This Week’s Product Pick

Touch Dynamic (Irvington, NJ) has unwrapped its Breeze 185 All-in-One POS, with 18.5-inch LED LCD touchscreen. Bezel-free in either resistive or projected capacitive technologies, Breeze 185 features fanless design and rackable motherboard. Intel CPU choices include Atom Dual Core D2550 at 1.8 GHz, Celeron Dual Core 1007U at 1.5 GHz, and i3-3217U Dual Core at 1.8 GHz. As additional benefits, the company lists 16 GB RAM, up to six USB ports, and 2.5-inch SATA HDD (with optional SATA SSD). Accompanying peripherals include Universal Printer Base (with receipt printer), magnetic-stripe reader (MSR), front camera, Wireless LAN, fingerprint reader, and customer-facing displays. "There is an increasing demand for larger screen size," advised Craig Paritz, President of Touch Dynamic. "In addition, this is widescreen LCD, which customers are increasingly demanding."

Breeze 185 by Touch Dynamic

COMPANY BUSINESS

No Wallet, No Cards, No App

As if the payment world doesn't move fast enough, now there's PayPal Beacon, which promises to conduct your transaction simply by your presence in the store. It will leverage Bluetooth Low Energy, which automatically connects devices at very low power levels. Under this scheme, transactions can take place without the consumer having to open an app, without GPS being turned on, and even without phone service. When you're ready to pay, money gets transferred by the system.

Walking into the store will activate the check-in process, within milliseconds, reportedly, and the consumer's photo will then appear on the screen at the POS workstation. Verbal confirmation approves payment. If the consumer enters the store and declines to check-in, or ignores the prompt entirely, no information will be transmitted to the merchant or PayPal. Moreover, the consumer's location will not be tracked continuously, as with some systems.

"PayPal Beacon opens the door to a fundamentally different way to use technology to make shopping more valuable and more personal for consumers and retailers," professed David Marcus, President of PayPal (San Jose, CA). "We challenged ourselves to find a better experience than swiping a credit card. We figured the only better way to pay would be to do nothing. Just walk in a store, and, like magic, when you're ready to pay, money is transferred securely. No wallet. No card. Nothing to do. Not even touching your phone."

PayPal Beacon Employs Bluetooth Low Energy for Payments

Mobility Reigns in Boston

Merchant Warehouse has partnered with ROAM with an eye towards extending its capability in the fast-growing area of mobile commerce. Merchant Warehouse, one of the payment processors heavily invested in our channel, will leverage ROAM's secure mobile card readers, associated software, and services to provide its merchants and partners with new opportunities for revenue, market differentiation, and new product development, RRN.Com was told by Henry Helgeson, CEO of Merchant Warehouse. Founded in 2005, and now part of Ingenico, ROAM was an early participant in Mobile POS. Both Merchant Warehouse and ROAM are based in Boston.

"We're moving into 'in-aisle' for retail and 'pay-at-the-table' for restaurants," explained Helgeson, "and ROAM has its fantastic solution, pretty much operating system agnostic, that we can leverage to bring our products and services into these new places. It's low cost and easy to use, and presents very little risk for the merchant, unlike many other solutions. We believe merchants will be much more willing to try it." He expects most installations with ROAM to support iOS and Android tablets.

With its new ROAM relationship, Merchant Warehouse will extend its Genius Customer Engagement Platform, which debuted in 2012, and supports traditional and emerging payment types from the countertop acceptance device, usually the VeriFone MX. Now all the couponing and loyalty aspects of Genius will extend outward from the cash wrap, Helgeson emphasized. As with Genius, Helgeson expects the channel to play the central role in this "bigger strategy."  

Henry Helgeson, CEO, Merchant Warehouse

Worth Your While

Pack Expo 2013
Packaging Manufacturers Machinery Institute
September 23-25
Las Vegas

NACS Show 2013
Association of Convenience & Fuel Retailing
October 12-15
Atlanta

Customer Engagement Technology World
JD Events
November 6-7
New York City

IAAPA Expo 2013
International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions
November 19-22
Orlando

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Apex i Sighted at D-O

Datamax-O'Neil (Orlando, FL) has brought iOS to its Apex Series of portable thermal printers. All printer models, two, three, and four inch, have been certified as "Made for iPhone/iPod/iPad," or MFi, including iOS 5.0 and 6.0. Datamax-O'Neil purchased the Apex Series from Extech Instruments three years ago, RRN.Com readers will remember.

