This Week’s Product Pick

Honeywell Scanning & Mobility (Skaneateles Falls, NY) has improved and expanded its line of Stratos 2400 five-sided bi-optic scanners. First, scanning performance has been strengthened for GS1 DataBar and high-density barcodes, both of which are becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s retail environment. Next, weigh-shrink has been addressed by the introduction of single or three-sided flip-up weigh bars, which allow cashiers to capture the full weight of oversized produce along the length or width of the platter. Further, all new Stratos 2400 products are now capable of supporting Honeywell’s handheld area-imaging scanners, as well as Honeywell’s linear scanners. This imaging capability facilitates the reading of damaged 1D barcodes as well as 2D barcodes used in age verification and mobile couponing. Finally, the company has debuted two new members of the Stratos 2400 family:  20-inch scanner-only model and 20-inch scanner/scale model. With these new models, retailers can now deploy the Stratos 2400 series across multiple store formats with different scanner footprints, including 13.9 inches and 15.7 inches, according to the company. “Speed and accuracy are of utmost concern in today’s retail environment, and revenue lost due to the inaccurate weighing of produce is a top concern,” remarked Taylor Smith, Director of Product Management-Scanning, for Honeywell Scanning & Mobility. “Honeywell’s new scanning enhancements drive a quicker, more accurate checkout process, which results in increased store profitability and customer satisfaction--two of the most fundamental goals for all retailers.” For more information, click here.

Stratos 2400 from Honeywell

Worth Your While

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

NACStech
Association for Convenience and Petroleum Retailing
May 5-7
New Orleans

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’s Warehouse VOW

Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions (Holtsville, NY) unveiled its hands-free, voice-directed mobility solution for the warehouse: the WT4090 Voice-Only Wearable (VOW) Terminal and the RCH50 Rugged Cabled Headset. Built on the success of Motorola ‘s WT4090 Wearable Mobile Computer, the WT4090 VOW offers high-power processing and wireless network connectivity and supports voice recognition, text-to-speech engines, and Voice-Over-LAN (VoWLAN). This task-specific tool can be customized for end-user needs by its three fully-programmable keys, keeping operations simple.

Purpose-built for industrial voice-recognition applications, the RCH50 headset provides superior acoustics, comfort, and safety, according to the vendor. The ability to wipe down the headset and change the microphone windscreen and ear pad protects the health of the workforce, while the quick disconnect feature allows rapid separation in case of emergency. Design is compatible with Motorola’s portfolio of rugged mobile computers.

“Extending information to the Point of Activity delivers new efficiencies with secure, cost-effective, reliable voice communications,” reported Gerald McNerney, VP of Mobile Computing Product Management, Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions. “The hands-free, voice-directed WT4090 VOW and RCH50 offer warehouse workers support for voice-directed applications for increased productivity and streamlined operations. Meeting the industry’s most stringent rugged standards, these solutions give employees the competitive edge they need to do their jobs, even in the harshest and noisiest environments.” Those environments include extreme temperatures, drops to concrete, and wet and dusty conditions.

Motorola’s WT4090 Voice-Only Wearable Terminal

Lite-ray, Begotten of Stingray

Panasonic System Networks Company of America (Secaucus, NJ) introduced its Lite-ray POS workstation, with compact design and an array of functionality usually found in higher-priced systems, according to the vendor. Based on the company’s flagship Stingray terminal, Lite-ray features fanless design, Intel Atom processor, and open-architecture with support for both Windows and Linux. The new workstation is durable and reliable for use in both hospitality and retail.

Lite-ray comes equipped with 15-inch dual backlight, high-resolution/high-contrast anti-glare LCD, which can be adjusted to accommodate for various lighting conditions or employee heights. The resistive touch panel allows the operator to wear gloves, and the rear or customer-facing LCD enables dynamic Point of Purchase (or POP) selling to help increase profits while conserving counter space. Options include biometric fingerprint reader, MSR, internal UPS, and various data storage enhancements.

“Our objective with Lite-ray is to provide the store owner or manager with this high-quality POS solution at an affordable price and competitive three-year warranty,” shared Sam Miyakodani, Group Manager of Panasonic System Networks Company. “And with the ability to purchase from almost any reseller, it’s easy to get up and running.”

The latest POS Workstation from Panasonic, Dubbed "Lite-ray"

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ALLIANCES

POS Printer Certification 2.0

The race to certify receipt printers with leading software packages for retail hasn’t slowed. First, Epson’s TM-T70 thermal receipt printer has been tested and certified to work with Restaurant Pro Express and Cash Register Express from pcAmerica (Pearl River, NY). The TM-T70 follows Epson’s best-selling TM-T88 series and represents the first of three new Epson thermal products to be introduced this winter. Significantly, it features front-facing controls, front paper loading, and front receipt dispensing as well as small footprint of only 4.5 inches high.

