This Week’s Product Pick

Denso ADC (Long Beach, CA) introduced its new barcode terminal, the BHT-710BWB-WM, which features Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.1. This new device features 624-MHz processing, 128 MB of RAM, 802.11a/b/g WLAN, Bluetooth, and up to 12 hours of continuous wireless communication from one battery charge. Advanced image-scanning software ensures reliable reading of high-density or poorly printed one-dimensional barcodes, while depth of field and rapid response scanning improves operator accuracy, according to the vendor. A drop-resistant magnesium-alloy frame, tested to survive falls of five feet, gives the device high durability. Other notable features include 3.5-inch QVGA color LCD touchscreen, high-speed display graphics, lightweight design, and VoIP control for voice picking. Target markets span retail, supply chain, and healthcare. “Denso ADC is constantly striving to offer our customers the latest technology,” declared John Doran, Senior Manager, Commercial and Industrial Systems. “Our new BHT-710BWB-WM barcode terminal gives them the Windows Mobile smart-device features they need to increase their efficiency and productivity.”

Denso’s Windows Mobile Barcode Terminal

Worth Your While

RetailNOW 2010
Retail Solutions Providers Association
July 25-28
Las Vegas

NACS Show
National Association of Convenience Stores
October 5-8
Atlanta

CTIA Enterprise & Applications
CTIA-The Wireless Association
October 6-8
San Francisco

AIM Expo
Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility
November 1-3
Chicago

Customer Engagement Technology World
(Formerly KioskCom & The Digital Signage Show)
November 10-11
New York

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Dueling Scanners at Motorola

Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions (Schaumburg, IL) broadened its product portfolio with two new models, the DS6878 cordless imager for point of service and the DS6707-HC healthcare-specific handheld imager. As premium products in Motorola’s general-purpose scanning portfolio, the DS6878 series, which includes Models DS6878-SR and DS6878-DL, incorporates the company’s SE4500 high-performance scan engine, hands-free presentation cradle, and Bluetooth technology. The DS6878-SR handles one and two-dimensional barcodes, including PDF-417, on labels and mobile phone displays. On its part, the DS6878-DL adds the parsing agent required to read U.S. driver’s licenses. Applications include age verification, returns monitoring, and auto-population of credit and loyalty cards.

By contrast, the DS6707-HC imager was specifically designed for hospitals and clinics to automate data capture at the point of care to reduce errors in medication administration, specimen collection, patient admission, and dietary management. It combines the functionality of barcode scanner, digital camera, and document scanner, and complements its predecessor DS6878-HC cordless imager. The scanner housing comes disinfectant-ready; in addition, the charging cradle conveniently mounts to standard medical carts.

Both of these new imagers are supported by Motorola’s Remote Scanner Management (RSM), enabling enterprise IT organizations to configure, deploy, and provision fleets of devices across facilities from one centralized location. Back at the front end, superior motion tolerance in the DS6878 improves scanning performance on virtually any type of barcode, according to the manufacturer. In the case of the DS6707-HC, its unique aiming pattern ensures the intended product barcode gets captured properly.

Motorola DS6878 Cordless Imager

Caltron: An LED Shall Lead Us

Caltron Industries (Fremont, CA) unveiled its new product line of LED backlight open-frame monitors, designated FBT-1042O, in both regular and touchscreen versions. The sub-assemblies offer cost-effective, flexible platforms for digital signage, as either stand-alone or OEM, according to the manufacturer. A wide range of inputs have been incorporated, such as DVI, Composite Video, S-Video, BNC, and Serial/USB, and the two touchscreen models encompass five-wire resistive (LBT-1042OTEAR) and surface acoustic wave (LBT-1042OTEASU) technologies.

Regarding performance, Caltron’s LBT-1042O offers 74% greater brightness while drawing only 27% more power when compared to traditional cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) backlight architectures. In addition to this energy efficiency, which doubles or triples panel life span, manufacturing does not involve mercury. Finally, for challenging environments, operating temperature range for the LBT-1042O has been extended to -30 to +85 degrees C (versus the typical 0 to +50 degrees C).

