Dec 2018 - Christmas greetings and a look back at Pointguard's 2018
Uppsala, Sweden - 2018-12-20
Another exciting year has passed, and before we thank our customers, partners, and resellers for a great year and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, we look back at some of the things that have happened over the past year here at Pointguard.
Continued increased interest in smart taxi signs internationally
Our smart taxi signs (iToplights) are attracting more and more interest from around the world. In 2018,
Our smart taxi signs (iToplights) are attracting more and more interest from around the world. In 2018,
we received inquiries ab
out digital taxi signs from more than 30 countries, and we have now sold our first iToplight to the African continent. The year has also seen some new, major international deals, such as a large order for iToplight D-500 from Abu Dhabi. During the year, we exhibited at taxi fairs in Dubai, Stockholm, and Cologne, and also had some visitors from far away. First, we were visited by Mr. Abdullah Sultan Al Sabbagh, Chairman of the UITP Taxi Platform and CEO of Cars Taxi Group, which has a taxi fleet of over 5,000 taxis in the United Arab Emirates and the GCC. A few months later, we had visitors from the other side of the world when Daniels Langeberg, CEO and founder of Eco Caddy in Adelaide, Australia, came to discuss the implementation of more iToplight D-100s for their bicycle taxi fleet.
New iToplight innovations
During the year, we have also worked hard to develop the iToplight platform, increase its usefulness and value for our customers, and introduce new innovative features. We have developed a new version of the iToplight card with full color and higher resolution, which not only allows customers to display text in any color, but also logos and advertising messages. The apps for iToplight have been further developed: the iToplight Cloud app has been released to app stores, and we are currently conducting final testing of the new configuration app that allows users to configure their iToplights directly from their mobile phones. We have also been involved in an international project where our smart displays are being used in a completely new context outside the automotive industry. We see this as a clear example of how our iToplight system, which combines smart displays with apps and cloud connectivity, can be used in a wide range of technical applications. On the integration side, iToplight has now been integrated with the Netherlands' largest supplier of taximeters, Cabman, and their popular MDT.
During the year, we have also worked hard to develop the iToplight platform, increase its usefulness and value for our customers, and introduce new innovative features. We have developed a new version of the iToplight card with full color and higher resolution, which not only allows customers to display text in any color, but also logos and advertising messages. The apps for iToplight have been further developed: the iToplight Cloud app has been released to app stores, and we are currently conducting final testing of the new configuration app that allows users to configure their iToplights directly from their mobile phones. We have also been involved in an international project where our smart displays are being used in a completely new context outside the automotive industry. We see this as a clear example of how our iToplight system, which combines smart displays with apps and cloud connectivity, can be used in a wide range of technical applications. On the integration side, iToplight has now been integrated with the Netherlands' largest supplier of taximeters, Cabman, and their popular MDT.
Deregulated markets lead to increased focus on brands and unique taxi lights
In Finland, the taxi market has now been deregulated, which has led Finnish taxi companies to focus more on their brands. Unique taxi lights are a very important part of this, and Pointguard has helped several Finnish companies develop new roof lights. We are seeing the same trend in several other countries and are ready to help bring more brands to life on taxi roofs.
Funding secured for pilot project with Pointguard's mobile sensor platform iFleetsense
Another exciting piece of news from this year is that we have received funding from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency to carry out a pilot project in which a number of Pointguard and Upwis iFleetsense units will be operated in Växjö to demonstrate the benefits of mobile sensor systems.
New cloud-based taxi camera system – iFleetcamOne of this year's new products is our new camera system for the taxi industry: iFleetcam. In addition to drastically improved image quality, these cameras have a range of new features such as geotagging of images, remote support/remote configuration, real-time traffic tracking, support for driving analysis, and more.
Pointguard's Christmas gift 2018Every year, Pointguard gives a Christmas gift to charity to help those in need. Last year's Christmas gift to Kiva.org has so far provided new opportunities for over 30 entrepreneurs in 20 developing countries. Since that gift has had such a positive impact, we have decided to make another donation to Kiva so that many more entrepreneurs can help themselves and others out of poverty.
Finally, we would like to thank all our customers, suppliers, and partners for a great year
and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