“Part of creating an efficient Point of Sale system is choosing the correct receipt printers for your needs,” observed David Gosman, CEO of pcAmerica. “The Epson TM-T70 is a strong addition to our certified line-up. Its compact size, coupled with the all-front access design of the printer--which allows under-counting mounting--reduces or eliminates the counter space required by other receipt printers.”

Elsewhere, Citizen Systems America’s CT-S801 “intelligent” POS printer with backlight graphic LCD display has been certified compatible with Store Keeper POS and Store Manager ES software from InfoTouch Corporation (Atlanta). The CT-S801 can be desktop or wall-mounted and comes standard with USB, RS-232 serial, or Centronics parallel interfaces. Printer drivers include Windows XP, Windows Vista, JavaPOS, OPOS, and CUPS.

“InfoTouch Corporation is extremely impressed with the new technology in the CT-S801 printer line,” declared Keith Neerman, President of InfoTouch Corporation. “The built-in LCD display that visually alerts the retailer to issues, such as when the printer is running out of paper, provides stores with clear benefits that will definitely improve customer service. Further, the speed and graphics capabilities are best-of-breed.”

David Gosman, CEO, pcAmerica

High-Five for IBM and Fujitsu

IBM (Armonk, NY) and Fujitsu Frontech North America (Foothill Ranch, CA) will jointly offer biometric security that replaces passwords with the scan of an employee’s palm. The solution combines the Fujitsu Palm Secure Log-On Director with IBM’s Tivoli Access Manager for Single Sign-On, thereby providing organizations with comprehensive employee authentication for protecting data as well as compliance with HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, PCI DSS, and other industry and federal regulations. As part of this integration, Fujitsu’s Palm Secure Log-On Director has been validated through the Ready for IBM Tivoli Software program.

“A typical organization spends hundreds of dollars per employee per year on lost passwords through help-desk support,” indicated E.K. Koh, Program Director for Single Sign-On, IBM Tivoli Software. “IBM’s work with Fujitsu replaces archaic password structures with a single path of access that resides in the palms of the employees’ hands, and can be managed more efficiently, saving companies thousands of dollars in IT support while protecting critical organizational data and information.”

Palm-based biometric identification is an unobtrusive and highly accurate technology, according to its proponents, and leaves virtually no biometric footprint behind for copying. An employee simply holds their hand over the scanning device attached to his or her computer. Near-infrared light captures the person’s palm-vein pattern, generating the unique biometric template that gets matched against users’ pre-registered palm-vein patterns.

Fujitsu Frontech’s Palm Secure Log-On Director, For Use With IBM Tivoli

Code Corner

Datacap Systems (Chalfont, PA) has offered its high-speed, IP-based gift card interface for Chockstone, the division of Heartland Payment Systems. Datacap GIFTePay users can now access Heartland Payment Systems’ gift services with fast, 2 to 4 second, gift card transactions. This supports the explosively expanding use of gift card programs by retailers of all sizes, according to the two parties. Further, gift card transactions integrated into the store POS/ECR system better serves retailers by streamlining operations and enhancing store and cashier accountability. For their part, dealers benefit from selling the gift card feature, ancillary revenue opportunities, and improved customer retention. “Gift and prepaid cards are proven to boost retailer traffic and average ticket and margin, all while providing new revenue and promotional pathways,” said Justin Zeigler, Director of Marketing for Datacap Systems. “Gift and prepaid card programs also reduce typical ‘gift certificate’ expenses, and can even be used to improve the cost and profitability of return transactions.” For more information on Heartland Payment Systems GIFTePay, as well as Heartland’s existing NETePay, click here.

American Express OPEN, the small business division of American Express (New York), has launched AcceptPay, an online invoicing and payment solution, in conjunction with SaaS provider Pay Simple. AcceptPay allows business owners to create, send, and track invoices through its web-based portal and to better manage their cash flow. Customer invoices may be paid through major credit and debit cards, e-checks, cash, or checks, and deposited directly into the business owner’s bank account. AcceptPay is available to all business owners, whether or not American Express OPEN card members. There is no set-up fee, and the service costs $20 per month. “At a time when every dollar counts, business owners need tools and resources to help them better manage their firms’ finances, and that is why we created this innovative payment collection solution that can help them get paid faster,” said Mary Ann Fitzmaurice Reilly, SVP, American Express OPEN. “AcceptPay further demonstrates our commitment to offering entrepreneurs the full range of products and services that can help them manage through the recession and grow their enterprises.”

