Trucking Advocate and Activist Allen Smith of TruthAboutTrucking.com : Articles Current News and Information for CDL Truck Drivers and Truck Driving Students…"Raising the Standards of the Trucking Industry"
The first iPhone application for the trucking industry, appropriately named Trucker, has become one of top 25% downloaded apps within the “lifestyle” section of the Apple iTunes Store. The Trucker App continues to gain attention with its ability to constantly have updated files and information added to the “Drivers’ Resource Page” on a daily basis if needed, unlike most standard smart phone applications. This unique feature is provided through the technology standard set by the developer, Mobile Syndication Solutions.
The Trucker App provides an organized system for professional drivers to easily attain access to hundreds of resources related directly to the trucking industry and the truckers’ way of life:
Official Trucking Links
D.O.T. State Listings
Trucker Services
Security and Emergency Links
The DAC Report
PDF Information Files
Truckers Helping Truckers
U. S. Time Zones
Providing valuable information for the professional truck driver, Attorney Michael Palumbo was recently added to the Trucker Application under the “Trucker Services” section of the Drivers Resource Page. Mr. Palumbo is a practicing attorney out of the state of New York, specializing in traffic law and assisting drivers in defense of DUI’s, DWI’s, speeding and other moving violations.
On Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 the Trucker iphone application booth at GATS launched its PC Miler Navigator 430 GPS System Give-A-Way. The lucky winner was Jeanie Cummings who had placed her name in the drawing as did her husband, Ron who’s a driver.
Donna presented Mrs. Cummings with the GPS system, valued at $349.00 and her excitement was apparent!
Congratulations to the winner of the “Trucker App” GPS Give-A-Way and I bet Ron will be running down the road very soon with their new Navigator 430!
The 2009 Great American Trucking Show in Dallas, Texas came to a close yesterday but there was a lot of fun and informative works that took place during the three day event. Our booth for “Trucker” – the world’s first iPhone application for the trucking industry, was well received and Donna did a great job with the much appreciative help and assistance of Trucker Desiree.
Also on hand, and giving much of his time in helping out was Daniel Audet of The Truck Star and Truck Star Radio. We will be posting more pictures and stories from the event and would like to thank everyone for their help during the event. It was a big three days but well worth the time and effort. Donna also finally got to meet the Rivenburgs and family of Jason’s Law, and we will be sharing all the pictures as they come in, right here on our blog.
Also, we will be posting the winner of the PC Miler GPS System very soon. My understanding is that a lucky lady from Texas claimed the prize that was donated by GoTruckStop. She was one happy winner!
Check back later, as there will be more posts coming about the GATS event of 2009.
An important reminder that we will be giving away a PC Miler Navigator 430 GPS System on Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 at the Great American Trucking Show (GATS) in Dallas, Texas. If you can make it to the show, we will be in Booth #21149 for the Trucker App display. The actual drawing will take place at 12:00 noon and the lucky winner will walk away with a brand new GPS system ($349.00 Value).
Special thanks to the nets truckers online gift store, GoTruckStop.com for donating the Navigator 430. GATS will get under way on Thursday, August 20 and run through Saturday, August 22nd. Be sure to swing by the Trucker App booth and put in your name for the GPS drawing!
TruckerApp.com, the world’s FIRST iPhone Application for the professional truck driver, will be GIVING AWAY a PC Miler Navigator 430 GPS System (retail value: $349.95) on Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 at the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas, Texas.
We invite everyone at the show to drop by the Trucker App booth and fill out a raffle form for a chance to win this GPS prize. Also, you can raise your chances of winning, by showing us the Trucker app on your iPhone or iTouch, and you can add up to 5 raffle forms for the drawing!
The drawing will be held at 12:00 PM on Saturday, 8-22-09 and the winner gets to take the Navigator 430 GPS home!
Take a closer look at the PC Miler Navigator 430 GPS system! You just may be the winner of the Trucker App GPS System “Give-A-Way!”
Donna will be attending the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas, Texas next month, with a booth set up for “Trucker” – the world’s first iPhone application for the trucking industry. We are noticing that some iPhone and iTouch users totally missed the Driver’s Resource Page of the Trucker App.
Here’s our newest video explaining how to get to the Driver’s Resource Page on the application:
We are working toward releasing the Trucker Gold version, 2.0 in the near future which will have several new and cutting-edge technological features built right into the application. As the video explains, the Trucker iPhone App has buttons for three RSS feeds, but the main feature of the application is the Driver’s Resource Page. Since we noticed some have overlooked this page completely, we wanted to insure the understanding of how to get to the resource page, since this is the HEART of the Trucker Application.
