SilentDispatch / LE™ and the SilentDispatch / Mobile™ wireless tracking software products are designed to run on hand held mobile computers. They are called Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) and for Silent Dispatch, here is what they need to be effective -

• Windows Mobile
• Touch Screen
• GPS 

Of the various hardware manufacturers out there, so far we like HTC best. They seem to be providing equipment now to many of the carriers that support the capabilities needed by our software. The hardware has to be combined with a carrier in North America.  Carriers make decisions about the features of the phone they will enable - we're not going to question the practice, we'll just observe it and try to share with you what we see.  Based on what you learn (or can cajole out of your local provider,) you can make a decision about how complicated you want to make your system.  We like simple and broadly supportable.

We've made a comparison of the various carriers in North America Here is a comparison of providers our transportation software program can support. We had experiences with other providers and until things mature in the industry, we're recommending these carriers. 

All the carriers have one device or another that you might be able to use Silent Dispatch with.  We a prefer less complicated conversation about this when we talk to you, so we've laid out why we work with some carriers and not others.

All the carriers have a voice program and a data program.  At Silent Dispatch we're more interested in the data program they offer because it is the required element of the carriers service to the market that we rely on. Yes, you could get oneof the nifty handsets and NEVER turn on the voice program - it's really up to you and we're willing to support youto some level on just about any carrier you chose but were happiest with those that make it easy for you to use all that Silent Dispatch has to offer. 

Here is our analysis as of September 2008 and it seems to revolve around who provides or disables the native GPS capability the manufactures built the device with.  It is not a comparison of prices, just the functionality we count on to keep your investment in the supporting technology you company and that we require, under control.

There are several of the HTC devices that would work well, if you could get GPS data to it.  We discuss these devices with some hesitation though - we believe simpler is better; a fully integrated handset like the Mogul from Sprint or the Tilt from AT&T is really the way to go.

That being said, if you have one of he other Windows Mobile, Touchscreen devices or can get a really amazing deal on them, the way to get GPS added is to use an external GPS device like this slick little Bluetooth device from iTrek GPS. 

You can conduct your own research if you like at the Microsoft Windows Mobile website.  They're really done a great job of assembling the functional stats - you might even find something we've overlooked!  If so, please tell us, we'll share it with the rest of our friends.

We expect the HTC products to improve and we do expect to see additional manufacturers with comparable equipment in the next several weeks, months and years to come.

Stay tuned with your wireless tracking software and transportation software program! We think the competition will heat up between the providers and prices will just get better and better! A big win for you as a user of the open architecture of Silent Dispatch!