This Week’s Product Pick

Radiant Systems (Atlanta) announced the market launch of its Radiant P1560 and P1760 POS terminals. With 15-inch and 17-inch screens, respectively, the P1560 and P1760 terminals were built to withstand challenging conditions common to the retail and hospitality industries, according to the vendor. Featuring high-brightness resistive or capacitive touchscreen, integrated stereo speakers, and encrypted MSR, the new terminals target ease of use for employees and enhanced payment security for guests. In addition, power consumption was reduced by use of the latest Intel technology, including Celeron M, Core 2 Duo, and GME965 Express. Radiant P1560 and P1760 terminals may be configured to specific operator needs and integrate with all of the company’s POS software applications. The streamlined design of the P1560 meets the variety of standard business environments, while the P1760 provides more screen surface space, as needed at host stations for better viewing of restaurant floor plans and automated management of tables. Options include powered USB ports, biometrics, and customer-facing display. “The addition of the Radiant P1560 and P1760 terminals solidifies our dedication to delivering new hardware solutions with numerous features and options while still providing fast return on investment and low cost of ownership,” declared Carlyle Taylor, President of the Hardware Division at Radiant.

P1560 from Radiant Systems

Worth Your While - 2010

NRF 99th Annual Convention & Expo
National Retail Federation
January 10-13
New York

RSPA Inspire
Retail Solutions Providers Association
February 7-10
Cancun, Mexico

Connect
Radiant Retail User Conference
February 24-26
Atlanta

Self-Service Expo & Digital Signage Show
KioskCom
April 14-15
Las Vegas

FMI
Food Marketing Institute
May 10-13
Las Vegas

NRA Show
National Restaurant Association
May 22-25
Chicago

POS Partner Invitational
Ingram Micro Data Capture/POS Division
May 26-28
Chicago

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Motorola Unwraps MC3090-Z for Retail

Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions (Holtsville, NY) has significantly expanded its business-class portfolio of RFID with the debut of its MC3090-Z handheld reader. This new device directly targets markets such as retail, professional services, and healthcare with an ergonomic, ruggedized form factor, support for Microsoft .NET 2.0 and BizTalk Server 2006 R2, and new omni-directional antenna for more accurate, rapid capture of data. Supporting Gen 2 RFID, the MC3090-Z was designed for such “carpeted-space” environments with intensive input from partners and customers, Chris Schaefer, Director, RFID Product Marketing, Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions, told RRN.Com. It complements Motorola’s industrial line of RFID readers.

“We see the MC3090-Z becoming the reader of choice and finally jump-starting the full rollout of RFID in a variety of areas where the industry hasn’t had the products to really fit the use cases that are developing,” shared Schaefer. “At the same time, we’re launching our partner recruitment effort to reintroduce RFID into the retail reseller community. A lot of those people formed their perceptions of RFID five or six years ago, well before we launched our new business line of RFID products.”

Built on the popular MC3000 platform, the MC3090-Z scans barcodes as well as reading RFID. The lightweight, gun-style device effectively integrates the company’s patented omni-directional antenna, which combines the advantages of linear polarization for long read range with circular polarization for wide coverage. In addition, by eliminating the need for alignment of the reader and tag, this dual-axis, “orientation-insensitive” configuration increases user comfort and productivity. According to Schaefer, such ease of use is critical for widespread acceptance of RFID in business environments, and not coincidentally, one of the major goals of the MC3090-Z.

Motorola’s MC3090-Z RFID Reader Embeds Omni-Directional Antenna

VeriFone: There’s An App for That

VeriFone (San Jose, CA) introduced PAYware Mobile, its complete payment processing solution for the popular Apple iPhone. Featuring both card reader and payment app, PAYware Mobile will begin shipping on January 15, 2010 and will be made available at no charge to merchants who sign up for the PAYware Mobile secure gateway service agreement. It will go to market through existing bank acquirer and ISO channels, as well as direct from VeriFone. Eventually, VeriFone expects to stock the solution wherever mobile phone accessories are sold.

“The complete PAYware Mobile solution brings secure payment capabilities to merchants who previously could not justify dedicated payment acceptance devices,” observed Douglas Bergeron, VeriFone’s CEO. “We believe this represents a potential market of millions of small businesses worldwide. PAYware Mobile leverages VeriFone’s proven payment and security expertise to provide the ultimate in end-to-end protection against payment fraud and misuse on an open and unregulated platform such as the iPhone.”

