Jan/Feb 2006

Reflecting its transformation from a mobile-phone based tracking business to a full GPS-based fleet management provider, Overview Mapping is now offering an in-cab computer system to support its fleet tracking service. Its MDT (Mobile Data Terminal) is priced £400 plus £50 installation, and includes unlimited free messaging.

For the hardware, the company has chosen the Windows CE version of the Net-960 unit from Israeli manufacturer Micronet. As standard this has a compact housing with a shallow monochrome display, but it can be augmented by an equally neat landscape-format colour touchscreen, and users can also connect a third-party external screen display screen if required.

The Net-960 is in effect a Windows CE mobile computer, running the 4.2 version of the OS. It has a Motorola DragonBall MC9328MXL processor with a standard rating of 100MHz, supported by 32MB of RAM memory and 16MB of flash.

If you're comparing this with a typical modern PDA, the specification looks modest, but as a built-in data terminal the unit looks highly capable. Also there's an appealing mix of standard PDA-style functionality and special features that would normally be extras anyway - a swipe card facility, for instance; a CANbus interface for monitoring vehicle functions; and a driver identity checking system.

You can also specify Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless networking and satellite navigation, assuming you have the external screen; and there's a USB port.

Overview is selling the device strongly on the inclusive real-time two-way GPRS-based messaging - a feature that reportedly appealed to one of the first users, recovery specialist AE Services of Earls Barton. The company says it has brought "a dramatic reduction" in the number of calls to drivers' mobiles.

Micronet is a long-established supplier of mobile terminals and mobility software, and claims to have more than 100,000 terminal units in service worldwide.