NEW YORK (AP) - When Verizon Wireless announced in November that it would open up its network to any company that wanted to make a device for it, industry watchers had visions of innovative features like cheap international calls and Google applications.

But the very first device to take advantage of the open network is decidedly less sexy, and it appears to be setting the tone for the first generation of gadgets on the network.

A wireless device from SupplyNet Communications, a 21-employee firm in Schaumburg, Ill., has been certified under Verizon's Open Development Initiative, the companies confirmed Thursday.

The battery-powered modem connects to a sensor that dips into large storage containers, like construction-site diesel tanks or tanks of shortening at a food factory. When a tank runs low, the modem zips off a text message to SupplyNet, which alerts the customer that it needs a refill.

It's an example of a so-called M2M or machine-to-machine application, where an automated system, like an alarm or a temperature gauge, reports its observations to a control center.

"Most of the devices that we are seeing are of the machine-to-machine type," said Tony Lewis, Verizon Wireless' vice president of open development.

The company has had "a couple of conversations" with some companies that are developing consumer cell phones under the program, Lewis said, but he doesn't know when those will come out.

Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group Plc., expected the first open-network products to be M2M devices because they fit well with the "barebones" model of the program. The carrier will sell wireless service wholesale for the devices, but won't provide customer support.

The Open Development Initiative was a substantial surprise when Verizon Wireless announced it in November. Before that, Verizon Wireless was known for keeping its network closed to devices it sold itself. It fought regulatory initiatives to force carriers to open up, saying that it needed to guard the integrity and reliability of its network against rogue devices.

But after the Federal Communications Commission announced it would apply an "open access" requirement to a section of desirable wireless spectrum set to be auctioned, Verizon Wireless announced it would open its doors to any device that passed a brief technical qualification process. It later bought most of the spectrum.

Dave Burstein, editor of the DSL Prime telecommunications newsletter, speculated in November that the carrier's "wonderful" new approach could lead to phones with innovative features like extremely cheap international calling or exceptionally long battery life.

Those phones have yet to show up, and in a sense, the ODI represents Verizon Wireless catching up to policies already in place at other carriers. For instance, it's already relatively easy for M2M companies to use AT&T Inc.'s network.

SupplyNet manages 25,000 wireless modems on different carriers, according to Bernie Crump, vice president of sales and marketing. The newly certified modem will be the first to take advantage of Verizon Wireless' coverage.

Before ODI, getting approval to use a device on Verizon Wireless' network took "divine intervention," Crump said. The ODI process was a challenge, too - at one point, one Verizon Wireless office undid what another had just done - but overall the process worked, and it's been less than four months since the carrier published its specifications.

Another maker of M2M modems, Multi-Tech Systems Inc., is also participating in the ODI process. Its products are used in cash registers, medical devices, digital signboards and building alarms.

"We're very optimistic about their direction," said Duane Wald, a sales manager at Multi-Tech. The privately held Mounds View, Minn., company is larger than SupplyNet, but does less than $100 million in business each year.

SupplyNet's Crump is excited about the extra coverage afforded by Verizon Wireless. Competing carriers often don't have the rural coverage that it does, he said. In a year, 25 percent to 30 percent of the modems it ships could be using the Verizon Wireless network.

"We've already taken Verizon units out to these locations where we know we're having trouble, and we know we're having coverage there, so we're very confident that this will address some of our problems," he said.

As for sexy consumer gadgets, Crump can wait. M2M sensors save fuel, time and money.

"The difference between this and a cool consumer gadget is that this is practical," Crump said.