Ford to debut pickup truck with mobile office

[SaltyDog]

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. says it will soon offer wireless mobile offices in its F-series pickups, an option aimed at building contractors and others who do business on the road.

Pricing isn?t finalized, but it would cost around $3,000 for a wireless-equipped computer, printer and global positioning system, Ford spokesman Alan Hall said. Add-ons like a digital camera and credit card scanner also would be available.

A Ford F-250 Super Duty truck equipped with a mobile office was being shown Tuesday at the Specialty Equipment Market Association show in Las Vegas. The annual show isn?t open to the public, but it dazzles an estimated 100,000 automotive insiders with souped-up vehicles and the latest aftermarket trends and components.

Ford expects to offer the mobile office as a dealer-installed accessory in 2006. The system uses a flat Stargate Mobile computer, powered by the truck?s battery and mounted on a stand between the driver?s seat and passenger seat.

The computer has a touch-screen option ? eliminating the need for a keyboard or mouse ? and is designed to be removed from the stand and taken to a work site. It stays connected to the Internet via a broadband wireless cellular card.

?It?s super rugged. You can drop it in the dirt, pick it up, brush it off and you?re good to go,? said Patty Dilger, director of North American automotive and industrial equipment for Microsoft Corp., which worked with Ford to develop the mobile office and provides the Windows XP Professional operating system.
Isaac Brekken / AP
The Stargate Mobile computer that will be offered as a dealer installed option in Ford F-Series vehicles includes a printer.

Dilger said this is the first time that operating system has been available as a dealer-installed option in a vehicle. Microsoft has an operating system called Windows Automotive 5.0 in about 18 vehicle models, but it?s mainly used for vehicle communication systems such as real-time traffic updates.

The computer in the Ford pickups will be equipped with office software, including Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint, and also can play music or be used for navigation. Around 60 percent of F-series buyers use their trucks for business, Hall said.

? 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9883795/

[Raza]

Great...they just lumped my two favorite kind of drivers together in one vehicle.

 

[SaltyDog]

Great...they just lumped my two favorite kind of drivers together in one vehicle.

Who would that be?

[Secret Chimp]

Hopefully they disable it when the thing is moving.

[Raghavan]

Awesome! :o

[ifcar]

? 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

:D

Seriously though, this isn't really all that special. Not only was it already a dealer-installed package already, but many other cars (most GM models) are also wireless internet capable, you just stick in your own computer and printer.  

[footoflead]

? 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

:D

.

Stop bein a party pooper... :D  

[Catman]

Iffys sort of right.  Not that big a deal.  I'm working with a supplier right now on a  mount for the CVPI.  He makes stuff to fit F and E series too.  The tray can be made to fit just about any laptop, etc.  Though, if Ford can do the computer, mount, printer and GPS for $3K, that isn't that bad.  It really depends on the machine they're giving you.

[TBR]

Yeah, my bet is that it has some pretty crappy specs.

[280Z Turbo]

Great...they just lumped my two favorite kind of drivers together in one vehicle.

Who would that be?

Arrogant truck drivin' morons and distracted cell phone talkin' morons, of course.

[giant_mtb]

Wonderful.  <_<  

[Raza]

Great...they just lumped my two favorite kind of drivers together in one vehicle.

Who would that be?

Pick up truck drivers and drivers who use too many electronic devices while driving.

[SaltyDog]

Great...they just lumped my two favorite kind of drivers together in one vehicle.

Who would that be?

Pick up truck drivers and drivers

 

[thewizard16]

I agree with the people who find this unimpressive. With some online stores there are things you can buy that let you do most of that yourself. Whoop-de-do.

[Raza]

Great...they just lumped my two favorite kind of drivers together in one vehicle.

Who would that be?

Arrogant truck drivin' morons and distracted cell phone talkin' morons, of course.

Yeah, that.

[JYODER240]

I can see my dad with something like that in his car  

[Submariner]

Great...they just lumped my two favorite kind of drivers together in one vehicle.

Who would that be?

People who dont give a damn about the road while getting their e-mail or printing out another useless document?    