Apex i Series printers come equipped with the D-O Toolkit for quick integration. This includes the "scan" module that will link the Apple iOS device to the Apex i, allowing it to read and display various printer statistics, such as battery voltage, timer, temperature, and remaining print buffer. It also offers "configuration" utility, "presentation" module with demos for printing receipts, forms, logos, and barcodes, as well as an "information" module explaining the Toolkit and Apex.

"Mobile POS, route accounting, and direct store delivery applications are increasingly seeing the benefits of utilizing Apple iOS devices, and the Apex i, with its high reliability, ease of use, and light weight, is the perfect complement," noted John Murphy, Senior Product Manager for Datamax-O'Neil. "As more businesses look to enhance their 'customer experience,' the ability to add convenience, reduce wait times, and provide greater efficiency is becoming essential to growing and retaining the customer base. In particular, the Apex i4 will be useful in printing reports that a technician can leave with a customer while retaining a copy for the main office."

Apex Series Gets Apple iOS

Baggage Check by Intermec

Intermec (Everett, WA) has unveiled its new two-inch, mid-range industrial barcode printer, the PM23c, particularly suited for space-constrained applications in transportation, manufacturing, and retail. This new device delivers all of the company's advanced capabilities, including full color touchscreen with ten languages or universal icon user interface, embedded web-based device management, CCX and Wi-Fi certification, and tool-less print head replacement. Optional Bluetooth joins the suite of industry standard and supported wireless connectivity choices and "No Touch" configuration allows the printer to be set-up in the box.

Measuring 8.1 in. (W) x 7.1 in. (H) x 17 in. (L), without dome door, and weighing 21 lbs., the PM23c features all-metal construction, 128 MB Flash ROM, and 128 MB SDRAM. Print speed reaches twelve inches/second (300 mm/second) at 203/300 dpi and ten inches/second (250 mm/second) at 406 dpi. Additionally, the PM23c maximizes uptime and reduces frequent media handling via "Precision Print," according to Intermec, and the "Smart Printing with C#" programming language allows users to control scanners, scales, keyboards, and other peripherals through the printer.

"The PM23c is built upon more than forty years of innovation in printers, and joins the recently launched PM43 and PM43c industrial printers for a complete mid-range printing line designed specifically to meet the demanding challenges faced by our customers worldwide," commented Chuck Dourlet, VP of Printers & Media at Intermec. "The PM23c also offers airline customers continued support in fast, reliable printing for passenger services, improved customer service, and increasing overall efficiency." In particular, bagging tagging was cited.

New PM23c Mid-Range Barcode Printer

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PARTNER PROGRAMS

GoPago Gets Going

On the heels of its appearance at the Retail Solutions Providers Association Show in Las Vegas, GoPago, Inc. reportedly has signed over twenty reseller organizations for its cloud and tablet-based POS. These include both VARs and ISOs, RRN.Com was told by Steve Elefant, Chief Strategy Officer for GoPago (San Francisco), who declined to name specific companies. Overall, GoPago plans to have more than one hundred reseller organizations in partnership by year-end, Elefant said, reaching several hundred thousand merchants across the U.S.

"GoPago represents the opportunity for both large and small independent sales organization agents to modernize their sales strategy and thereby change the conversation with merchants," suggested Elefant. "We empower Resellers, VARs, and ISOs to sell against the status quo, where it's no longer just about getting merchants lower processing rates. Merchants want innovative, affordable systems that help run their businesses with speed, smart data, and software that drives customer loyalty."

Its solution, dubbed GoPago LIVE, seeks to span in-store, online, and mobile POS, with the expected suite of payment processing, customer relationship management, and business analytics. A well-known figure in our world, Steve Elefant founded companies such as ICVerify (now part of First Data) and Payment Processing Inc. (now PayPros). Most recently, he served as Senior Strategic Consultant in Google's Payment Group, preceded by the role of CIO of Heartland Payment Systems.

