Truck Electronics - USB - Trucktronics

  |   The Ford Mobile Office tosses another in-car computer solution into the automotive ring. Things have been "same old, same old" for quite some time in the vehicle electronics business-evolutionary instead of revolutionary. Cassette decks gradually transitioned to CD players, radios became satellite-ready, and GM vehicles (and some others) received OnStar. We'll be seeing some other incremental changes soon as HD digital radios start rolling off the assembly lines. But there will also be some surprises, and not too far off either. Visteon sprung a fun one on Halloween, announcing that they have an 18- to 20-month head start in providing USB (Universal Serial Bus, a well-known computer interface) to the automakers, starting early in 2006. What does that mean for us? Visteon's USB solution, which also comes with an iPod plug, will offer a direct digital input from your iPod or memory stick into your truck's factory headunit and entertainment system, providing a plug-and-play solution for your MP3 collection without a lot of additional integration hassles. Another interesting announcement in the truck computer field: there have been in-vehicle PC-type computers for almost a decade, but they have remained somewhat of a niche market. However, when Ford and Microsoft announced the "Ford Mobile Office" at the SEMA Show in November, they zeroed-in on one particular application in such a logical fashion that it could very well go mass market with a little tweaking. What they have in mind is a removable, ruggedized 8-inch touchscreen computer (made by Stargate Mobile), running Windows XP and mounted in the 2006 F-series pickup, which is designed specifically for construction contractors. The touchscreen functions in place of a separate keyboard, and this mobile office can access the internet via broadband wireless, including Outlook for e-mail, and Streets and Trips 2006 for nav. It also offers voice activation and specific contractor-related capabilities like payment processing and the ability to submit orders from the road. For the SEMA show, California Custom Sport Trucks in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, built a "General Contractor" F-250 Super Duty to demonstrate the Mobile Office concept. We like the computer, though at $3,000 we are going to wait for the price to settle down a bit. (We're always up for scoping out "the wave of the future") More innovations next month.