PDA Phones with Integrated GPS

This morning I read about a new PDA phone with integrated GPS and TMC (traffic management channel). This article tickled my imagination. When these kind of handheld devices are easily available, it will become natural for mobile workforces to have software on the PDA that will report their location to a central dispatch management system, where dispatchers can help route field service technicians to the closest next job. This will improve the response times, lower fuel costs, make customers happier and improve profits for the service company.

Once you have integrated GPS with your "work order management system" you can add GIS and geospatial data collection to your application. Basically what this means is you can associate your work, orders, deliveries, inspections, etc. to a GPS coordinant. Once again this will help management understand patterns, costs, best routing methodologies, locations to build new facilities, and much more.