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Steve Elefant, Chief Strategy Officer, GoPago

Dialing Up Dinerware

Dinerware (Seattle, WA) has drawn upon eMenu USA Corporation (Brooklyn, NY) to address mobility for its end-users in the restaurant industry. As certified software partner, eMenu's iMenuToGo platform will be integrated directly into the Dinerware POS, allowing customers to place orders and render payment via their smartphone, whether Apple or Android. This app, created specifically for each restaurant, also will furnish directions and maps for each establishment.

"Now any restaurant, big or small, can offer customers rewards and deals, coupons, or daily specials as these apps are custom-branded for each restaurant and have robust menu management," explained Bernie Samet, President of eMenu USA. "The reason all restaurants need their own mobile app in this day and age is so that their customers can order quickly and easily, and the restaurant can get paid instantly, increasing their bottom line and customer loyalty. Especially, if you offer delivery services and want to be paid before delivering the food, you need this type of service."

Certification for iMenuToGo

Code Corner

GFI Software (Durham, NC) has released Free Asset Tracking Forever, its no-cost component to GFI Cloud. This new software allows firms to audit and manage servers and workstations, as well as identify and manage units running legacy operating systems, all from its single console. A simple one-time agent installed on each target server and workstation handles tasks such as monitoring the network, running services, and assessing the health and status of each computer. For the many smaller firms still running systems such as Windows XP, Free Asset Tracking Forever will help IT staff implement additional security, management, and decommissioning measures as needed. The cloud-based nature of the service also means that mobile users working at home or in the field become easier to include in asset tracking activities, as well as being included in the same single view as on-premise devices. Finally, Free Asset Tracking Forever also simplifies the process of configuring and deploying additional cloud services to users as needed, without need of physical intervention. "Asset management of PCs is one of the most time-consuming and administrative-intensive tasks the IT department has to carry out in any organization," observed Sergio Galindo, Head of Global Product Management at GFI Software. "In SMBs where IT staff numbers are often limited, this necessary task creates a massive manpower burden if it is not automated and centralized."

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

Synchronicity at Shopify

At this stage, it seems irrelevant to track the number of iPad-based POS purveyors, many of whom come out of payment processing. And let's not even talk about developers, dozens of whom have emerged. So let's move on to something unforeseen. Now Shopify (Ottawa, ON, Canada), one of the leading e-commerce platforms, has decided to get into the game. Shopify POS, its bundle, offers accompanying peripherals through its website: receipt printer (from Star Micronics), cash drawer (from APG), and credit card accessory (from ROAM). Cost for this package (without tablet, but with stand) has been set at $499.

"Before Shopify POS, merchants who wanted to run an online store as well as a brick-and-mortar retail store had to keep track of two sets of inventories, two product catalogs, and two payment systems," the company writes. "Shopify POS uses the same easy-to-use online store management system as its e-commerce platform, allowing merchants to manage all aspects of their business from one place. They can add a product or update inventory on one side of the system, and it is instantly updated across the board--creating an organized, seamless integration between selling online and selling in-store."

"Shopify POS gives merchants the tools to easily and inexpensively offer their customers the shopping experience they want," reads the quote from Adam McNamara, VP of Product for Shopify. "Consumers want to buy in-store and have the product shipped to them. They want to buy online and pick it up in-store. That's the future of retail, and that's what Shopify is providing for merchants." As customary with such bundles, payment processing, reporting, and e-mailing of receipts has been enclosed. One may only question the ultimate size of this market.

Shopify POS Bundle for iPad

A Shot and Beer From Bevintel

Bevintel (Louisville, KY) has added draft beer to its beverage control and inventory tracking system, entitled "Bevinco," courtesy of its new partnership with Bevchek (Fort Myers, FL). In real time, Bevchek matches sales from POS terminals with beer pours registered by flow monitoring technology in order to maximize sales for bar and restaurant owners. Bevchek will replace Bevintel's current draft beer control scheme, Intelitap, and logs information on beer flow, beer temperature, and menu status. In terms of POS, it links with solutions such as ASI/Restaurant Manager, Micros, NCR Aloha, Maitre'D by Posera, Positouch, and Squirrel Systems, among others.

