This Week’s Product Pick

Handheld US (Corvallis, OR) has unwrapped its upgraded Algiz 7 rugged tablet computer. Enhancements include Intel Atom Dual Core N2600 CPU at 1.6 GHz, 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, and 128 GB SSD SATA II. Added security and quicker communications comes from TPM Chipset Board and Gobi 3000 PCIe, respectively. Weighing 2.4 lbs., and bearing IP-65 and MIL-STD-810G ratings, Algiz 7 furnishes seven-inch touchscreen with MaxView technology for brightness in outdoor conditions, ten function keys, and on-screen QWERTY keyboard. A full suite of ports are provided, along with five-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, GPS, and 802.11b/g/n WLAN. "We've made significant improvements to the new Algiz 7, while keeping the price point the same," proclaimed Jerker Hellstrom, CEO of the Handheld Group.

Algiz 7 From Handheld US

COMPANY BUSINESS

License Your 2D, Honeywell-Intermec Told by FTC

Yes, Honeywell's purchase of Intermec has been approved, but as part of this merger, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed that Honeywell should license patents of two-dimensional barcode scan engines to Datalogic, in order to ensure healthy market competition. This includes two-dimensional scan engines from both Honeywell and Intermec, and for the period of twelve years. Under an agreement signed in December 2012, RRN.Com readers will recall, Honeywell announced its plans to acquire Intermec for approximately $600 million.

According to the FTC's complaint, Honeywell, Intermec, and Motorola are the only two-dimensional scan engine makers in the U.S. that have broad enough intellectual property portfolios to insulate them, and their customers, from potential patent-infringement lawsuits. Accordingly, Honeywell's acquisition of Intermec would leave two companies--Honeywell and Motorola--with control of more than 80% of the already highly concentrated U.S. market for two-dimensional scan engines. In order to encourage and preserve free market forces, Datalogic, based in Italy, should be given access to this relevant U.S. intellectual property, the FTC has decided in its proposed order of consent.

"Although divestiture of assets is the preferred remedy in merger cases, licensing requirements can preserve competition in markets where access to needed technology is the main barrier to entry," declared Deborah Feinstein, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition. "By requiring Honeywell to license its technology, the proposed order gives Datalogic access to the patents it needs to enter the U.S. market immediately and restore the competition lost due to the merger." This decision will be subject to public comment for thirty days, ending on October 15, 2013, after which the FTC will decide whether to make the proposed consent order final.

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Intermec's EA15 Two-Dimensional Scan Engine

A Box of Synnex POS

Synnex Corporation (Fremont, CA and Greenville, SC) has entered the market for bundled store solutions with its recent SKU of HP "r"POS terminals, Wasp QuickStore software, and Seiko Qaliber RP-E thermal receipt printer. This package addresses the "mom-and-pop" segment of the market, RRN.Com was told by Luke Allison, Program Manager for Synnex's STORESolv. As such, it gives the distributor's resellers easy access to this segment, on margin, while paving the way for increased business in cases of customer expansion.

"If they grow, you're going to get the business because you were the first guy in there," predicted Allison. Such scalability is facilitated by both HP and Wasp, on both the hardware and software sides. Similarly, HP and Wasp provide technical support; after one year, this may be rolled over for annual renewals, creating an attractive revenue stream, noted Allison.

Officially introduced at the Retail Solutions Providers Association Show in Las Vegas, this new Synnex bundle has attracted significant interest among the distributor's partners, according to Allison. "We've done this loosely in the past, but this is the first marketed, multi-vendor bundle," he stated. "A lot more verticals will be addressed, starting with mobility in retail." Debuted in 2012, Seiko's Qaliber RP-E saves space with its five-inch cube format and prints at 1.15 feet/second. 

Synnex Bundle With HP, Wasp, and Seiko

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

One Hand Clapping at Socket

Socket Mobile (Newark, CA) has shipped its Socket Bluetooth Cordless Hand Scanner (CHS) Series 8 for use with smartphones in retail, inventory management, and field service. Measuring 3.4 in. (L) x 2.1 in. (W) x 0.5 in. (D), and weighing 1.7 oz., CHS Series 8 supports Apple, Android, and Windows devices, reads linear and stacked linear symbologies (in the first model, CHS 8Ci), and shares the SocketScan 10 Software Development Kit (SDK). For one-handed scanning, Socket Mobile will supply so-called Klip Cases for the Apple iPhone 5, iPod Touch Fifth Generation, and Samsung Galaxy S4.

Featuring decode distance of 2.25 to 20 inches, and large, easy-to-use power and trigger buttons, CHS Series 8 supplies visual, audio, and tactile confirmation of scans. A Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery furnishes 10 hours, or 10,000 scans, of operation. In addition to Micro USB, an attachment for lanyard enables wearing around the end-user's neck. Its one-dimensional version, CHS 8Ci, carries an MSRP of $260.