“It wasn’t too long ago that most digital signage used bulky tube designs,” observed Jim Wang, Caltron’s President. “Thanks to LED technology, we now can get better specifications in more versatile, thin, environmentally friendly designs. It’s the digital signage commercial and industrial end-users have always deserved.”

FBT-1042O Open-Frame Digital Signage Monitor

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PARTNER PROGRAMS

ScanSource Turns Camera on IP Video

ScanSource Security (Greenville, SC) has unlocked the second-half schedule for its 2010 Solution Series, the distributor’s multi-city educational road show for dealers and resellers of IP video. These free seminars will be presented in select locations from June to December, with this year’s curriculum moving beyond the basics of implementing IP solutions to more focused, sophisticated opportunities, according to ScanSource. Sponsors include industry-leading vendor partners, who provide educational offerings unique to their product sets.

“Since the inception of our company, we have worked hard to educate and inform our dealer and reseller partners about the benefits and opportunities of offering IP solutions through our past IP workshops,” commented Tony Sorrentino, VP of Sales, ScanSource Security. “We believe these events have been very helpful to the dealer community, and we are now offering more advanced courses to help our customers as their businesses progress and evolve, just as the security industry continues to do.”

The 2010 Solution Series covers four themes: “How to Create the Complete IP Video Solution” by Sony Security, OnSSI, and Intransa; “Improving the Case for Video Surveillance in Retail” by BVI Networks and Axis; “Advanced IP Wireless Solution Training” by Arecont, Exacq, Firetide, and Paxton; and “Leveraging H.264 (MPEG-4 Part 10) for Video Surveillance Solutions” by Panasonic System Networks Company and Extreme Networks. Video Surveillance in Retail next takes place in Atlanta on June 17, Advanced IP in Phoenix on June 22, and Leveraging H.264 in Beltsville, MD on June 23. For more information on the complete schedule, or to register, click here.

Ingram Micro Seeds the Cloud

As part of its first Cloud Summit, held this week in Dallas, Ingram Micro (Santa Ana, CA) has announced Cloud Conduit, its structure for bringing together VARs, MSPs, and vendors with mutual interest in cloud computing. In support, the distributor has forged relationships with leading enablers Amazon Web Services, Rackspace Hosting, and salesforce.com. Moreover, it will chair an industry advocacy group called the Cloud Conduit Advisory Council, which adds CA, Citrix Systems, McAfee, and Microsoft to the previously cited founding members.

Cloud Conduit will provide Ingram Micro partners with service offerings such as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), educational tools, and business development resources, according to the distributor. The new program works in conjunction with Ingram Micro’s Seismic managed service, cloud, and SaaS efforts. Simultaneously, Ingram Micro has been authorized as VMware Service Provider Program (VSPP) Aggregator, meaning it offers channel partners access to the VMware pay-as-you-go licensing model and supporting help-desk and marketing assistance in the area of virtualization.

“With the advent of cloud computing comes tremendous opportunity for our channel partners to add high-value managed solutions and services from the cloud into their services portfolio and ultimately earn more business,” stated Jason Beal, Director, Service Sales, Ingram Micro North America. “Ingram Micro introduced the Cloud Conduit to help our channel partners take advantage of and maximize the business opportunities the cloud brings to the table.” According to Marc Rachiele, Director of Vendor Management and Marketing for Ingram Micro’s Data Capture/POS Division, VARs have expressed great interest in this area.

