ATLANTA, (May 10, 2005) — UPS will rollout a new generation driver computer that can “talk” with four different wireless communication systems to speed tracking information to customers.

The computer — known as the fourth-generation Delivery Information Acquisition Device or DIAD IV — is smaller and lighter than its predecessor, works in colour, is easier to use and has an expanded memory that will support some new, more customized services in the near future. Moreover, it’s a critical part of a broader technology shift that is allowing UPS to dramatically reduce its fuel consumption while improving route planning, vehicle loading and package delivery, the company said in a press release.

UPS expects to deploy 32,000 in the U.S. right away and 8,000 internationally by the end of this year. The company plans to have more than 70,000 in use worldwide by the end of 2007.

“This is a key component of a bigger system that we call Package Flow Technology,” says Dave Barnes, UPS’s chief information officer. “Our drivers are going to have all the information in their handheld computers to make even more reliable deliveries while driving fewer miles.”

The latest version continues improvement in those and other areas such as:

— Links to the Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system, which will give a dispatch centre the ability to locate the most convenient driver to respond to an On-Call Pickup, for example. Eventually, the GPS link also will help drivers searching for an unfamiliar address and sound an alert if they’re in the wrong driveway for a particular delivery.

— The ability to connect real-time with four different wireless networks, including personal (Bluetooth); local (Wi-Fi), and wide area (GPRS or CDMA). The Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities allow the DIAD to access printers and other devices within a UPS facility or with a customer’s PC.

— Memory of 128 megabytes or 20 times that of DIAD III.