Beyond the Device: Push to Talk with RAM & AINA

Caramie Huntington (AINA) and Kyle Lonzak from RAM Mounts join Reid Estreicher on the Beyond the Device podcast to share how they have joined forces to create a best in class Push-to-Talk bundle available through 3Eye Technologies.

AINA is compatible with all major PTT applications, enabling instant communication in and around the vehicle while providing clear and crisp audio quality, amplifying all media sounds through a Bluetooth connection. This extremely rugged and water-resistant wireless microphone stays in constant charge, provided by an in-vehicle charging cradle. Designed and manufactured in Europe, a 2-year warranty is included on the microphone when purchased alongside a charging cradle.

Designed and manufactured in America, RAM® Mounts is trusted by the nation’s largest transportation fleets and OEM’s. RAM® offers a lifetime warranty on mounts and a 3-year warranty on electronics.

Hosted by:

Reid Estreicher, VP of Business Development, 3Eye Technologies
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thereid/

Guests:
Caramie Huntington, Sr. Enterprise Sales Manager
https://www.linkedin.com/in/caramie/

Kyle Lonzak, Business Development Manager at RAM Mounts
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-m-lonzak-12364520/

Transcript

Reid Estreicher (00:05):

And in three, two, one we are live. And by live I mean we are prerecording this in case we make any mistakes we can edit them out for you guys later. Of course we're not going to do that because we're joined today with the fantastic Caramie Huntington and Kyle Lonzak, from team AINA and RAM Mounts respectively. Guys, thank you so much for joining us for another episode of Beyond The Device.

 We have a really cool thing for you today. We've done a lot of episodes in the past with a single vendor, talking about maybe some solutions they're bringing to market, but this is the first multi-vendor solution and it's a pretty awesome one. Specifically we're going to be talking about the RAM Mounts ... Excuse me, the push-to-talk solution powered by AINA. The RAM Mounts' push-to-talk solution powered by AINA. Third time's a charm. The RAM Mounts' push-to-talk solution powered by AINA. There it is, that's what we're talking about. I know Kyle and I know Caramie but before we get into it let's do a round of introductions, and talk a little bit at a high level about RAM and about the AINA push-to-talk solution, and how they are joining forces to create a really awesome bundle for the market. So to start, Caramie, over to you. Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you do for AINA? And then I'll turn it over to Kyle.

Caramie Huntington (01:09):

Yeah, thank you for the warm introduction. My name's Caramie Huntington. I am the senior enterprise sales manager for the US sales here at AINA. So basically kind of managing the sales endeavors here in the US and trying to bring on great partners such as yourselves.

Reid Estreicher (01:31):

Thank you very much. Mr. Lonzak, what do you do for RAM? Tell us about yourself?

Kyle Lonzak (01:35):

Thank you. Yeah, my name is Kyle Lonzak. I'm a business development manager here at RAM Mounts. My focus with the company is on transportation, logistics, and then do a little bit in utilities and manufacturing as well.

Reid Estreicher (01:49):

Thank you, sir. All right, so you guys have come together ... I always talk about this offline, the Marvel Cinematic Universe analogy. You've got your origin story with RAM, we've got one with AINA, but they've joined forces for the MCU to create like their version of the Avenger product, which is pretty awesome. It's a push-to-talk solution. It's centered around RAM from a mounting perspective and there's all kinds of your mobile devices that we have at our disposal. We actually have Ambrose Bragg with us as well, live in studio, who's going to be doing a demo for us to be able to show you the product and what it is because we don't want to just talk about it. We want to show it to you guys as well. But before we get into that first over to AINA and then over to RAM, can you tell us just a little bit ... Maybe for anybody who's coming into this blind, a little bit about AINA just at a super high level? And then, Kyle, over to you. And then we'll talk about the solution.

Caramie Huntington (02:33):

Yeah, absolutely. So we did another podcast that you guys can check out also, with 3Eye, talking kind of giving the real nitty-gritty with regards to what push-to-talk is. But just as a kind of quick overview push-to-talk it's a lot like it sounds, you push to communicate. It's for instant communications. Much like a radio but this would be going over a cellular or some kind of IP, so whether that ... That could be a Wi-Fi as well. So push-to-talk if you kind of remember the old Nextel phones they were the pioneers of push-to-talk over cellular. They created a phone, you had to have a specific Nextel phone. You had to be on the Nextel network, but you could push-to-talk much like a walkie talkie or a radio over a cellular network, so you could talk to anybody. You could end up in someone's pocket beep beeping them from anywhere.

