There was a time when in-car Internet connectivity was more a plaything than a work tool. No more, though. Chevrolet has announced that it’s offering an iPod-sized Internet router inside the 2012 Chevy Silverado to help contractors turn their pick-up trucks into mobile offices.

“If you’re a contractor and you want to write an estimate, you can pull up into a driveway, take out your laptop, and check on parts availability and prices,” Dan Tigges, full-sized truck product manager for Chevy, told Design News. “Anything you can do on the Internet can now be done on the road with this system.”

The in-truck router, built by Autonet Mobile, takes contractors a step beyond smartphone connectivity by enabling multiple workers to link up to the Internet simultaneously using phones, laptops, and tablet computers from as far away as 150 feet.

“If you’re on a job site and five or ten people need Internet connectivity, they can all get the information they need through this one device,” Tigges said.

Autonet Mobile’s router delivers Internet connectivity by combining cellular network technology with the traditional Internet Protocol Suite (commonly called TCP/IP). The company’s engineers say that they optimized TCP for the wireless world, maintaining its best features and enabling it to be used over wireless connections. The company also developed a patented “session proxy” technique capable of simultaneously maintaining multiple TCP sessions between a user and a network. As a result, users within 150 feet of the router can operate their laptops just as they would in their homes or offices.

…. Continue Reading at Original Source: DesignNews.com