Discussion

By Michael J on Aug 14, 2009

Gail,
awesome find and thanks for posting. I think there is lots to learn from the video. Here's what I'm seeing.

1. Ford probably has pretty good research on what is going to sell. Given the meltdown, they don't have any time to fool around. The fact that they think a printer is worth it, is worth noting.

2. The mobile worker just got a lot more mobile. Once the connection is 3G through Sprint, that eliminates the need for wireless and really means internet everywhere, all the time. Amazon did it first with Sprint running their whispernet, but I think it's a neat data point.

3. The printer demonstrates the use of print in a work situation. It would be very interesting to know if Ford has any ethno studies on the nature of work that tells them it's important.

4. The analogies to the smart phone are obvious. Aside from the kids who think all this stuff is very cool, it points to the grown up world of business that are going to change with internet all the time.

Imagine what it could mean for a print salesman to be able to do everything from wherever they are. At home, in the car, sitting at the Starbucks. Cruise in the car, do the paper work, make the calls. and be ready to visit a customer as soon as they need him.

It's sort of "fireman"{ sales. Hours of boredom. Moments of panic. Then nail the job and save the day.

By Patrick Henry on Aug 16, 2009

For crying out loud...does anybody really believe that it would be possible to drive a motor vehicle safely with those kinds of distractions? If this thing is to be marketed at all, it should be operable only when the vehicle is stationary. Otherwise, it's a hazard to life and limb, and Ford ought to be ashamed of itself for trying to foist such a thing on the motoring public.

By Michael J on Aug 17, 2009

I have to disagree with Patrick on this one. The video shows that most of it is done with voice commands.

I agree that it would be impossible for me to drive a vehicle safely with so much distraction. In fact, I usually don't want people to speak to me when I'm driving...

But, consider when the auto was first invented, there were many who were positive that it would never scale because it was impossible for the mass market to learn how to control a machine at those speeds.

By DebC on Aug 19, 2009

If you watch the full video, it does say, about 5 minutes in, that the keyboard/printer services are only available when the vehicle is stationary.