"Socket Mobile created the CHS Series 8 in response to high customer demand for a thinner barcode scanner that could be attached to the smartphone," indicated Vince Coli, Product Manager at Socket Mobile. "With our highly popular CHS Series 7, Socket Mobile has become a leader in the mobile barcode scanning market, with most customers using them with tablets. The new CHS Series 8 complements our CHS Series 7 by leveraging the same great features and performance in a solution optimized for smartphones." Any app for the CHS Series 7 will work with the CHS Series 8, the company added.

Socket Mobile Bluetooth Cordless Hand Scanner Series 8

A Logical Step for Tripp Lite

Tripp Lite (Chicago), perhaps best known for power protection, has offered two handy new products: display mounts and reversible USB cables. A family of display holders includes six wall-mount models featuring fixed, tilting, and full-motion designs and supporting common sizes from 13 to 60 inches and maximum weight of up to 165 lbs. All embody mounting hardware in compliance with VESA and durable construction to withstand use in common areas and expected stress of repeated adjustments, according to the vendor, which lists digital signage, point-of-purchase, conference rooms, and security stations as suitable environments for this hardware.

As their name indicates, Tripp Lite's reversible cables allow plugging in any direction through versatile Type-A connectors. A wide variety of lengths (up to 10 feet) and categories (both Micro and Mini) are addressed, with USB 2.0 and 480 Mbps transfer rates. In addition, space-saving right-angled connectors, or "RA" models, are available. Additional benefits include backward compatibility with older USB 1.1 devices, and RoHS-compliant designs with lifetime warranties.

"Our new reversible USB cables make connecting any USB device quick and easy for any application," relayed David Posner, Product Manager at Tripp Lite. "They're perfect for an everyday user connecting their smartphone as well as an IT professional setting up numerous workstations." As distributors, Tripp Lite draws upon the broadline world of Avnet, D&H, Ingram Micro, Synnex, and Tech Data.

Wall Display Mount From Tripp Lite

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ENVIRONMENTS/PLATFORMS

On the "Level" With Developers

One of the fastest growing providers of mobile payments, LevelUp (Boston), has launched its Software Development Kit (SDK). Described as similar to the Facebook SDK, which allows developers to integrate existing functionality into their own apps (as opposed to Apple's iOS SDK, which enables the creation of entirely new apps), the LevelUp SDK provides extensive new tools, according to the company. Availability has so far been limited to select beta partners, with applications now being accepted on the company's website.

A group of core tools has been showcased by LevelUp, residing within the app. These include log-in/registration, display of QR Codes for payment, push receipt capability, and display of transaction history (with permission, of course). In addition, campaign credit for QR Code scanning, merchant location finding, and management of card preferences have been embedded.

LevelUp reports fifty apps currently in development. Examples in retail include Organic Avenue with its chain of cold-pressed juice and vegan food stores in New York and Sebastian's Cafe with eatery and catering franchises in Boston. In other areas, Route 802 has integrated mobile payments via LevelUp and restaurant take-out via Zuppler (Conshohocken, PA) into its tourism and exploration apps for Vermont and New Hampshire. Since emerging two years ago, LevelUp has forged relationships with more than three dozen leading solutions for restaurant POS, including Aldelo, Aloha, ASI, Digital Dining, Dinerware, LightSpeed, Maitre'd, Micros, Positouch, RPower, SpeedLine, and Squirrel.

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LevelUp Offers SDK for Third Parties Such as Organic Avenue

More MDM for Motorola ET1, MC40

SOTI (Mississauga, ON, Canada) has debuted the latest version of MobiControl, its flagship solution for mobile device management (MDM). MobiControl Version 10.0 R4 offers additional support for various OEM partners, in particular Motorola Solutions and its Android-based hardware such as the ET1 enterprise tablet and MC40 mobile computer, according to the developer. Several new features have been cited, such as operating system updates, default home screen/launcher, and "silent" installation of necessary certifications such as CA Root. New remote capabilities include closing of active user applications, setting of various audio volumes, and enabling and disabling of USB debugging mode and/or USB mass storage.

"SOTI's MobiControl Version 10.0 R4 provides the necessary tools to comprehensively manage our Android devices to the levels customers have come to expect," remarked Girish Rishi, SVP of Enterprise Solutions at Motorola Solutions (Schaumburg, IL). "As part of Motorola's strategy of partnering with the best device management companies on the market, we are delighted to continue offering SOTI's MobiControl as among the leading solutions within our product portfolio." In line with this commitment, SOTI conducted extensive interoperability testing, reportedly.