A “sleek and durable” card reader (MSR, with FIPS 140-2 firmware) slips over the iPhone to accommodate card swipes and allow merchants to avoid high-cost, card-not-present fees, according to the company. Further, VeriFone’s VeriShield Protect end-to-end encryption provides PA-DSS certification for environments such as home repair, small cafes, and door-to-door sales. Transactions will be managed through VeriFone’s PAYware Mobile secure gateway and routed to one of the many credit card processors for authorization and settlement. VeriFone said it intends to make PAYware Mobile fully available to most other processors. Not surprisingly, First Data will distribute the product right off the bat through its TASQ Technology affiliate.

PAYware Mobile Brings Payment Processing to Apple’s iPhone

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ALLIANCES

SofTechnics Calls Upon BlueStar

SofTechnics (Akron, OH), which supplies mobile pricing and inventory management solutions for the retail sector, has selected BlueStar (Florence, KY) as its exclusive mobility technology hardware distributor. This means BlueStar will provide procurement, configuration, and distribution services for all suitable Motorola and Zebra products purchased by SofTechnics’ customers. Retailers across North America utilize SofTechnics’ SoftGrocer, GeM2020, and SoftRetail solutions for controlling inventory, replenishing stock, maintaining pricing throughout the store, and managing fresh-item inventories.

“BlueStar is a solutions-based distributor that bundles our software, hardware, warranties, professional services, and leasing programs, allowing us to deliver completely configured solutions to our customers,” stated David Van Horn, VP of Operations at SofTechnics. “They are a valued partner in the industry and we are thrilled to launch this strategic relationship with them.”

“BlueStar is delighted to be selected by SofTechnics,” added Mike Byington, VP of Business Development at BlueStar. “We look forward to working with SofTechnics to offer their customers the very best in mobility products, services, and security as well as supporting SofTechnics with their business development and marketing programs.”

Merchandising and Shelf Management with Zebra Mobile Printers

[Editor’s Note:  BlueStar has announced VARTECH Nordic 2010, which will be held in Stockholm, Sweden on February 2-3. BlueStar Nordic (formerly known as ADC Nordic) thus becomes the first of BlueStar’s companies to host VARTECH in Europe.]

Sato Expands the Binderies of RFID

Sato America (Charlotte, NC) has secured exclusive rights to the Smart Guard patents of BindTech, Inc. (Nashville, TN), which cover the manufacturing process embedding RFID technology into item-level tagging for books and other hard cover products. Sato’s Integration Solutions Division will roll out the technology to its partners in North and South America over the next year. “With Sato’s RFID technology and knowledge of the publishing and entertainment industries, they made the perfect partner for Smart Guard,” said Dale Nichols, President of BindTech, one of the largest privately-owned trade bindery/book manufacturers in the U.S.

Implementing RFID technology as an automated in-line manufacturing process yields major benefits in tracking inventory, reducing theft and fraud, and reducing labor costs at the retail level, according to the two parties. It suits any hard cover product, including books, DVDs, CDs, game boards, puzzles, diaries, and ledgers. Unlike current methods used to implement RFID technology by publishers, bookstores, and libraries, the electronic ID inlay gets concealed during the manufacturing process and cannot be removed without destroying the item.

“Book publishers and other manufacturers of like products understand the economics,” commented Mike Beedles, Director, Integration Solutions Division, at Sato America. “We have been working on perfecting this process for several years with leading manufacturers and publishers and now with the process patented, we are ready to deliver savings to the many clients worldwide who have been losing revenue and dealing with issues such as price parity, counterfeiting, credit returns errors, and the need to streamline their supply chains.” Beedles described the reduction in shrinkage and fraudulent copies and returns as “astounding.”

Mike Beedles, Director, Integration Solutions Division, Sato America

Code Corner

Zebra Technologies (Lincolnshire, IL) released its ZebraLink Multiplatform SDK and Smart Phone Utility. This new application allows end-users to print directly from their BlackBerries to Zebra printers for on-demand generation of products such as field-service records, tracking tags, receipts, and healthcare specimen labels. More than 15 of Zebra’s barcode and label printers are supported by the ZebraLink Multiplatform SDK and Smart Phone Utility, which may be downloaded from the company's website. “There has been the gradual but noticeable shift to broader adoption of smartphones in mobility applications in order to lower acquisition costs and streamline processes,” said Victor Salmons, Applications Technologies Director, Zebra Technologies. “This will have significant impact on mobile workers in applications such as field sales, field service, route accounting, and others, as workers will be able to function with smartphones from virtually anywhere.”

Panini (Dayton, OH) announced support for QuickBooks 2010 and Intuit Check Solution for QuickBooks. Exploiting Remote Deposit Capture, or RDC, Panini’s hardware now allows QuickBooks users to quickly scan multiple paper checks into QuickBooks while simultaneously sending the “digital check” to their bank for electronic deposit. Intuit Check Solution for QuickBooks captures the check information and enters it into Accounts Receivable within QuickBooks. At the same time, it automatically matches check payments to invoices and archives the information. “We are very excited to offer small businesses the ability to use our Panini scanners to scan checks directly into QuickBooks,” remarked Doug Roberts, President of Panini North America. “Small businesses will benefit greatly from this new technology in terms of operational efficiencies, cost savings, and improved cash flow.”

