[9to5mac—thanks Ted]

[Giz @ CTIA]

Motorola Redefines Driving Experience with Smart Rider™ In-Vehicle Phone

Fixed in-vehicle device improves enterprise solutions for professional drivers, with interactive voice activation, GPS services and more

CTIA WIRELESS 2008 – LAS VEGAS, Nev. – 1 April 2008 – Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced the debut of the Motorola Smart Rider™ phone, an innovative in-vehicle solution featuring GPS navigation, interactive voice activation, Bluetooth™ wireless technology and exceptional audio quality that’s sure to make this phone an integral part of every driver’s journey. A unique hands-free solution, the Smart Rider phone uses GSM technology to enhance user experience by ensuring that users can converse, navigate and tend to business while on-the-go.

The Smart Rider increases convenience and quality of communication:

* Bluetooth™ technology allows users to move freely from the home or office straight into the vehicle while having active calls, contact information and other personal data automatically transferred from the handset to the in-vehicle device
* Multiple user profiles grant secure access to personalised phonebook settings for up to three drivers on the Smart Rider phone
* Interactive voice activation makes the phone hassle-free for drivers
* A robust built-in microphone and speakerphone ensures an exceptionally clear, sharp sound.

The Smart Rider phone also offers feature-rich GPS services:

* Turn-by-turn navigation and voice-guided driving instructions
* Precise on-screen directions and detailed maps on a 2.8″ high resolution, sharp colour display
* Real-time traffic reports and automatic re-routing
* Enabling of location based services (LBS) and fleet management applications.

“The Smart Rider is the next generation in-vehicle phone, designed to operate in unison with the user’s daily needs and environment. The phone re-defines what communication on-the-go is all about, and the main focus was placed on transforming the user experience. We are confident that the worldwide success of this flagship product will speak for itself,” said Golan Haver, business unit manager for Motorola Car Phones.

Availability
The Smart Rider will be sold worldwide and will be available on the market in June 2008.

[Jalopnik]

Your HUD (Heads Up Display) or arm mounted screen will show you virtual or real enemy activity. But be careful, enemy hackers might be spoofing more troops and enemy aircraft in the area…Half the team maybe remotely engaged in assisting you against the cyber threat…The other part of the company is en route to the next geocache where the assignment is then downloaded. As you approach, it recognises that you are within 30 yards of the designated position. It then deploys the next mission to your PDA.

It goes on and on, but you get the idea. Fry says that this game might be used for actual military training in the future. And Fry is no stranger to military life, in fact it’s what drove him into consumer electronics:

We were advisors in 2005 to the 10th Mountain Division and during that time we were conttracted [sic] as Tiger team RF advisors. As a result of this invaluable time spent with our military, we have learned the art of miniaturization, have become battery experts, and are quite versatile in covert and black op wireless communication systems.

There may be other configurations of the H_T, too. There will be a step-up waterproof edition for boaters, and a camera-equipped streaming video version, again says Fry, “to protect women that are currently being stalked.” He adds, “If you are fortunate enough to find battery operated IP cameras, you can operate up to 16 on one device in the middle of nowhere.”

Bottom line: There’s no reason to believe Fry one way or the other just yet—though his promo shot does looks a bit intentionally mysterious. Whatever, if he and his team of developers does pack all of this magic into a PSP-shaped clear router-looking thingy with disco lights, will will be eager to review the thing, feature by feature. [PocketGamer]

AU: This is interesting – I’m sure we’ll see a similar outlook from the Australian networks when Android phones become available.

A possibility was to take an Android phone and shove AT&T’s own money-generating apps onto it, such as MediaFLO mobile TV. “One of the things we were looking for was that it was truly open and that you could put other features and applications on it,” which means the fact that AT&T can completely customise up an Android device means it’s that much more likely you’ll be able to use one on AT&T. Or, you could always just get one of the dozens of other GSM Android phones due out in the next few years, unlock it, and take it onto AT&T yourself. [Gearlog]

AU: So maybe the rumours I’ve been hearing about a NextG iPhone within the next 2 months are true… I hope Telstra restructures their data pricing if they do launch the iPhone.

Also, even though they played coy for whatever reason with the original announcement, AT&T Mobility’s CEO just revealed that the LG Vu is going to run US$299—same as the Instinct.

Speaking of Sprint, when asked why they only revealed a new all-you-can-eat subscription after Verizon did—and not Sprint—he replied that Verizon is a high quality player, number 2 in the marketplace, and they didn’t want to give them any edge. Translation? Sprint is a non-player to AT&T. What about WiMax? Ralph is “not too worried about the threat from WiMax.”

It’s actually a pretty nifty UI feature, though it doesn’t quite make up for the browser’s other flaws—zooming could be much better and no portrait mode, though we’re told they’re working on both (pop-up keys on the keyboard might be on the way, too). We were also told that the platform will be continually evolving and show up on other Sprint devices, so at least theoretically it’s only going to get better. [Instinct Coverage @ Giz]