Jason Beal, Director, Service Sales, Ingram Micro North America

Code Corner

Celerant Technology (Staten Island, NY) enhanced e-commerce capabilities for its retail store software suite with its new content management system, abbreviated as CMS. This new module simplifies the task of editing web content, allowing updates to be made quickly and easily with little technical knowledge, according to the developer, and with unlimited access to news articles, press releases, images, and videos. Blogs can be created to increase interplay between the retailer and its consumers, with related promotions linked back to dedicated product pages. Moreover, brand pages may be generated for maximum visibility on the web, complete with customized headers and search engine optimization tags. “Our new, customized CMS enables effortless content authoring and provides an advanced tool to easily promote your web marketing activities,” proffered Ian Goldman, CEO/President. “The CMS ensures that website content is kept fresh and up-to-date.” Celerant’s package spans POS, inventory management, and back office. The company has also been named Microsoft Certified Partner for the Mid-Market for 2010/2011.

ClickSoftware Technologies (Burlington, MA) launched Mobility Suite Version 8.1.1. This new solution combines the power of sophisticated mobile applications with the flexibility of an enterprise-class system, built on top of an expandable platform, according to its developer. Aligning customized business needs with hardware usability requirements, configuration tools, and integration models allows the technology to mature with changing business rules. Devices supported range from laptops, to PDAs, to smart phones. Specific enhancements include optimized user interface, emergency handling mechanisms, mobile widget support, single click functionality, dynamic form scripting capabilities, and integration with SAP NetWeaver. “We have listened carefully to our customers and industry analysts and our latest release enhances key areas such as location awareness services, support for touchscreen devices, widgets, and, of course, tight integration to back-end systems,” emphasized Hannan Carmeli, President/COO of ClickSoftware. “Businesses can fulfill their mobility needs both today--and long down the road--with this solution well ahead of the steep innovation curve of ever-changing mobile technology and platforms.”

INTEGRATION

Zebra’s Packaged Productivity

Zebra Technologies Corporation (Lincolnshire, IL) shipped its new RW 420 Print Station, which takes its existing road palette one step further by fully integrating the RW 420 thermal printer into its ergonomic molded shell supporting Motorola’s MC70 and MC75 handheld terminals, battery pack,  and power charging electronics. Model RW4-PS measures approximately 11 in. x 8 in. x 3 in., weighs 3.25 lbs., employs RS-232 Serial, USB, and Bluetooth, and meets IP-54 environmental ratings. Zebra reportedly engaged companies such as Andrews Distributing, one of the most successful beer distributors/wholesalers in North America, for advice on features and design.

Zebra’s RW 420 mobile receipt printer delivers 203-dpi resolution, maximum print width of four inches, and 76 mm/second print speed. Media loading for the RW4-PS system remains the same, with the latch release button on the left side of the printer. In addition, the printer control panel has buttons for power on/off and media feed functions and an LCD display for operations status and application prompts. An MSR slot has been provided for direct store delivery and field service.

“The Zebra RW 420 Print Station increases worker output and maximizes efficiencies to the supply chain,” declared Marty Johnson, Product Marketing Manager, Zebra Technologies. “This new product helps the mobile worker visit more customers, reduces service call time, and relieves the burden of carrying multiple devices and products or making multiple trips to the vehicle.”

RW 420 Print Station Integrates Mobile Printer, Handheld, and Battery

[Editor’s Note:  Elsewhere, Zebra noted that it has sold more than 125 million of its “Z-band” patient I.D. wristbands worldwide, with more than half of that total in the last 18 months. “This increase can be directly tied to the dramatic rise in the adoption rate of bedside barcode medication administration,” reported Anders Gustafsson, Zebra’s CEO.]

Hawkeye on Patrol at Unified Grocers

Unified Grocers, the largest retailer-owned grocery cooperative in the Western U.S., now recommends the retail video-auditing solution from Agilence (Camden, NJ), neatly dubbed Hawkeye. This patented, item-level synchronization software pulls data directly from the POS and marries individual scans and key punches with video in real time. It enables retailers to view 50 times more transactions per day, allowing them to detect issues immediately, before they can cause significant losses, according to the two parties.

