Samsung Develops Entertainment Device for Taxi/Cab Passengers

While talking to your cab or taxi driver can be an interesting experience, in certain circumstances, that's not really the case, most of the times, and in order to provide passengers with a much needed past time while waiting to reach their destination. So, Samsung SDS, a subsidiary of the Samsung Group, together with Taxi Magic, a major electronic on-demand transportation booking service in the United States, announced at the 2010 TLPA Convention in Los Angeles that they have partnered to build a new Passenger Information Monitor (PIM), a device designed to be installed in the back seat of taxis to provide passengers with a rich entertainment experience during the ride and convenient, secure, credit card payment at the end. According to the two companies, the first 5,000 Taxi Magic PIMs are already being installed with major taxi fleets in Washington, DC, Los Angeles and Denver. The rugged device is designed for taxi conditions and includes an HD touch screen, speaker system, 3G/4G connectivity, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability, and easy integration with other in-vehicle devices via a programmable multi-port junction box. We are very excited to enter the taxi electronics business with Taxi Magic,” explained Ken Cho, Vice President of Samsung SDS. “There are more than 100,000 taxis in the U.S., and there is a tremendous opportunity to provide better technology for passengers and fleets. Taxi Magic is a great partner for us because they have already demonstrated they can transform the way people book and pay for taxis with innovative technology, and they have business relationships with more than 65 taxi fleets,” concluded Samsung's rep. Taxi Magic President, Sanders Partee, also commented on the partnership, saying that “when we decided to enter the PIM business, we wanted to develop a true next-generation device, so we were thrilled to partner with Samsung SDS.” “With their expertise and scale Samsung SDS has developed a single device, designed especially for this application with more advanced capabilities yet at a lower cost than competing products.” “And it will support our range of innovative software and Web services for both passengers and taxi fleets,” added Mr. Partee.