrals and taxi requests to stranded drivers using the Palm VII wireless device, the company announced with Palm today. In addition, drivers can use the service to find nearby food and lodging while they're waiting for a spare tire.
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Although it crosses some technical hurdles and may be a taste of things to come, it is still unclear whether services like Traveler SOS offer an advantage over using a cell phone to call a friend or roadside assistance club.
In addition to tow trucks and taxis, Traveler SOS offers a Palm-based service that delivers emergency messages to friends and family members. The referrals are free, and people will pay only the going rate for the tow truck or taxi service, according to Joseph Siegel, vice president of business development. He added that the company offers a premium plan for $59 a year that includes all of the above features.
"This is the only roadside assistant plan to work with wireless devices," said Siegel, who says the service is perfect for drivers who forget or don't have a cell phone. "It's for when you're out of luck and there's nothing that you can do."
Traveler SOS, which also can be accessed via a cell phone, is one of the first Palm-based services to take advantage of the location-detection technology inherent in cellular devices. Personalized wireless data, in the form of news alerts, weather bulletins, stock prices and sports scores, is already available from a variety of sources for two-way pagers and Web-enabled cell phones. But there has yet to be the same explosion of home-delivery services as seen in the traditional e-commerce sector.
Existing Palm.net applications provide local content, such as weather and flight information, and competing products for Palm licensee Handspring offer global positioning and mapping information. But Traveler SOS is one of the first wireless companies to bring goods or services directly to Palm users wherever they are.
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Services like Kozmo.com, which provides home delivery of videos and snacks, or Web grocery companies like Webvan have yet to migrate to wireless devices, although some analysts predict that the wave is coming. E-commerce companies, including Amazon.com, have developed special versions of their services for the Palm VII. More local e-commerce applications are expected to follow.
These types of location-based services are expected to become more widespread in the next few years, in part because of a government mandate that requires all cellular carriers to be able to locate their subscribers for just the type of emergency services Traveler SOS is offering. By October 2001, this "e-911" rule will force carriers to locate 85 percent of their customers to within 125 meters.
Traveler SOS is available only for the Palm family of products but will eventually be available for Windows CE-based products and other wireless devices, Siegel said.
"Traveler SOS offers Palm handheld customers a versatile and easy-to-use program for emergencies on the road," Byron Connell, vice president of Palm's consumer marketing group, said in a statement today. "Applications like this are a great example of how Palm handhelds and Web clipping technology can be used to create powerful solutions for our customers."
OrbComm, GPS, Palm V
I just read the following Press Release for OrbComm-
Magellan Launches 'GPS Clip-on' for Palm V(TM)
- Rand McNally is First Volume OEM Customer -
SAN DIMAS, Calif., May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- The Consumer Products business unit of Magellan Corporation today announced the launch of its OEM line of GPS receiver products for the Palm V(TM) connected organizer as well as the signing of a volume OEM purchase agreement with Rand McNally & Company.
Rand McNally, the leading global provider of geographic and travel information, will bundle its award-winning StreetFinder® Deluxe 2000 mapping software with Magellan's GPS clip-on in a package called StreetFinder® GPS for the Palm V(TM) connected organizer. Magellan's clip-on is the first cordless GPS unit created specifically for Palm V(TM) connected organizers. In combination with Rand McNally's StreetFinder® Deluxe 2000 software, the GPS unit offers today's business traveler an integrated, all-in-one mapping and navigation solution that works effectively with Palm OS(TM) 3.0 or higher.
The Rand McNally all-inclusive package also features a handy carrying case, cigarette lighter power adapter and vehicle mount. The boxed StreetFinder® software/GPS set is now available for a suggested retail price of $199 at leading consumer software retailers, Rand McNally Map & Travel Stores, and online at www.randmcnally.com . The Palm(TM) connected organizer, from Palm, Inc., must be purchased separately.
The GPS clip-on contains Magellan's latest 12-parallel-channel technology providing fast position acquisition and tracking, even in urban canyons or under trees. Equally important is the sleek, low profile design of Magellan's GPS clip-on, which maintains the style and fit Palm(TM) users expect. The clip-on is powered by 2 AAA batteries providing up to 10 hours of continuous use. A cigarette lighter adapter is available for extended, in-vehicle operation. In addition, drivers can place the Palm V(TM) connected organizer and Magellan GPS clip-on in the custom-designed mobile mount to enjoy a clear, hands-free view of the navigation screen.
OEM-customer inquiries about Magellan's GPS clip-on should be directed to Randy Hall at rhall@mgln.com or (909) 394-7047.
I just emailed OrbComm asking for the name of the company supplying the antennas for that application. I'll let you know if I get a response.
While I'm waiting for their reply,
I'll remain,
Alwayshappy |
