The Android tablet market continues to slide but even though consumers aren’t picking them up, they will soon find Android tablets in New York City taxis. Curb Mobility has confirmed that its fleet of taxis in New York City will soon come with no less than two Android-powered tablets, one for the driver and the other for the passenger.
The first tablet, Dash, will be a digital meter which replaces the bulky legacy taxi systems with a lightweight tablet. It will provide drivers with an easy to navigate user interface and additional features such as multi-language support, live traffic information, GPS navigation, and an emergency panic button. It will even display fare heat maps so that drivers can increase their potential earnings by heading to areas where demand is high.
The passenger-facing 10 inch Android tablet will be called Ryde. It pairs with the Dash system to provide riders with interactive experiences for their commute. It supports a variety of third-party apps including the next-generation of the Taxi TV media platform. These experiences will be aimed at making the commute more enjoyable for riders.
Curb has started piloting this in-cab technology with dozens of taxis throughout New York City with a mass rollout scheduled for June.