Just this week, Agilence fielded Hawkeye 4.0 with Automatic Sweetheart Detection (ASD) and Human On Transaction (HOT). Using ASD, retailers may configure Hawkeye to run advanced queries to detect unauthorized discounting of merchandise in common areas such as the bagging station or self-checkout terminals. Through HOT, the software can also determine whether customers are present during transactions. Used in concert, these technologies help retailers identify valid non-scans while also pinpointing activities such as associate return fraud and incorrect voids.

“We’re pleased to add Agilence’s Hawkeye solution to our retail technology offering,” said Brian Legate, Manager, Preferred Point-of-Sale Programs, Retail Technology, Unified Grocers. “Several of our retailers who have implemented this solution have provided us with very positive feedback. The ROI model for this technology is impressive and we feel this solution can benefit our independent retailers’ bottom line.”

Watching Every Item Scan and Key Punch

Key Advertiser Links

Be sure to visit these vendors for the latest in channel products and offers for resellers.

POS & Auto ID Distribution
BlueStar

POS & Peripherals
Logic Controls
Posiflex Business Machines
POS-X

Barcode & Mobile Printers
Datamax-O'Neil

Barcode & Transaction Printers CognitiveTPG

Cash Drawers
APG Cash Drawer
MMF Cash Drawer

Data Collection Terminals
CipherLab
Datalogic Mobile
Datalogic Scanning
Janam Technologies

Data Collection Software
Wavelink

Integrated Payment Solutions
Datacap Systems
Payment Processing, Inc.

Keyboards
Cherry Electrical Systems

Receipt Printers
Bixolon America
Citizen Systems America
Epson America
Star Micronics

Screen Protection
3M Optical Filters

Self-Service Kiosks
Zebra/Motorola

Thermal Printers
Seiko Instruments USA

Video Surveillance & Access Control
ScanSource Security

ALLIANCES

InfoPrint “Sources” More MICR

InfoPrint Solutions Company (Boulder, CO), in conjunction with Source Technologies (Charlotte, NC), has launched the InfoPrint 1822 MICR and 1832 MICR printer models for check and secure document applications. This announcement reinforces InfoPrint Solutions’ ongoing relationship with Source Technologies as the exclusive distributor of its MICR-enabled workgroup printers, according to the two parties. InfoPrint, as many RRN.Com readers may remember, represents the joint venture between IBM and Ricoh to address digital output solutions.

The InfoPrint 1822 MICR features compact footprint, 300-sheet input capacity, and standard duplex functionality. It brings print speed of up to 40 pages per minute (ppm), time to first page as fast as 6.5 seconds, and 64-MB of standard memory. Conversely, the InfoPrint 1832 MICR addresses higher throughput and security requirements with print speed of 45 ppm, 500-MHz processing, 128-MB of standard memory, and optional internal duplex. It also includes 250-sheet standard input drawer with 100-page multi-purpose feeder and achieves time to first page as fast as 7.5 seconds.

“Our continued collaboration with InfoPrint Solutions adds depth to our existing secure printer solutions set and ultimately offers our customers a wider range of secure printing tools,” remarked Sarah Burkhart, Source Technologies’ Director of Marketing. “Source Technologies offers check or secure-document printing solutions to an expansive user base. These innovative printers from InfoPrint Solutions combat fraud and represent an important instrument in any company’s data security arsenal. The InfoPrint 1822 MICR and 1832 MICR offer more robust performance than their predecessors while incorporating more environmental conservation features.”

InfoPrint 1832 MICR for Check and Secure Document Printing

Psion Teklogix Hit By Mobile Tornado

Psion Teklogix (Hebron, KY) will resell and support “Push-To-Talk,” or PT2, from Mobile Tornado (Harrogate, U.K.) on its rugged mobile computers. Customers of Psion Teklogix will also be able to track employees in the field with Mobile Technology’s “Push-To-Locate,” as well as send instantaneous alerts in the event of an emergency with “Push-To-Alert,” thereby gaining an overall increase in workforce efficiency and safety. Under terms of the new agreement, Mobile Tornado will run the overall infrastructure and platform for the service portfolio.