A combined system for both liquor and draft beer will go to market through an independent franchise distribution network developed by Bevintel. "We are extremely excited about this partnership with Bevintel and look forward to benefiting from the years of experience, success, and leadership that the Bevintel franchise network has to offer," declared R. Michael Smith, CEO of Bevcheck. "Clients will have the unique benefit of having local representatives providing hands-on training, support, and customer service."

"We are delighted with this partnership," confirmed Dan Smith, CEO of Bevintel. "We want to continue to upgrade our service offerings with the best products available. Bevchek allows us to do just that." Bevintel also offers auditing services that are "consultative in nature," according to the company.

Bevintel's Beverage Control System

Key Advertiser Links

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

POS & Auto ID Distribution
Synnex
Wasp Barcode Technologies

POS & Peripherals
AZT POS
Partner Tech
Pioneer POS
POS BANK USA
Posiflex
POS-X
TEAMSable
Touch Dynamic

POS Systems - Hospitality
PAR

POS Systems - Apple Based
LightSpeed Retail

POS & Inventory Software
New West Technologies

Barcode & Transaction Printers
Brother Mobile
Printronix
Sato America
Zebra Technologies

Cash Drawers
MMF POS

Data Collection Terminals
CipherLab
Datalogic ADC

Integrated Payment Solutions
Datacap Systems
Merchant Warehouse
Mercury

Keyboards
PrehKeyTec USA

Keyboards & Mobile POS
Cherry, ZF Electronics Corp

Receipt Printers
Bixolon America
Citizen Systems America
Epson America
Fujitsu Components
Star Micronics

Scanners
Code Corporation
Ingenico
Motorola Solutions

Thermal Printers
Seiko Instruments USA

Touchscreens & Monitors
Elo TouchSystems

INSTALLATIONS

Appointed Rounds for Cognex

Cognex Corporation (Natick, MA) has received purchase orders totaling more than $4 million from one of the large parcel handlers, which was not identified. This customer will use Cognex DataMan 300 barcode readers on automated sorting stations in its U.S. distribution centers, in order to read one-dimensional symbologies on trays and improve routing accuracy. Such readers should ship by the end of the year, with additional follow-on orders expected in the future.

DataMan 300 with "Hotbars" image analysis technology offers superior reading of one-dimensional barcodes compared to lasers, according to the vendor. It also accommodates codes presented in any orientation, multiple codes within the same image, and two-dimensional formats such as Data Matrix and QR Codes. Additional benefits of DataMan 300 include the lack of moving parts, extending reliability, as well as real-time performance feedback, allowing immediate adjustments for process improvements.

"Cognex won this project after proving that our DataMan 300 ID reader provides a higher return on investment than other solutions," relayed Carl Gerst, VP of ID Products at Cognex. "DataMan can read even worn and very-hard-to-read barcodes, which can be an issue with reusable trays used to transport items for sorting. DataMan's nearly perfect read rates and ability to keep up with high-speed conveyors ensures the fastest and most reliable package throughput for this customer."

Cognex DataMan 300

NCR Doesn't Chicken Out

Boston Market has started deployment of the RealPOS 72XRT from NCR Corporation (Duluth, GA) for all of its 460 locations. In making its decision, the restaurant chain noted perceived benefits such as intelligent processing, remote manageability, and enhanced security from RealPOS 72XRT. In addition, NCR's whole-unit replacement philosophy was cited, which helps eliminate on-site repair time and disruption in store operations.

"Our previous platform had become outdated, so Boston Market was looking for modern POS which was engineered for the restaurant environment, could be easily serviced, and would provide enough performance for many years to come," recounted Randy Vose, Senior Director of Store and Enterprise Systems for Boston Market. "The NCR RealPOS 72XRT was the most obvious choice for our team, offering scalability and modular design that greatly simplifies troubleshooting, if necessary. Additionally, NCR's whole-unit replacement model was another key factor in our decision because of the burden it removes from our operations."

Elsewhere, NCR has brought its NCR Cloud Services to Europe through two Tier 3 data centers in Frankfurt, Germany, and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Services include O/S Support, Application Administration, Database Administration, and Network Management, with certifications to ISO-9001 (Quality Management), ISO-27001 (Information Security), PCI DSS Level 1, and SSAE 16 & SAS70 Type II. "NCR Cloud Services allow companies from different industries--banking, retail, transport, and telecommunications--to use NCR's hosting solutions in the most flexible and cost-effective nature," stated Klaus Giljohann, NCR's VP of Professional Services for Europe.