If you find yourself in Dallas on August 20, 21 and 22 – swing by the Trucker Booth at GATS and say “hi” to Donna and Trucker Desiree!
The Great West Truck Show in Las Vegas was the Big Trucking event last week which displayed some of the most innovative and technological gadgets and equipment, not to mention some of the most eye catching and creative trucks around.
Attending the show was trucking’s well known and respected Lady Trucker, affectionately know as TruckerDesiree. As most know, Desiree is a driver who is extremely active within the trucking community, sharing her thoughts, ideas, and concerns with her fellow drivers and CDL students. Desiree has joined us and so many others, as we all attempt to bring about positive change within the trucking industry.
This time though, Trucker Desiree was at the Big Truck Show in Las Vegas as an attendee, sharing the Apple iPhones first and only Application created by Allen Smith ( developer Infomedia, Inc) for the Professional Truck Driver….“TRUCKER.”
Desiree shared with Attendees and Vendors the advantages of having an iPhone as she demonstrated the iPhone App TRUCKER benefits and capabilities. Desiree said that there were many at the GW Truck Show that had not known about the Trucker Application, but after she demonstrated it to them they were very impressed, especially since Version 1.1 still downloads for the modest cost of 99 cents. She said that many were most impressed with the vast Drivers Resource Page which continues to grow with the much needed info that drivers need on a daily basis. Many of those there who owned an iPhone downloaded Trucker and are now using it.
While attending the GW Show, TruckerDesiree was also filmed for a documentary which will be aired in the near future. We’ll discuss this in more detail in a later post. Here’s Desiree and the film crew taking a break:
Another attendee at the GW Truck Show was Damian from SmartUnion. Damian is another strong advocate for drivers and is an avid user of the iPhone app Trucker. Damian and Desiree, along with so many others, were able to meet each other in person for the first time. We’re already looking forward to meeting everyone at the Dallas Truck Show in August. Hope to see you all there!
Last Sunday we had a 1 hour show on Blog Talk Radio. Our special guests were 2 OTR Truck Drivers, Mark Pritchard and Damian from Smart Union Blog
Also joining us was Trucker Desiree, as we all discussed the various smart phones that the professional truck driver is finding so valuable to their career. Listen to the replay and discover why these phones are taking over the old fashioned “cell phones” by leaps and bounds. Some drivers actually have replaced their computers with a phone to accomplish all their daily tasks and research…including e-mail, the internet, and even social media sites.
Also discussed were the many low cost and useful applications which drivers are using on their phones. These easily downloadable applications are replacing the expensive software products used on computers, saving drivers hundreds of dollars.
Mark and Damian also discuss how the iPhone Trucker Application helps them on a daily basis. It’s a brand new world in trucking out there drivers!
Truckers News, the #1 leading lifestyle magazine for over the road truck drivers, features the iPhone Trucker Application in their June, 2009 issue. Truckers news is the official publication of the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO).
Senior Editor Todd Dills provides a full page story about our Truth About Trucking, Ask The Trucker blog and the first ever iPhone application for truckers. It was also mentioned in the May issue as well as the June edition of Overdrive Magazine which primarily focuses on commercial truck owner-operators, small fleet owners and company drivers.
Special thanks to Todd Dills and everyone at Truckers News and Overdrive for featuring our story in their leading trucking magazines.
You can read the full article which is on page 86:
There are many smart phones on the market today, so many choices to make. Just walk into Best Buy and your head will start spinning.
Smart phones are usually not for those who just want “a mobile phone.” Smart phones are for people who want to maintain communication with the outside world using so many more options available.
Here is an iPhone review by one of the most technically knowledgeable truck drivers I know, Mark Pritchard, aka @markinark on Twitter. If anyone studies, researches, and understands the most current technologies available….MARK does.
Mark refers to himself as “I’m a geek, a trucker, and a grandpa, and so far I am enjoying all 3…”
Review of the Apple iPhone by Mark Pritchard, USA
Home state Arkansas Company FWCC of Muldrow, OK,
“There have been some questions in the Blogosphere wondering if the iPhone can be a credible business tool. My answer is a resounding “Maybe”. As a geek and a trucker, I say it has some good points. I’ll hit a few high spots.
First off, is it a good phone? Actually, yes. People I talk to report clears speech, a reasonable volume, and very little background noise. Paired with a good quality Bluetooth headset and the sound quality goes up. Of course, much depends on the network, but AT&T is decent. What was a surprise to me was how far out of town you can go and still get a good signal. The antenna in the iPhone completely internal and usually covered by the hand. Any one who drives the hills of Pennsylvania, back roads of Arkansas, or anywhere in western Wyoming quickly learns the meaning of limited access.
