Case Studies
Issue No. 50 - December/ /
Happy Wanderer gets on the map
Adelaide-based IT firm Computers Et Cetera is
making a niche with a high-end laptop computer system customized for the 4WD, caravan and motor-home traveller community, and traveling executives.
CEC, which specialises in networking solutions and management contracts, developed the Happy Wanderer ETC Laptop system from experience providing mobile computer systems for remote commercial applications.
“The Happy Wanderer ETC laptop is exclusive to us in Australia,” says CEC principal, John Potter.
John says developing the Happy Wanderer product entailed years of hardware and software integration to learn how to achieve seamless operation in a reliable product. It’s the kind of customization work IT retailers on slim margins like to avoid.
Most buyers are couples aged 45+, not tech-savvy, who want a serviced solution. The younger end of the spectrum is more business-orientated, often connecting the unit to a workplace using a virtual private network.
Happy Wanderer combines entertainment, travel
and communication programs in a ‘ruggedised’ package usable anywhere in Australia there is satellite coverage. It combines the functions of a computer, mobile phone, television and GPS navigator.
Business people use the unit as a mobile office, while retirees emphasise tasks such as uploading photo and video files from cameras, wireless broadband to keep in touch with family and playing DVDs or TV viewing.
CEC customizes ...