INTEGRATION

Feeling Blue with IBM SurePOS 500

IBM Retail Store Solutions (Raleigh, NC) has deployed new heavy-duty biometric fingerprint readers from DigitalPersona on the IBM SurePOS 500 terminal beloved by resellers and solution providers. IBM has chosen the U.are.U 4500HD embedded sensor, designed expressly for reliability and high levels of accuracy. When deployed in shared environments, fingerprint readers are commonly subjected to harsh use and outright vandalism that can significantly compromise their performance or even break the device. In order to counter this, the 4500HD fingerprint reader comes equipped with high-quality metal casing and special coating. Moreover, its discrete, blue illumination adds to the appearance of the checkout and doesn’t clash in low-light surroundings.

“Customers are looking for fingerprint biometrics that can be used in a variety of Point of Sale environments,” reported Jim Fulton, VP of Marketing for DigitalPersona (Redwood City, CA). “By integrating the U.are.U 4500HD with the IBM SurePOS 500, as well as its modular keyboards, IBM is able to offer retailers and restaurateurs more flexibility in deploying fingerprint-enabled applications to deter fraud and improve operations.”

DigitalPersona offers Software Development Kits (SDKs) for the IBM SurePOS 500 and IBM POS keyboards in the full variety of flavors: Windows, Linux, OPOS, and JavaPOS. Founded in 1996, the company has penetrated retail, enterprise computing, education, and healthcare through its relationships with OEMs and system integrators. Partners of particular interest to RRN.Com readers include IBM, NCR, HP, Panasonic, and Wand Corporation.

DigitalPersona’s U.are.U 4500HD Fingerprint Reader

Agilysys Beckoned by Beacen

Agilysys (Cleveland) has become an authorized reseller of Beacen vSeries software from Beatty and Company (Rancho Sante Fe, CA), which provides carrier-grade desktop virtualization for data-intensive environments. In addition, Agilysys will now offer its customers the vContent Center Solution, comprised of its own integration and professional services capabilities, best-of-breed hardware, and the Beacen vSeries. This bundle offers an optimized, scalable virtualization software platform specifically targeted at call center operations.

Key components of the Beacen vSeries include Beacen vStation, focused on reducing the amount of required administration; Beacen vDirector, which provides the performance and metric-based session load balancer that supports multiple session types, operating environments, and application groups; and Beacen vServer, an enterprise session management infrastructure. Beatty and Company has been supplying its technology to corporations for more than 20 years. Interestingly, the Beacen software suite was originally created through R&D efforts conducted with the U.S. Navy.

“This agreement further reinforces Agilysys’ leading position in the corporate IT marketplace,” declared Tony Mellina, SVP and GM of the Agilysys Technology Solutions Group. “We’ve enhanced our product offerings not only with Beatty and Company’s industry-leading desktop virtualization software, but also with our newly developed vContact Center Solution. With this solution, we are focused on helping our customers with call center operations improve their uptime, decrease their individual workstation boot time, save on power consumption, and better utilize their existing infrastructure.”

Desktop Virtualization for Data-Rich Environments Like Call Centers

Key Advertiser Links

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

POS & Auto ID Distribution
BlueStar
ScanSource

POS & Peripherals
FEC USA
Logic Controls
pcCashDrawer
POS-X

Barcode & Mobile Printers
Datamax-O'Neil

Cash Drawers
MMF Cash Drawer

Data Collection Terminals
CipherLab
Datalogic Mobile
Honeywell Scanning & Mobility
Janam Technologies
Motorola

Data Collection Software
Wavelink

Integrated Payment Solutions
Datacap Systems

Keyboards
Cherry Electrical Systems

Receipt Printers
Bixolon America
Citizen Systems America
Star Micronics

Retail Software
InfoTouch

Screen Protection
3M Optical Filters

INSTALLATIONS

Wendy’s Orders Panasonic Topped with Wand

Panasonic (Rolling Meadows, IL) and Wand Corporation (Eden Prairie, MN) have been designated by Wendy’s as an approved POS solution for franchisee stores throughout the U.S. The notification was made by Wendy’s corporate officials following months of intensive product testing and evaluation. “Wand and Panasonic are solid choices for Wendy’s franchisees,” suggested Don Zimmerman, CIO, Wendy’s/Arby’s Group. “Both vendors have worked tirelessly to ensure excellent solutions for our restaurants.”

