Motorola announced on Aug. 21 that its Mobile Office Solution has been extended to include travel and ticketing capabilities. This enhancement, called the Travel Connector, allows business users to manage their travel needs using a WAP/HTML enabled wireless device, thereby extending key benefits of a corporate enterprise, such as company-negotiated rates for travel, to those who are on the go. This is the wireless industry's first solution to integrate corporate travel information, corporate e-mail, calendar, address book and an enterprise portal in a single package, according to Motorola. Mobile Office is now available to business users from Motorola and selected wireless network operators and value added resellers. Motorola's Mobile Office Solution presently provides mobile professionals the communication and management tools to be productive outside of the office, by enabling access to corporate email, calendars, and address books, directly from a mobile phone. Through relationships with leading Global Distribution Services (GDS) companies, Motorola covers most major travel reservation systems worldwide. According to Motorola, the Travel Connector allows the Mobile Professional to: - Receive alerts for delays, cancellations, and gate changes. - Create, rebook or cancel reservations for airline, hotel, or car rentals. - Access general flight information (time schedules, flight numbers, gate numbers, weather conditions). "Immediate, practical information -- that's what today's traveler requires to stay competitive when out of the office," said John Hach, Galileo International's vice president of corporate and consumer sales and marketing. "We help address that need with Galileo Wireless, which enables travelers to quickly view and manage air, car, and hotel reservations. In the near future, travel will continue to drive advances in wireless voice and data communications. Our work with Motorola is a testament to our commitment to the potential of this changing technology," Hach said. "Sabre's leadership in providing travel information and wireless travel services, combined with Motorola's expertise in the wireless industry, will create the next phase of productive and cost-effective solutions for enterprises," said Eric J. Speck, group president of travel marketing and distribution for Sabre. "Sabre's relationship with Motorola clearly benefits our mutual customers because we are offering accessibility to travel information and services to an already extensive and growing customer base of mobile business travelers." According to Motorola, the Travel Connector also grants users access to more than 500,000 restaurants in 44 countries through a relationship with GlobalDining. Individuals will be able to access the restaurants closest to their vicinity and connect via one click, obtain driving directions, or make a reservation using GlobalDining's proprietary Wireless Reservation Service at top restaurants in the United States and Europe. "Whether on the way home from the office or leaving a client meeting in a foreign city, GlobalDining lets anyone with a mobile phone link to a worldwide directory of restaurants and make a real-time online reservation," said James Nardulli, CEO of GlobalDining. "Working with Motorola allows us to extend our service to busy executives who use the Motorola Mobile Office and their mobile phones as a main source of communication," Nardulli said. "With the Mobile Office Solution, we've responded to a need expressed by enterprises and business executives," said Tim Krauskopf, vice president and general manager of Software Solutions for the Motorola Internet Software and Content Group. "With this announcement, Motorola has expanded the Solution to give mobile professionals additional critical services that allow them to work more effectively when out of the office. We will pack in new capabilities until your phone is the only device you need to consult when traveling on business." According to Krauskopf, the Mobile Office Solution is an example of the kind of wireless applications that Motorola can customize, implement, and maintain for enterprises as they look to raise the productivity of their on-the-go executives. "These applications are just one of Motorola's professional services offerings that are geared towards enterprise customers," Krauskopf said. The Motorola Office Solution is comprised of a number of interchangeable components, including: Mobile Portal The Mobile Portal provides access to multiple applications behind the firewall. Mobile Portal interfaces with the enterprise authentication system to create a user-friendly interface via single UserID/Password instead of having to input separate userIDs and passwords for each application. Email Connector The Email Connector provides access to accounts on existing enterprise e-mail servers from WAP or HTML enabled mobile devices, allowing users to read and reply to their mail while away from their office. Personal Information Management (PIM) Connector The PIM Connector allows the mobile professional to access their calendar, contacts, Global Address Book (Corporate Directory), and tasks/to do list. Users are able to create and change calendar appointments, accept or decline meetings, search for a contact in the address book, and generate a call with a single click. Travel Connector The Travel Connector allows corporate travelers to manage their travel needs using a WAP/HTML enabled wireless device. The Travel Connector allows users to access general flight information, create or cancel reservations for airline, hotel or car rentals, and receive alerts for flight delays, cancellations, and gate changes. The Travel Connector also provides an interface to the Global Dining Directory for access to more than 500,000 restaurants worldwide. The Mobile Office Solution will work with WAP (version 1.0 and higher) and SMS enabled devices. The solution is available in 15 languages. About GlobalDining GlobalDining.com offers what it calls "the world's largest and most comprehensive Internet directory of restaurants together with a Global Reservation Network." The company has patents pending in the United States and Europe for several of its restaurant reservation technologies that enable wireless reservations on a global scale without the use of proprietary equipment or software at the restaurant level. For more information, visit www.globaldining.com. About Sabre Sabre is a provider of technology, distribution and marketing services for the travel industry. Headquartered in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, the company has approximately 6,000 employees in 45 countries. Sabre maintains an ownership interest of approximately 70 percent in Travelocity.com, the an online business to consumer travel site; and it owns GetThere, a provider of web-based business to business travel reservation systems. Sabre is traded on the New York Stock Exchange. More information on Sabre is available at www.sabre.com. About Galileo International Galileo International is a diversified, global technology company. Its core business is providing electronic global distribution services for the travel industry through its computerized reservation systems, products, and Internet-based solutions. Galileo is a value-added distributor of travel inventory dedicated to supporting its travel agency and corporate customers and, through them, expanding traveler choice. Among Galileo's subsidiaries are TRIP.com, an award-winning online travel service and technology provider; and Quantitude, which delivers advanced telecommunications services and enterprise networking solutions. Galileo also offers secure, flexible and cost-effective managed hosting services. Headquartered in Rosemont, Ill., Galileo International has offices worldwide and operates a data center in Greenwood Village, Colo. For more information, visit www.galileo.com. About Motorola Motorola Inc. is a global company involved in providing integrated communications solutions and embedded electronic solutions. These include software-enhanced wireless telephone, two-way radio, and messaging products and systems, as well as networking and Internet-access products, for consumers, network operators, and commercial, government, and industrial customers. Sales in 2000 were $37.6 billion. Further information about Motorola can be found at www.motorola.com.
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