STARTS & STOPS

Flight of the Payment Phoenix

Hypercom Corporation (Scottsdale, AZ) and The McDonnell Group (McLean, VA) will team up to deliver transactions-devoted data communications for payment processors, banks, and retailers. The joint venture will be called Phoenix Managed Networks LLC, and will take over Hypercom’s HBNet secure transaction transport business. Industry veteran John (Jack) McDonnell, Jr. will serve as CEO of Phoenix Managed Networks.

Hypercom’s HBNet increases the speed of authorization and processing of electronic transactions in dial, wireless, and IP-based POS markets, according to its developer. Strategically positioned within the North American Public Switching Telephone Network (PSTN) and at processor data centers, HBNet supports all POS terminal protocols and provides uninterrupted service with no single point of failure, seamless load balancing, web-based reporting, and simple, all-inclusive pricing. Phoenix Managed Networks will employ Hypercom’s SmartPay gateway technology to support wireless and IP-based transactions.

“Phoenix Managed Networks is expected to bring state-of-the-art, reliable, and cost-effective transaction communications services to the payments industry and to aggressively expand the global business Hypercom established with HBNet,” stated McDonnell, Managing Member of The McDonnell Group and founder of Transaction Network Services (TNS). “I am also delighted to announce that former TNS executives Matthew Mudd and Trevor Fall will be joining the management team for this venture. At TNS, Trevor was SVP of Sales for the POS Division and Matt was EVP, with expertise in network operations, engineering, and product development.”

Jack McDonnell Will Lead Phoenix Managed Networks, Formerly Hypercom HBNet

VeriFone Hails Taxi . . . Advertising

VeriFone (San Jose, CA) will drive harder into the “payment-enabled media” marketplace offered by taxicabs. In addition to selling terminal-based advertising nationwide, and expanding beyond the current focus on New York City and Philadelphia, the company said it intends to explore other opportunities to leverage its hardware payment assets. As part of the new effort, VeriFone will refresh its taxicab technology to include IP-connected Flash 10 technology and dynamic content generation capabilities. These enhancements will be rolled out to all of its New York taxicabs by June.
                                 
“The payment experience provides a unique opportunity to reach a variety of audience segments, such as premium business travelers heading to and from an airport, utilizing large, interactive color displays that are in front of the consumer for a considerable period,” explained Douglas Bergeron, CEO of VeriFone. “Taxis and other select Point of Sale venues automatically segment audiences to provide highly desirable advertising efficiency.”

VeriFone has drafted Bulent Ozayaz, formerly GM of its U.S. Wireless Business, as GM of Payment-Enabled Media. In concert, Chris Polos has been hired as VP, U.S. Media Sales, reporting to Ozayaz. Polos most recently served as Director of Advertising at Danoo, and was Senior Manager at AOL before that. VeriFone also has purchased the Clear Channel Taxi Media business from Clear Channel Outdoor, which employs more than 20 experienced media sales representatives. With the move, VeriFone has added an additional 5,000 taxicab advertising opportunities to its existing New York network of 6,500 vehicles.

Driving the Market for Payment-Enabled Media

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
Pioneer POS
Posiflex Business Machines
POS-X

Barcode & Mobile Printers
Datamax-O'Neil

Cash Drawers
APG Cash Drawer
MMF Cash Drawer

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

Data Collection Software
Wavelink

Integrated Payment Solutions
Datacap Systems

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

INSTALLATIONS

Busy Times for Radiant

Radiant Systems (Alpharetta, GA) has been selected as POS provider for more than 1,150 company-operated Arby’s locations. In addition, Radiant Systems was designated as an approved vendor for Arby’s franchise restaurants, which number more than 2,200. The Wendy’s/Arby’s Group currently deploys the Aloha Enterprise Suite, including Aloha Quick Service POS, Aloha Command Center, Aloha Configuration Center, and Aloha Insight, along with Radiant POS hardware, within its company-owned Arby’s restaurants in the U.S.

Radiant has also called upon the POS industry to improve data security in the transaction-processing industry. “We have expanded the responsibilities of Jimmy Fortuna, VP of Product Development for the Hospitality Division at Radiant Systems, to now include industry data security,” noted John Heyman, Radiant’s CEO. “Jimmy will work inside and outside the walls of our company to fight for increased levels of data security in the retail and restaurant industries.” Fortuna has 10 years of industry experience.

This follows news in late 2009 that Radiant and one of its resellers, Computer World, are being sued in a class action suit for PCI DSS-related data compromises by seven restaurants located in Louisiana and Mississippi. The suit alleges that hundreds of customers had their identities stolen by Romanian hackers as the result of insufficient business practices and products from Computer World and Radiant. The restaurants are seeking millions of dollars in damages to recover their costs from the breach, including fines and reimbursements levied by credit card companies, the cost of forensic audits, and resulting charge backs. In statements to the press, Radiant described the allegations as without merit.

