Motorola, Nextel announce location services

Motorola and Nextel Communications have announced several location-based services, ranging from voice-enabled driving directions to asset tracking solutions, that can now turn Motorola's GPS (global positioning satellite) enabled iDEN mobile phones into sophisticated workforce management and navigational devices for Nextel customers.

"These location-based services leverage the Internet and GPS capabilities of select Motorola iDEN phones, including the i58sr and i88s, to help businesses and consumers stay productive, efficient, and where they want to be," said Peter Aloumanis, vice president and general manager, U.S. Markets Division, Motorola's iDEN Subscriber Group. "Whether it is a business that needs to manage its mobile workforce or a consumer who is trying to navigate an unfamiliar city, many users can benefit from these location-based services."

"Location-based services further Nextel's continued efforts to bring value to the business customer by enabling them to make better decisions and operate their businesses more resourcefully," said Blair Kutrow, vice president, product management, Nextel. "In many situations, the very first question a dispatcher asks a driver on the road is 'Where are you?' -- location-based applications eliminate the need for that question and improve efficiency."

Numerous developers, including specialists in specific industries, are working with Motorola and Nextel to deploy their applications on the handsets. Many of the solutions can be customized to meet the particular needs of a business and work with existing enterprise systems.

Customized software

By equipping mobile workers with GPS technology-enabled Motorola phones and customized software applications, enterprises can automate their workforce management, monitor activity in the field, and potentially improve worker productivity. Motorola offers a variety of powerful, low-cost services to help minimize the manual tasks of managing mobile workforces. These location-based solutions turn the phone into a mobile asset tracking system that can also help to reduce downtime, enforce overtime policies, and report employee locations in real time.

Motorola cites General Motors as seeing the value of these workforce management solutions enough to use them as an incentive to drive commercial truck sales. GM is currently offering their fleet vehicle customers etrace xt, an application developed by Gearworks that runs on Motorola's GPS technology-enabled phones. This application provides field workers with the ability to manage their job schedules and receive information from headquarters; a web-based system that allows dispatchers to quickly locate vehicles, track the entire fleet, determine job status and communicate with workers; and reporting tools to measure key worker performance metrics.

"By teaming up with Gearworks, Motorola and Nextel, we can deliver valuable fleet management capabilities to our commercial customers, providing them complete visibility to field operations so they can better measure and utilize resources," said Tim Cavanaugh, marketing product manager, General Motors Fleet and Commercial Operations. "We believe etrace xt will deliver bottom line benefits to our customers, helping them capitalize on additional revenue opportunities and reduce operating costs by increasing the productivity and response times of their mobile workers."

Location based applications, like Motorola's Viamoto, have been developed to transform select Motorola mobile phones into portable navigation devices, similar to built-in vehicle navigation systems.

Avis uses Viamoto

Avis uses Viamoto at Dallas-Fort Worth and Washington-Dulles airports in its Avis Assist navigation system to help car renters travel to their destinations in a timely and efficient manner. After speaking to an Avis Advisor to select a destination address, drivers receive audible alerts to upcoming maneuvers, such as "prepare to turn right on Washington Street in 50 yards" through the speakerphone. If the driver gets off course, the phone's GPS capabilities identify the driver's location and provide revised directions from that location.

These and many other GPS applications are available for Nextel customers with Motorola's GPS-enabled phones to download from their phone's menu, to download wirelessly from www.idenupdate.com, or to order directly from the application developers.

Motorola's iDEN handsets combine the capabilities of a digital wireless phone with "always on" Internet access, text pager, and two-way radio to enable users to instantly communicate with one or hundreds of individuals at the push of a button.