NCR RealPOS 72RXT for Boston Market

Channel Factoid

Yes, there's always security concerns, but managing mobility presents even broader challenges for IT, according to the new "Mobility at Work Report" from CDW. A survey of 1,200 IT professionals across eight industries and 1,200 workers who use personal smartphones and tablet computers found clear evidence of the "support gap." Asked to grade their company's IT policies and technical performance, only 41% of individuals using personal devices at their job give IT an "A" or "B." IT professionals, not surprisingly, were more positive, with 64% giving their own departments an "A" or "B," yet even here only 18% said they deserved an "A." Looking ahead, 90% of IT professionals surveyed expect growing use of personal mobile devices to have major impacts on the company's networks, including: increased bandwidth requirements (63%), increased network latency (39%), and increased server requirements (44%) and storage requirements (37%). In fact, many respondents (39%) have already seen network performance suffer. Despite ready availability of mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM) solutions, this survey found that only 37% of companies have deployed or are deploying MDM, and just 36% have deployed or are deploying MAM. "Securing devices, along with the data and networks they use, will always be a significant concern, but protecting users and employers is only one aspect of mobile management at work," cautioned Andrea Bradshaw, Senior Director and GM, Mobility Solutions, for CDW.

HELLO GOODBYE

New Gate Keeper at Apriva

Apriva (Scottsdale, AZ) has drafted Brian Sadowski as its SVP for Information Technology. In this capacity, he will be responsible for engineering and operations for Apriva's Point of Sale gateway, as well as overseeing the technology and support services for the company's network of VARs and ISVs (Independent Software Vendors). Apriva, which has relationships with three dozen payment processors in North America, along with all leading wireless providers, delivers fully-managed, end-to-end security solutions across financial, government, and public sector segments.

An experienced IT veteran, Sadowski has spent the last decade within the payments industry. Before joining his present employer, he served as CIO for Mercury, CTO for Xerox Business Services, and CTO for TSYS Acquiring Solutions. "Apriva is well regarded for its ability to deliver powerful technologies that enable customers to leverage many exciting features and services," volunteered Sadowski. "I'm thrilled to join this talented team, and help the company continue its track as one of the most innovative providers of mobile commerce solutions in the market."

"We're extremely pleased to welcome Brian to the Apriva family," remarked Chris Spinella, CEO for Apriva. "He has an extensive technology background that, combined with his experience in the payments industry, makes him uniquely qualified for this position. We see Brian playing a pivotal role in helping Apriva continue to deliver the innovative products and services that our customers expect."

Brian Sadowski, SVP, Information Technology, Apriva

A Crossing for Equinox

Equinox Payments, LLC (Scottsdale, AZ) has noted the second anniversary of its founding since its separation from Hypercom Corporation in August 2011, as well as the recruitment of two payment industry veterans. Stuart Taylor and Tony Walsh have recently joined the company, as Chief Product Officer and VP of the Middle Market Group, respectively. Equinox remains the second-largest provider of payment terminals and related technologies in North America, it should be noted.

"This anniversary represents a solid milestone for us," indicated Patrick Hazel, Chairman and CEO. "Equinox begins its third year with fresh technologies, strong financial results, and tremendous customer support. With well over one million terminals already in use, and new products and services beginning to populate key vertical markets, we have positioned Equinox for long-term growth in the U.S. and overseas." In April, Equinox Payments debuted Apollo, its new payment family of hardware and software, which delivers support for EMV, NFC, PayPal, Google, and Isis, and targets the SMB in particular.

Stuart Taylor's background includes senior marketing positions with VeriFone, Hypercom, and ViVOtech. Tony Walsh brings senior sales and business development experience from Retalix, Cynergy Data, NOVA, Concord EFS, and Ingenico. "Stuart and Tony represent the steady progress we have made in building an exceptionally innovative team of professionals capable of navigating today's complex world of payments," reflected Hazel. "We are happy to welcome them to our Equinox team."

Tony Walsh, VP, Middle Market Group, Equinox Payments