More Aloha for Arby’s

3G Digital Signage Recharges End-Caps

Throw away your cardboard. By implementing digital signage and 3G cellular communications into end-cap displays, retailers can significantly boost sales and market intelligence, according to the MediaTile Company (Scotts Valley, CA). As proof, MediaTile offered its customer Hunter’s Specialties, which markets products in sporting goods stores and has reported double-digit sustained uplift in sales over the past year by using the new solution.

“With our touchscreen digital signage network fully deployed, we are now realizing all the advantages that this new medium has to offer--from increased sales to tracking consumer interests,” testified Matt Charipar, National Sales Manager for Hunter’s Specialties. “The MediaTile solution requires very little infrastructure to both deploy and operate. By simply adding power to the display on an end-cap, we can schedule promotions and track consumer requests.”

MediaTile has coined the term “cellular digital signage” to describe its solution, which employs 3G from Sprint, Verizon, or AT&T and thereby eliminates the need to rely upon the Wi-Fi or LAN-based network connection within each store. The combination of MediaTile’s all-in-one displays and web-based MediaCast SaaS portal provides complete remote control of merchandising campaigns, according to the company. “Our customers tell us that this is the future of merchandising, managing their promotions and customer communications where it matters most, right at the Point of Purchase,” noted Roger Sanford, VP of Media Services at MediaTile.

MediaTile Boosts Sales for Hunter’s Specialties

Channel Factoid

Support has emerged as the big cost of the transition to Windows 7. More than half (55%) of small business IT professionals--representing 13 to 15 million companies--plan to implement Windows 7 in 2010, and two-thirds (65%) cite user “hand holding” as their biggest hurdle. About 40% of these IT professionals said they already spend from one day per week to fully half of their time supporting software upgrades. Another half (46%) spend an average of 2.5 hours per week addressing upgrades on top of their other maintenance duties. Even so, only 13% plan to hire additional IT staff for Windows 7 migration. “The industry has looked on Windows 7 as the ‘un-Vista’ in terms of usability,” suggested Justin Madison, VP of Engineering and Operations for Citrix Online, which conducted the survey. “But especially for companies jumping from XP to Windows 7, the biggest headache may still be user support.” According to Citrix, SMBs would be well-advised to follow these three guidelines: offer comprehensive user training in advance; back up hard drives before proceeding; and, have the right tools in place to assist users, including remote and at-home tech support.

HELLO GOODBYE

NCR Enlists Bravman

NCR Corporation (Duluth, GA) has named Richard Bravman as Chief Marketing Officer and VP of Corporate Development. In this new position, which reports to NCR EVP John Bruno, Bravman will lead business development, communications and marketing, and government relations. “I’m very excited to join NCR,” Bravman said. “I believe that I can utilize my experience and expertise not only to help grow the business, but also to make NCR one of the world’s top recognized brands.”

Bravman joins NCR from Intelleflex, where he served as President/CEO. Many RRN.Com readers will remember him from his long tenure at Symbol Technologies (now Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions). He joined Symbol in 1978 as its fifth employee and held numerous positions with increasing responsibilities over the following 25 years, culminating with the role of Vice Chairman and CEO.

“I have known and worked with Rich for several years and I’m confident that he will make an immediate impact in helping NCR grow our top line through activities that support and accelerate the company’s strategic vision, mission, and goals,” commented Bruno. “I also believe that Rich will be instrumental in helping NCR leverage its historic leadership and powerful assets.”

Richard Bravman, Chief Marketing Officer and VP of Corporate Development, NCR Corporation

Intermec Recruits Sales Honcho

Intermec (Everett, WA) has appointed Jim McDonnell, long-time Hewlett-Packard veteran, as its SVP of Global Sales. McDonnell will drive the company’s sales direction, OEM relations, channel strategy, and business operations worldwide, overseeing go-to-market elements such as key accounts, resellers, distributors, and technology alliances. He reports to Intermec CEO, Pat Byrne.

During his 25-year career with HP, McDonnell served in leadership roles across several divisions. His most recent position with HP was VP of Global Sales-Enterprise Storage and Servers Group, preceded by VP of the Solution Partners Organization. He also performed as VP of Marketing and Sales for HP’s Personal Systems Group, which handled personal computers, smart handhelds, mobile technology, and digital entertainment.

“Intermec’s innovative technology, business solutions pipeline, solid customer base, and new sales opportunities provide the strong foundation upon which the company will continue to drive robust growth,” said McDonnell. “I look forward to contributing to that success and being part of this world-class organization.”