“Our partnership with Psion Teklogix will allow us to further extend our software to organizations that want the convenience of instant communication, but require the ruggedness and reliability that Psion Teklogix handhelds provide,” indicated Marcus Warren, Sales Director of Mobile Services at Mobile Tornado, which has its U.S. office in Plano, TX. “We look forward to working with Psion Teklogix to expand the use of our software in these industrial markets.”

“Mobile Tornado’s innovative Push-To-Talk technology enables us to offer our customers higher levels of functionality on our Psion Teklogix handhelds and eliminates the need for workers to carry multiple devices,” explained Dave Peddemors, VP of North American Sales at Psion Teklogix. “The addition of this service on our rugged computers extends their value in the field and helps to save organizations even more money by streamlining communications and tracking.”

Adding “Push-To-Talk” to Rugged Computing Menu

Channel Factoid

Let’s hear some good news. CB Richard Ellis Group, one of the prominent commercial real estate services firms, has reported that 70% of its retailers feel the economy is improving, and fully 92% plan to increase store openings this year. About one-third (34%) said business already was improving in their segments, including apparel and accessories, telecommunications, electronics, and home improvement. Another 60% expect an interval of six to 18 months before their segment of the retail market feels the benefits of the recovery. Roughly 73% of respondents negotiated tenant improvements with their landlords in the past year. Of those, 65% reported rent reductions were the most common incentive, followed by limited tenant improvements to space and the right to terminate early. Finally, 70% use social networks in an attempt to increase branding and marketing of products, but only 38% feel certain the efforts are adding value. More than half (56%) said it was too early to measure the effect.

HELLO GOODBYE

New Chiefs Rove RedPrairie

RedPrairie Corporation (Milwaukee) has appointed Joe Juliano as President, Americas, and Doug Braun as President, Global Operations, both reporting to CEO, Mike Mayoras. In his new position, Juliano will be responsible for the company’s sales and services organization in his region. He comes to RedPrairie with over 20 years of leadership experience in the technology sector, most recently as CEO of PrimeRevenue, Inc., one of the leading supply chain finance providers.

Braun, who has worked at RedPrairie for 16 years, will focus on three objectives in his new role: coordinating product development with sales and services, growing the scope of hosted and managed services, and creating the consistent framework for delivery of services, according to the company. “RedPrairie is in the position to take customer-focused development and delivery to the next level,” Braun remarked.

“Strong and effective leaders are critical to the growth of our company and I’m pleased to welcome Joe to RedPrairie and announce Doug’s new role,” said Mayoras. “Throughout their careers, Joe and Doug have successfully built high-performing teams that are extremely customer-focused. Both have the keen sense of how technology can make businesses more productive, competitive, and efficient--and I look forward to working with them in their new roles.”

Joe Juliano, President, Americas at RedPrairie

Beefed Up Business Development at Paymetric

Paymetric, Inc. (Alpharetta, GA), provider of integrated payment acceptance solutions, has recruited Stephen Wecksler as its new VP of Business Development. Wecksler joins the Paymetric team with more than 10 years experience in the financial services industry. Most recently, he served as EVP of FirstView LLC, the prepaid debit card and e-billing solutions provider. Previous employers have included MCI/Worldcom, Andersen Consulting (now Accenture), and RBS WorldPay.

“We are very excited to add Steve to the Paymetric team,” shared Larry Wine, CEO. “His proven experience in the financial industry strongly positions us as true leaders during this exciting time in our company’s growth. Steve has jumped on board with great enthusiasm and I’m confident his extensive knowledge of channel sales and seasoned customer relations will prove most lucrative.”

Earlier this year, Paymetric selected Support One (Golden, CO) as the master reseller and service provider for its XiPay On-Demand automated credit card processing solution built specifically for SAP Business One. “With this partnership, we offer new revenue opportunities to VARs,” commented Jason Sproles, President of Support One. Before coming to Paymetric, interestingly, Larry Wine enjoyed tenures as President of both RBS WorldPay and Moneris.