Again, network dependent. The full screen controls provide easy access to all the phone features, contacts list, voice mail, recent call lists. It is a nice change from the tiny buttons on my last Motorola phone. There is not a one button speed dial function, mostly because there are no buttons. But you do get a “favorites” list you populate with names from your contacts, and the phone will dial with one touch on the list. No voice activated dialing, but I understand AT&T offers that as an optional service. And last,the phone book/contacts list can be synchronized with your favorite contact list on the web or laptop thru Google, MobileMe, Hotmail, and even Microsoft Exchange.
The other half of the device is the “Smart Phone” features. There is a growing population of truck drivers with laptops in their cabs. The big brokerage houses have web access to post and book loads. Truck stops all have services and fuel prices on the web. The big money services like Comdata or TCH have web portals to generate checks and move funds around. Fuel accounts are managed on the web. I have seen one large company with its dispatch, driver check-in, and scheduling all up on the web. With full HTML web browsing instead of that tiny WAP system, a driver can have all of that information in his or her shirt pocket. Will the iPhone replace the laptop? No. But your sitting at breakfast, and you remember you need to rebook a load or pay a bill, the laptop is out in the truck, so pull the phone, tap some keys, go back to coffee…
About the screen, the Apple spec says 3.5 inch 480 X 320. For a phone, that is huge. It is bright, in full daylight the screen is easily readable. There is a user selectable auto-dim feature that responds well to changing light conditions. In the cab at night, the phone will self-dim down to about the same as dash lights. So far all of the text and images I have seen have been clear and crisp. I strongly recommend getting some kind of full face screen protection film for the iPhone. In the truck there is dust, dirt, diesel oil fumes, and this will wind up on the glass. You can clean and replace the screen protector for around $10 at your favorite big box store. Replacing the iPhone glass is more like $200 and a couple weeks without your gadget.
Google maps on the iPhone offers real time traffic information for major cities. The Weather Channel has a free app that gives you real time weather, satellite pictures, and even live video forecasts. The built in mail client works with all the big web mail services, and supports standard POP3 mail for corporate server. If something goes wrong, the built in camera makes documenting the broken freight simple, and keeps the safety director happy. (neat trick that last) You can email the photos directly to your insurance man from the phone. With a small expense tracker, a spreadsheet or two, and the driver can have all the information needed to plan the day, or the week. For the modern trucking industry, facing tight schedules, thin profit margins, and complex government regulation; accurate record keeping and smooth information flow are critical to success. The iPhone has enough computational power to be a useful information management tool.
So its all roses, yes? No. The iPhone does not have a physical keyboard. You type on the screen. It does take a little practice, but my fingers learned after about a week. And the battery life is not wonderful. Real world work, mine runs about 5 hrs on a charge. By that I mean typing email, surfing the web, pulling down weather maps, making phone calls, and playing Tetris while I wait for the shipper to find his pick list. (yes, it has games, and music, it IS an ipod, too) Apple could have done better with the battery, every one says so. They could have gone with a removable battery, so we could just plug in the spare and keep going. Not going to happen. According to people “in the know” a removable battery is about as likely as the devil wearing snowshoes or pig with wings…pick your favorite metaphor. I don’t see that as the large problem some tech analysts have made it out to be. Most of my day, I am in or near the truck, with all the shiny power plugs my geek heart could want. If I am in the office for 5 hours, something is very wrong with my day that batteries won’t fix.
Will the iPhone make me a rich truck driver? Not unless someone emails me their Swiss Bank account numbers. Will it make me more efficient and profitable? I believe so. It is one of a growing collection of high-tech tools that are finding their way into truck cabs. It is convenient and portable, two must-haves for a Driver. And the original Space Invaders game is available so you can blast aliens while you wait for that last pallet of fuzzy dice to come off the dock. See y’all down the road… ”
Oh, Mark also uses the iPhone Application “Trucker”which we were thrilled to hear.
The first iPhone application for the trucking industry, appropriately named Trucker, has become one of top 25% downloaded apps within the “lifestyle” section of the Apple iTunes Store. The Trucker App continues to gain attention with its ability to constantly have updated files and information added to the “Drivers’ Resource Page” on a daily basis if needed, unlike most standard smart phone applications. This unique feature is provided through the technology standard set by the developer, Mobile Syndication Solutions.
: iphone app, michael palumbo, traffic law attorney, trucker, trucking
TruckerApp.com, the world’s FIRST iPhone Application for the professional truck driver, will be GIVING AWAY a 
