A company named Extendea is the latest into the market for mobile communications/software systems that feature low-cost, off-the-shelf hardware.

Most mobile communications suppliers have long since gone generic on the dispatch side, offering connectivity over the Internet so dispatch needs no more than a PC and an Internet connection.
Newer entries are taking the low-cost generic approach to the driver side as well.
Extendea, for example, offers sophisticated software to track delivery operations from a logistics standpoint, maintaining inventory control even over stock on rolling trucks, in a route delivery environment for example. But it all happens with handheld computers, or PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), such as a PalmPilot. Properly equipped wireless telephones can also be used.
The more generic the hardware, the lower the entry costs that have kept many fleets on the sidelines of the mobile communications revolution. Extendea CEO Jorge Fuenzalida said his system will cost approximately $1,000 per truck. That covers the handheld device and an onboard cradle to capture and relay the information gathered on the handheld - such as the consignee's signature. Fuenzalida compared that with as much as $5,000 per truck for certain more established systems.
Extendea can work with a number of ground-based communications networks.
At least four other suppliers now offer low-cost systems featuring generic hardware in the truck:

• Vistar Datacom, Herndon, Va., has adapted its low-cost GlobalWave trailer tracking system for use in primary mobile communications as well. For driver input Vistar uses a familiar RIM (from Research In Motion Ltd.) alphanumeric pager. Short messages appear on the RIM display. Vistar communicates by satellite.

• Cabit Systems, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, offers a package in which drivers use a laptop computer or a Palm-style handheld. Cabit offers both satellite and ground-based options.

• Seimac Inc., Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, offers a satellite-based system called Fleetmessenger that uses Symbol Pro-series handheld computers. The rugged Symbols are more expensive than, say, Palm computers from the office supply store, but they provide scanning capability and cost less than custom-made propriety equipment.

• Gearworks of Eagan, Minn., makes fleet dispatching an all-Internet affair with a product called etrace that uses the Internet at both ends of the communications chain. Dispatchers and drivers alike access web sites to get and send information. Drivers use off-the-shelf Internet-ready handheld computers or web-enabled phones. Of course, etrace works with any wireless Internet service provider.

Why are suppliers moving to generic hardware?
"They are probably learning as we did that off-the-shelf equipment available today has the capabilities we need and costs a lot less," said Extendea’s Fuenzalida.