 So, that's kind of the idea behind push-to-talk. Only now it's kind of broadened into a much bigger. It can go over any cellular network. It can go over Wi-Fi. It can be on any device or any cellular connected device, or Wi-Fi connected device. So that's kind of what push-to-talk is.

Reid Estreicher (03:48):

Awesome. Yeah, so all of the convenience of push-to-talk with the ubiquitous nature, or the ubiquity, of LTE?

Caramie Huntington (03:54):

Correct. Yeah.

Reid Estreicher (03:57):

For example. Mr. Lonzak, tell us a little bit about RAM Mounts 

Kyle Lonzak (04:00):

Yeah. So we've also had the privilege of being able to do some podcasts with you to talk about our product and where we come from. But the short of it we were founded in '92. We're based out of Seattle, Washington. We're a designer and manufacturer of mounting solutions for rugged environments. So in the space of push-to-talk we partnered with AINA, who's one of the pioneers in the space with the leading product, to be able to bring to market a solution that pairs their product as well as ours. Mounting solutions for tablets, phones, cameras, laptops. But particularly to this for tablets to be able to run that push-to-talk in any sort of vehicle application.

Reid Estreicher (04:41):

Awesome. And I just want to highlight one quick thing here because we're experiencing ... Okay, in case you're not aware there's a logistics issue overseas with shipping. But I wanted to highlight the fact that ... Specifically out of one country in particular. But I just want to highlight that where this is manufactured is not in China. It's actually assembled, and made, in both the United States and in Europe, correct?

Caramie Huntington (05:04):

Correct. Yeah. AINA's manufactured in Estonia and some parts are done in Finland.

Reid Estreicher (05:10):

Okay. Awesome. And then, Kyle, of course RAM is a heavy manufacturer for the US.

Kyle Lonzak (05:16):

Yeah, all of our die cast, powder coating, rubber-plastic injection, then all of our assembly is all done here in the South Seattle area.

Reid Estreicher (05:24):

Awesome. So let's talk about true mobility because you guys ... Again, you have this push-to-talk solution, it's pretty awesome. Ambrose is going to be showing us a demo of that live here in just a sec but let's talk about just high level a couple key call-outs. We really focused on true mobility. You guys are not wired physically with the device. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Caramie Huntington (05:47):

Sure. As far as the AINA solution what we're bringing to the table is specifically the speaker-microphone solution that would be paired with the ... In the bundles that we've put together so far would be with a Samsung device, so Samsung tablet or phone. But really it could be paired with a myriad of different ... Basically any device that has Bluetooth on it. And RAM Mounts makes mounts for all of them and then some.

Reid Estreicher (06:19):

For every one of them.

Caramie Huntington (06:20):

Yeah. For every single one of them and then some. So our device ... And I actually have an example here. It's just a specific Bluetooth speaker-microphone. It pairs with the device and enables you to be able to communicate through the application of your choosing, the push-to-talk application of your choosing, through that device without having to actually engage with the device. And, as you mentioned, it is a wireless solution which provides pretty robust mobility in being able to keep the device in said mount and being able to still be in communication.

Reid Estreicher (06:55):

Yeah, especially if you have to take that out of the vehicle for ... I mean, if you're doing in-vehicle inspections fine, but if you're just tethered to the dash then you need to be mobile, then that's a problem because how long can you make one of those cords?

Caramie Huntington (07:07):

Yeah.

Reid Estreicher (07:07):

So, Kyle, over to you. Again, we kind of touched on it but from a RAM Mounts' perspective, the actual case around the mobile device, you guys have just about everything you could possibly imagine. And I know that both AINA and you guys have looked at ... Was it Sonim and Kyocera? Am I speaking out of turn? I think there's some other brands out there from a communication's perspective for this solution?

