Jan. 14, 2010

 

UPS said it's switching from Motorola to Honeywell as the supplier for its driver terminal devices because Honeywell has better cellular antennas.

 

The package company's handheld terminals are officially called DIAD -- delivery information acquisition devices. Motorola made the first four versions. Honeywell won the new DIAD V contract becuase its device can dynamically switch between wireless carrier signals, compared to a manual process for changing carriers in the Motorola device, spokeswoman Donna Longino said.

 

Less time spent on getting a strong wireless signal means drivers are less likely to get lost and can process packages faster. To further advance those goals, DIAD V has a larger, higher-resolution screen, more RAM, and a two-dimensional symbol scanner. The scanner lets it read UPS' proprietary codes, compared to only bar codes using Motorola's one-dimensional scanner.

 

The new device is also half the size and weight of the previous version. It has an autofocus camera, compared to no camera in the previous version, and it runs an embedded version of Microsoft Windows.

 

Field tests are scheduled for later this year. UPS plans to deploy more than 100,000 units next year. UPS still uses Motorola as a supplier for other products, Longino said.

 

Separately, Honeywell announced the Dolphin 9700 device this week.