The solution combines Panasonic’s Stingray JS-950 POS workstation with Wand’s NextGen POS software. Stingray was designed in modules to facilitate troubleshooting, servicing, and upgrades, according to Panasonic, and features 15-inch touschscreen display, high-speed processing, and up to 2 GB of onboard RAM. Wand NextGen POS represents the developer’s full-featured restaurant solution. An enterprise management function collects store/franchise-level data and can be used to push down price and configuration changes along with digital videos and animation for order confirmation displays and digital menu boards,

Indeed, Wand has become one of the leading providers of digital signage for the quick-service restaurant sector. Recently, it deployed the first “all-digital” restaurant for Wendy’s, integrating an innovative triple-LCD outdoor digital menu board, single-LCD outdoor pre-sale board, and set of indoor LCD digital menu boards. The site was deployed for Wendy’s FourCrown, the only Wendy’s franchisee in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area, at what was described as one of the busiest stores in the U.S.

There’s Wendy in Wand’s POS Screen

Micros Rated AAA by Battery Giant

Interstate Batteries Franchise and Development, the franchisor of Interstate All Battery Center, will implement the Micros-Retail Xstore POS solution in all of its franchisee locations. Built upon the popular Interstate Batteries brand, each IABC storefront offers one-stop shopping for more than 16,000 types of batteries and portable power solutions--for everything from laptops to automobiles to hearing aids. IABC currently has 157 locations across the U.S., Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and Canada.

“This is more than just a POS system upgrade--we are putting a foundation in place that will support and accelerate our rapid growth going forward,” testified Matt DiBona, Director of Business Intelligence and Technology for Interstate All Battery Center. “IABC retail locations are performing better than ever, and the results demand a new system with functionality that will elevate every aspect of the business, from customer relationship management and quicker payment authorization to improved reporting and analytics.”

According to the two parties, Micros-Retail Xstore, based on JavaPOS, will help Interstate All Battery Center streamline its end-of-day processes, improve product scanning and inventory receiving, and benefit from centralized returns management and enhanced security features. In addition, the new software will enable the retailer to leverage its customer loyalty program to recognize customer purchase history and extend personalized offers. “Interstate All Battery Center is an exceptional brand and our POS system is a great complement to its customer service-driven business model,” said John Gularson, Managing Director of Micros-Retail (Columbia, MD). 

Selling 15 Million Auto Batteries Per Year Lets You Sponsor NASCAR

[Editor’s Note:  On the hospitality side of things, Micros just keeps rolling along. So far this month, its Micros 9700 Hospitality Management System has been adopted by two Indian gaming entities, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona and the Oneida Nation Tribe of Wisconsin. Micros will fulfill the needs of casinos, hotels, and restaurants for these two contracts.]

Channel Factoid

During the past two years, nine out of 10 companies have addressed the role of employee-owned computers in the workplace. Nearly half (48%) of companies prohibit their use outright, while 43% have put in place specific policies to monitor and regulate their use. Companies surveyed by Gartner expect the average number of workers using employee-owned notebooks as their primary work PC to increase from 10% to 14% by mid-2010. In the U.S., the number of workers using their own computers in some capacity was projected to jump by 60% in the next 12 to 18 months. “PC vendors cannot afford to miss the phenomenon of employee-owned notebooks and we advise them to create employee-purchase programs that not only include hardware devices but also services and support options for users,” stated Annette Jump, Research Director at Gartner, which just purchased AMR Research. “PC vendors selling to the enterprise and mid-sized business segments should create PC products that combine features of business and consumer PCs.”

HELLO GOODBYE

Team Building at Merchant Warehouse

Merchant Warehouse (Boston), provider of merchant accounts and credit card processing services, has appointed Marianne Rocco as Director of Marketing and Communications and Stephanie Sperry as Senior Marketing Manager for the Agent/ISO channel. Rocco brings over 10 years of experience in leadership positions, managing and developing marketing and product strategies in the technology sector. Prior to joining Merchant Warehouse, Rocco was Senior Director of partner alliances and advanced advertising product management at SeaChange International. Sperry, in turn, has eight years of experience managing all aspects of marketing communications and product marketing for entrepreneurial, mid-sized, and Fortune 500 Business-to-Business organizations.

“I am thrilled to join Merchant Warehouse and to help them streamline their channel marketing efforts and strategy,” said Rocco. “I look forward to playing an integral role at Merchant Warehouse, developing creative marketing initiatives and product offerings for our merchants, partners, and agents.”

“Merchant Warehouse has experienced tremendous growth over the last several years and bringing on top-quality talent like Marianne and Stephanie is central to our plans to continue this pace,” commented Henry Helgeson, Co-CEO of Merchant Warehouse. “I am very confident that they will both be key contributors to our organization as we look to take Merchant Warehouse to the next level.”