[TBR]

Actually, on a positive note, this most likely won't work while the truck is moving, Ford has an ass to cover and having a fully functional computer available to drivers would be a huge liability.

[SaltyDog]

Great...they just lumped my two favorite kind of drivers together in one vehicle.

Who would that be?

People who dont give a damn about the road while getting their e-mail or printing out another useless document?  

Like truck drivers are the only people who suck at driving?  People who drive all kinds of cars suck at it.  Infact, I've noticed that truck drivers usually are more careful and drive slower.  Especially old people.  Not the 25 year olds who have massive Dodge Rams, but the old guys who have '85 F-150s and Nissan Pickups.

[Secret Chimp]

Great...they just lumped my two favorite kind of drivers together in one vehicle.

Who would that be?

People who dont give a damn about the road while getting their e-mail or printing out another useless document?  

Like truck drivers are the only people who suck at driving?  People who drive all kinds of cars suck at it.  Infact, I've noticed that truck drivers usually are more careful and drive slower.  Especially old people.  Not the 25 year olds who have massive Dodge Rams, but the old guys who have '85 F-150s and Nissan Pickups.

Women driving diesel pickups seem to be the worst. Or girls with Jeeps. yeesh.

[giant_mtb]

The majority of bad drivers do seem to be SUV/truck drivers.  Sure, bad drivers drive cars, too.  But SUV's give you a sense of "confidence" when you drive them.  Most likely because of the elevated driving position and just the largeness, which gives you that "king of the road" feeling...so they drive like assholes.  But hey, we gotta deal with 'em.

[TBR]

There are just as meaning bad drivers in sedans imho, they just aren't as easy to notice.

[Raza]

Great...they just lumped my two favorite kind of drivers together in one vehicle.

Who would that be?

People who dont give a damn about the road while getting their e-mail or printing out another useless document?  

Like truck drivers are the only people who suck at driving?  People who drive all kinds of cars suck at it.  Infact, I've noticed that truck drivers usually are more careful and drive slower.  Especially old people.  Not the 25 year olds who have massive Dodge Rams, but the old guys who have '85 F-150s and Nissan Pickups.

I don't know where you drive, but here, where I live, there are so many pickup truck drivers that tailgate, don't signal ever, and speed excessively, especially in neighborhoods and school zones (which even I abstain from).  Pickup truck drivers, stereotypically, are the worst.  Even worse than SUV drivers.

[SaltyDog]

Great...they just lumped my two favorite kind of drivers together in one vehicle.

Who would that be?

People who dont give a damn about the road while getting their e-mail or printing out another useless document?  

Like truck drivers are the only people who suck at driving?  People who drive all kinds of cars suck at it.  Infact, I've noticed that truck drivers usually are more careful and drive slower.  Especially old people.  Not the 25 year olds who have massive Dodge Rams, but the old guys who have '85 F-150s and Nissan Pickups.

I don't know where you drive, but here, where I live, there are so many BMW drivers that tailgate, don't signal ever, and speed excessively, especially in neighborhoods and school zones (which even I abstain from).  BMW drivers, stereotypically, are the worst.  Even worse than SUV drivers.

That fits a little better imo.  I honestly haven't noticed that about pickup truck drivers.  Maybe the not signaling part, but usually in my experience they drive a bit slower and calmer.  Tailgating seems to be worst in old Honda and Nissan econocars for some reason

[Raza]

I haven't had any problems with BMW drivers that aren't women.

[JYODER240]

I haven't had any problems with  drivers that aren't women.

there thats more like it  :P  

[Fire It Up]

From what I've noticed, truck drivers are generally good drivers, SUV's drivers have cell phones that must be attached to their heads, BMW drivers are good drivers, teen SUV drivers have no control of the gas or brake, other teens drive like theyre about to be killed, and old people go slow and use up two lanes.

[thewizard16]

Most of the people who piss me off while driving here are truck/SUV drivers. They're either middle aged men who tend to drive like arrogant jerks, or women in their Yukon XLs that don't seem to realize their vehicle extends beyond the driver seat. Sure there are bad drivers in every type of vehicle, but the majority of annoyances I've had have definitely been with truck/SUV drivers.