Kyle Lonzak (07:28):

Yeah. No, you're absolutely right. I mean, to Caramie's point anything that has a Bluetooth connection, can be run over an LTE or a Wi-Fi signal, we can be able to tap into. We have universal mounting solutions to be able to hold just about anything that's produced, but then we make a variety of different IntelliSkin products that are form factor specific. And the beauty of that would allow you to ruggedize a tablet or a phone, be able to mount it, charge it in the vehicle but then, like the AINA mic, allows you to easily un-dock that product, and be able to take it and keep it mobile with you.

So, Reid, to your point being able to do pre or post-trip vehicle inspections; pupil transportation; drivers having to get up, check the bus to make sure that there's no student left behind or anything after they complete their route; being able to get outside the vehicle, take a look at the lug nuts, the tires, the brakes, make sure that everything is ready to go before they head out or after they get done with the trip they can take the device with them. We make accessories like hand straps to be able to go on the back of our IntelliSkins, so it's much more easy to actually hold the device while you're out mobile. You can take pictures with that device. You can also call back to the shop on the wireless mic that you have with you. So it's just all about mobility with the product. When a driver gets back they can put it back into the docking stations, for both the mic and the device, to be able to hold it, charge it, and then be off and rolling.

Reid Estreicher (08:55):

Yeah. Again, super convenient and true mobility. I just want to really hammer on that. If you guys are either in the vehicle or around the vehicle, and Caramie showed that a minute ago but it's just that little handheld mic. It's the same thing you would find on an officer's shoulder. It's that same type of LMR device. But, again, it's wireless and it's just working Bluetooth with the tablet or with the handheld mobile device, rather, I should say.

One other piece I wanted to talk about was warranty because I think this is very important. Perhaps the Samsung device that's going in ... I don't want people to think that's it's consumer-grade technology and it's just a 30-day or a one-year. So can you guys ... Maybe, Kyle, over to you first. Can you talk a little bit about the warranty stuff? Because I know this is very important for fleet organizations. They're not just deploying something that's going to get destroyed in a short period of time.

Kyle Lonzak (09:46):

Yeah. No, it's backed by a robust warranty. So all of our electronic products from RAM are all backed with a three-year warranty. And then all of the mechanicals, the mounts themselves, are all backed with a lifetime warranty.

Reid Estreicher (09:59):

Very cool.

Caramie Huntington (10:00):

Yeah. And when it comes to the AINA portion of it it's a two-year warranty on the parts that would be considered in this bundle. So it would be the speaker-microphone itself and the compatible charger that would be mounted on that RAM mount.

Reid Estreicher (10:14):

Awesome. Yeah, and that's ... Actually I'm glad you brought up the charger. You think this wouldn't be a thing but it's unfortunately a thing. The tablet, when you dock it, you're looking at pogo pins. You're not taking a cable and jamming it in the back of the device over, and over, and over, so there's ... I mean, this is a true B2B solution. You're not going to wear out the ports. Same thing with AINA, there's actually pins on the back when you drop that in that's charging. So you are both charging the devices as well as being able to use them from a mobile perspective. So I know sometimes people deploy things in vehicle and they got as far as deploying it in the vehicle but they don't have a way to charge it throughout the day, which is kind of insane but it's just an oversight. It does happen. But these things do charge when they're in the vehicle as well. So I'm sure someone's probably going to bring that up.

 And then I know ... Some of the conversation we've been having around this FirstNet's very excited about this, and AINA over to you first and then we'll jump over to Ambrose. But can you talk a little bit about the applications that AINA supports for FirstNet?

Caramie Huntington (11:13):

Yeah, sure. Just quickly, first and foremost, there are FirstNet-approved devices as well. AINA is listed on those. Specifically our speaker-microphone is listed, as well as the charger is listed as a FirstNet-approved device, so you can ... We can drop a link to that too also in the comments on this as well.

Reid Estreicher (11:32):

In the description.

Caramie Huntington (11:33):

Yeah, in the description or ... Yeah. But then additionally we are approved to work with a myriad of different push-to-talk applications that are FirstNet-approved applications. So whether that's AT&T's EPTT, the FirstNet PTT application, ESChat, TEAM Connect, Tango Tango, Costa. There's a whole list of them. And, again, I can also drop a link to those where you can find those also on the FirstNet webpage. But basically I think there's only maybe like one or two little ones that we don't ... Aren't-

Reid Estreicher (12:12):

Currently supporting?

