Taxi Driver Online

PDA based systems.

We have been playing about with PDA based stuff for a few weeks now and have found that the two biggest problems are as follows:

1. Loss of memory.

After loading and configuring software, including TomTom Navigator, if the battery goes flat, or the power is removed for any reason (such as when you phone the service supplier and they ask you to take out the battery to give them the seriel number etc etc etc), you lose the entire non-carded memory !!!!!!!

After having spent hours configuring the software, for the whole issue to go tits up, it is extremely "angering"

As such, they are effectively useless to our business. We simply cannot afford to lose data like this.

2. The XDA2 handset. You either have to lock all the buttons, rendering it unuseable, or, be prepared for it to continually take photographs of your feet, record parts of conversations, and produce videos of your cars dashboard.

The buttons being on the sides render them prone to being acidentally touched, as they will be when u put it in your pocket.

Both these black marks together, not to mention the almost continual memory shortages and freeze ups, make them impracticable for taxi use in my "humble" opinion.

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There is Significant Unmet Demand for my Opinion.

1. You are quite right about the units loosing all data if the battery runs flat. This does not affect the maps stored on memory cards for Tom Tom however. It is relatively easy to re-program the XDA from a PC whilst placed on its cradle and it is also a possible to restore the whole XDA from a suitably programmed master memory card. You could say this is a disadvantage but the very fact that you can re-program the unit means that software updates to the way the XDA Data Head works are very easy to implement (unlike hardware only Data Heads we are all used to).

2. The better software vendors like Cordic and Mercury will have locked the XDAs down so that these buttons will only perform the tasks they require. Some of the "freeze ups" you describe such as "Navigator unable to find Uk map" often occur when cheap low speed memory cards are used to store the maps.

Aren't the XDA's powered straight from the relay box? Also if they keep losing memory add a bigger memory card, this is the first I've herad of them freezing up.

Andy7

I had a little play with the Xda2 a while back and can pretty much confirm everything Andy says. I reckon somebody with a foot fetish designed it, judging by the way that it automatically starts the recording as soon as it sees a pair of feet.

We tried to do some work with it and the Tom-tom package but just couldn’t seem to get the thing stable enough to do more than a couple of jobs and the thing would just crash back to the start screen. The technical support for the tom-tom software was the stuff dreams are made of, nightmares that is. Maybe we will pick it up and have another go again later this year they may have an answer for us by then.

Bill

Bill,

Tell me, have you ever worked with Diplomat?

there is a cure dont despair!

Yorkie

Never worked with directly with Diplomat but as you might expect, I do know all or most of the people involved with the company. Why do you ask?

Bill

you are begining to read like them,
bricks on the dashboard, nothing else.

*sigh*

By the way, both issues are a pain in the arse, but can be worked around.

I would have thought that the biggest problem would be having to press a dozen buttons to call drivers (as I have witnessed in operations rooms of circuits not using voice radios).

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Next time you wave, use all your fingers.

Yorkie

Don't quite understand what you mean there? You have to talk simply to me because I don't understand a lot of the crptic stuff that gets said on here.

Bill

Join the club with the rest of us.

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IDFIMH

I appologise though Jason obviously knows what I meant, if PDX are not used you need them brick thingies that pass data through the radios,

couple of points here, in the Pennines radios are a problem, the only lad that was in the midst of sorting it [edited by admin] off from the site,

now these brick thingies cost a fortune and according to the directors report of one company that went tits up, described them as no commercial value.

one firm told me that when diplomats brick thingies did not work, they had fortune to find cabmaster bricks worked with the system

thought bill you sounded like them, I was wrong these days they only sigh

Yorkie

Right o. I’ve been having a good read back through some of the old pages on this forum and yes spotted the post where Stewart Harding was very complimentary about the development work that I had done in the past. Don’t read too much into that though because while I would chat with Stewart at meetings and exhibitions he certainly wasn’t on my Christmas card list. In fact it was interesting to read that the company has gone bust, and you may think that as rivals, we would be well aware of this sort of stuff but that’s the first I’ve heard.

Re bricks verses Xda2s, well it all depends what you’re trying to do. There are pros and cons for both systems and without knowing the nature of your business and exact needs I can’t advise you. Can tell you though, the cost of our bricks is 200-300 and that were not a flyby night type company having been involved in taxi data systems since 1989. The way we see it, the value of a data terminal, brick or otherwise depends on it working for you and when it doesn’t, having people to help you. Without such backup or support then the commercial value is academic, it’s a liability to the business.

Bill

Bill,
you are an aquired taste. you are growing on me by the minute

I am Geoff who phoned your company for a demonstration when I was going computerised when a card landed on my mat inviting me to ask.

well Bill, did not have 20 cars so was politely told topissoff!

fraid I CROSSED YOUR COMPANY off the good deads list, Sorry.

Yorkie

Still don’t quite understand what your saying or indeed if your talking about our company? It wouldn’t be the first time that we have been confused with other suppliers as Nige could vouch for.

As far as I know, we have never ever sent out cards, or mail shots or anything else remotely like that so I would have to question just who’s card dropped on your mat.??? As for being told to P off Nah we don’t do that either.

What we do do though, is try to give good honest advice to people looking to move to computerisation and or data despatch, even if it means at times telling them to keep hold of their money. You see Yorkie, given we speak with literally hundreds of companies big and small each year and have done for a very long time, we are in a very good position to asses their needs and determine if our products will provide them with any real benefit. We don’t like to turn away business but if we feel that a company is looking for some kind of magic wand that can miraculously transform their business, then we are doing them a very great favour in not taking their dosh! In these circumstances, we’re normally thanked for our honesty.

As for doing a demonstration for you, well we don’t do that either! (well not very often). In the past when we were manufacturing for Halda, we saw first hand the effects of having salesmen on the road. Sure it brought in some sales but the majority of potential customers balked at the price which of course included the hotel bills, expense account and the obligatory BMW of the sales rep. What we do now is point any potential customer to the nearest site. We don’t have any bad ones, least ways I hope not, and they can’t all be selected sites. If we’ve not done our job right I’m sure they’ll tell you.

Anyway Andy, we do our best and can’t win em all.

Ey up it’s Saturday night at 10pm and I’m sitting here typing don’t want to give the wrong impression so I’m off for a pint!

Take care

Bill

Jesus

I dont believe you bill, and what I said I stick too

a salesman not takingafuckingsale?

you wind me up!