My Favorite Product from CES is a Ford

Ford's In-dash Computer is Perfect for Many Mobile Workers

By Curtis Franklin  Add a new comment

I've been working my way through the video and text reporting notes I collected at CES, and I'm ready to announce my choice for my favorite product at the show -- the Ford Work Solution . In this package, it's a little larger than the average consumer gadget, weighing in a something over 4,000 pounds. For someone working in a wide variety of industries, though, the combination of serious truck and fully-functional integrated computer will be a winner.

We tend to think of highly-mobile computers as tools for mobile executives and white-collar workers, but I've been talking with a lot of contractors, farmers, and they are at least as dependent on computers as the execs. I like both the ability to do things like print in the cab from a Bluetooth printer and the availability of the RFID-tag system for keeping up with tools. They show some serious thought into how people use the trucks to get their jobs done.

I haven't checked out how difficult it might be to develop custom apps for this system, but I can imagine a lot of vertical-market integration going on for folks ranging from large-animal vets to environmental engineers and technicians. As we move forward in the recovering economy, tools like this are going to be more important as increasing numbers of us decide that we can't wait on large corporations to provide jobs.

Now, it has to be noted that the basic functionality of this system could be replicated with individual components based around a laptop or netbook computer. Companies like Duluth Trading Company and JC Whitney sell accessories to turn a truck cab into a mobile office, and the computer system pieces are readily available. Having Ford integrate the system and cover it with their 3-year vehicle warranty is going to be compelling for a lot of customers, though.

On a personal note, I really want this truck. I don't, strictly speaking, need it -- my little half-ton Chevy is perfectly functional. But that big, bright-yellow truck with all the racks and lift-rails pushes the same buttons for me that Ferraris push for a lot of other people. Sigh.

ITworld LIVE

Mobile & WirelessWhite Papers & Webcasts

White Paper

Empowering Your Mobile Worker

Today's most productive employees are mobile, and your company's IT strategy must be ready to support them with 24/7 access to the business information they need across a range of mobile devices.See how corporations are meeting the many needs of their mobile workers with the help of Box.

White Paper

Converged Infrastructure for Dummies

As you know, everything is mobile, connected, interactive, and immediate. This is exactly why organizations need a highly agile IT infrastructure in order to keep pace with extreme fluctuations in business demand. This book will help you understand why infrastructure convergence has been widely accepted as the optimal approach for simplifying and accelerating your IT to deliver services at the speed of business while also shifting significantly more IT resources from operations to innovation.Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

White Paper

SMB's and the Consumerization of IT

As social media becomes an integral part of consumer technology, an increasing number of employees are bringing their personal mobile devices to work, enabling social media and collaboration in the workplace.

White Paper

Refreshing the Mobile Infrastructure

The convenient portability and high functionality of consumer devices combined with the ability to connect to the Internet almost anywhere and at any time are resulting in a growing mobile workforce realizing important productivity benefits - right at the point of contact with customers and partners.

Webcast On Demand

Mobility KnowledgeVault

How "mobile ready" is your infrastructure? This Mobility Knowledge Vault provides a wide variety of expert advice on how to strike a balance between end user ease-of-use and security. Prepare your organization with primers on data encryption and user authentication, device disablement and devising an employee-liable device strategy that makes both IT and users happy.

Sponsor: Dell

See more White Papers | Webcasts

Ask a question

Ask a Question