Caramie Huntington (12:12):

Yeah, currently supporting but that doesn't mean-

Reid Estreicher (12:12):

As of June 15, 2022. Just in case-

Caramie Huntington (12:12):

Correct. Yeah, yeah.

Reid Estreicher (12:13):

... someone's watching this and it's three months from now.

Caramie Huntington (12:17):

Yeah, but it's ... Yeah, I think it's like two out of 15 or something like that. So we've got a pretty good ratio there.

Reid Estreicher (12:24):

All right, so near ubiquitous support. And how many times can you say ubiquitous in this? I think I'm up to six right now.

Kyle Lonzak (12:29):

At least once more.

Reid Estreicher (12:33):

Yeah, at least once more. That brings us over to the demo. Let's go see the ubiquitous demo over ... No, I'm kidding. No, but we're going to go over to Ambrose and we'll cut over to him right now for a demo of the actual product, which is very cool. Ambrose, over to you sir.

Ambrose Bragg (12:46):

Thanks, Reid. I have two bundles to show you. First we have the Samsung A7 Lite. This one uses the RAM Tough-Dock. Then we have the AINA Voice Responder mounted vertically using the mic bracket. The other bundle is the Samsung Active series. This one uses the EZ-Roll'r. Here we have the AINA Voice Responder mounted horizontally. Now these are available as a bundle or individual components if needed. Thanks everyone.

Reid Estreicher (13:19):

Thanks so much, AB, for the demo man. That was great. That brings us actually to the wrap-up and closing comments. I know this is going to be a quick one for you guys. Like I said, RAM's already had their story, AINA's had their story, they're joining forces to create this really powerful push-to-talk solution for anything like people transport, utilities, anything in vehicle. I mean, I don't know, Kyle if you want to do wrap-up and closing comments? Maybe talk a little bit about the verticals, where the applicability is? Same thing over to you, Caramie.

Kyle Lonzak (13:48):

Yeah. So, I mean, really anything obviously the push-to-talk would be centered in. So, as you mentioned, student ridership is huge. Pupil transportation, utilities. You know we see a lot in the concrete aggregate industries for use of push-to-talk. Caramie and I have spoken a lot about this, but you have a lot to be done in schools with just being able to take the mic and use it outside of the vehicle as well for different use cases. So, I mean, think even in shop, mechanics, anything like that where mobile communication is needed. Being able to utilize that device for different workflows and things. So, again, we're really excited to be partnered with AINA and have this bundle available through 3Eye for our solutions. And really excited to see what we're able to do in the marketplace with having a true wireless, true mobile-style push-to-talk. Yeah.

Reid Estreicher (14:37):

Thank you, sir.

Caramie Huntington (14:37):

Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I would have to parrot all of that really. There's also ... You know think of some instances or different places too, like maybe manufacturing or things where they would have these mounted in different areas on maybe forklifts, or on ... There's a myriad of different places where people need to be in immediate communication. And think emergency situations as well because that's really where critical communication comes into play. There's a lot of emergency situations that are out there. And if you just think about all of the different things, all of the different types of companies that fall under the FirstNet umbrella you're really going to find a lot of different opportunity there for instant communication needs, push-to-talk type needs. So yeah, we're super excited to be partnered with one of the leading mount manufacturers out there. Very happy to be partnered with a US manufacturer as well. That's pretty cool. And really excited to bring this full bundle to your reseller base. And so excited for 3Eye to take us on. We're stoked.

Reid Estreicher (15:48):

Likewise. And we're very excited to bring this market again. Thank you guys both for doing this and I just ... Like Kyle and Caramie were saying it could be utilities, people transport, pupil transport, anything under the ... forklift. Let us know in the comment section where you think this might actually go. And also let us know in the comment section if you like the video, if you want to see more stuff like this, it always helps us. We do read the comments. And make sure you click subscribe so you can see more videos just like this one and stay in touch with us. Thank you guys so much for checking out yet another episode of Beyond the Device featuring the push-to-talk solution powered by RAM Mounts and AINA. I didn't get it right again. I got it right the first time. We're just going to leave it at that, but thanks so much for checking out this video, regardless of if you watched it on YouTube, or if you checked it out on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Be sure to check us out for the next episode, guys. We'll see you on the internet, bye.