"We're excited to deliver the enhanced features added to MobiControl Version 10.0 R4," offered Carl Rodrigues, SOTI CEO. "It speaks to our commitment to provide our partners and customers with best-of-breed device management solutions, and these latest innovations are the direct result of the strong relationship we've built with Motorola Solutions." First introduced in January, SOTI MobiControl Version 10 brought features such as web filtering, real-time anti-virus and malware protection, telecom expense management, and secure content library, among others.

SOTI MobiControl Version 10 for Mobile Device Management

Code Corner

RetailNext, Inc. (San Jose, CA) has delivered RetailNext 4.5, which includes an innovative, patent-pending, queue analytics solution for retail, including the specialty sector. This upgraded platform provides extensive metrics focused on key parameters of customer behavior, traffic counting, and loss prevention. By comparing queue statistics to factors such as staffing levels and store traffic, and to results such as conversion or sales, it helps retailers create the best possible checkout experience, according to its developer. Significantly, it supports linear, snake, and even unstructured queue types, works with all popular video cameras, and leverages the vendor's cross camera mapping capabilities. RetailNext 4.5 empowers data-driven decisions for retail professionals across departments such as marketing, store operations, information technology, and store management, asserted the developer. "The number of data sources available to retailers is growing every day, which makes this a very exciting time for in-store analytics," explained Maria Fernandez Guajardo, VP of Product Management for RetailNext. "Our platform was built on three pillars: real-time data integration with both existing and future data sources, scalability, and retail knowledge. Our customers benefit from having a 'one-stop' solution, enabling them to better understand their shoppers, evaluate store performance, measure campaign effectiveness, and improve their business overall."

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

In the Driver's Seat at GS1

GS1 US (Lawrenceville, NJ) has released its enhanced, online Data Driver for UPC barcodes. This new tool assigns Unique Product Identification numbers, here known as Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs)--such as GTIN-8, GTIN-12, GTIN-13, and GTIN-14--to help businesses prepare products for sale and comply with large retailer trading requirements. With Data Driver, users can easily create GTINs, generate UPC barcodes in high resolution and PDF format, and manage their GTINs over the course of the product lifestyle.

GS1 US Data Driver also enables users to store, manage, and edit product data, and to create sales and summary sheets, according to the standards organization. At present, more than 50,000 small and mid-sized businesses across diverse industries have employed Data Driver to add over eight million GTINs to their products. This service has been offered to members of the GS1 US Partner Connections Program and does not require technical or standards knowledge.

"Data Driver helps businesses succeed and manage growth," suggested Laura DiSciullo, SVP of Solutions for GS1 US. "Businesses that want to expand their distribution channels to include large, national retailers will need to comply with retailer business requirements. Data Driver is an easy-to-use resource to create accurate product numbers and barcodes for all packaging levels that are accepted by retailers globally."

Online Configuration Tool Assigns Unique GS1 Identifiers for Products

Revel Revved Up

Following its recent $10 million in Series B funding, Revel Systems (San Francisco), purveyor of iPad POS, will rev up three critical business segments--engineering, sales, and corporate development--with three new executive hires. "The past year has been a tremendous time of growth for Revel with new funding, new customers, and now wonderful new team members," recounted Lisa Falzone, CEO and Co-Founder of Revel Systems. "Alex Bogachek, Justin Shong, and Marius Domokos each bring very valuable and specialized assets to the table to help us grow the company in the direction that we are projecting, so we are very honored to have them join the team."

Alex Bogachek joins Revel as VP of Engineering with fifteen years of experience in software development and technical management. Most recently, he served as Director of Software Development and Technology for SynapSense Corporation. Justin Shong joins Revel as Head of Sales and Marketing. Previously, he worked as Associate VP at Concentrix and SVP of Worldwide Sales for the OCZ Technology Group. Finally, Marius Domokos joins Revel as General Counsel. Domokos brings broad experience handling strategic business relationships, legal transactions, and general operational issues. As an attorney with Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich, and Rosati, he served as counsel for most groups within Intel Corporation.

More news from Revel Systems, which has earned coverage in RRN.Com through partnerships with vendors to our channel, as evidenced by its presence in several booths at the recent Retail Solutions Providers Association Show in Las Vegas. This week, Revel announced its first large-scale sports arena installation for the Alabama State University (ASU) Hornets. All thirty concession stations in the stadium now utilize the company's system, accompanied by card swipes, receipt printers, and cash drawers, and residing in the cloud. For this deployment, Revel claims to have created the only "off-line" iPad POS on the market, allowing vendors to continue with transactions regardless of web connectivity.

New Funding, Executive Hires, and First Sports Arena Deployment for Revel

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

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

An App for Beep'nGo

Mobeam (Palo Alto, CA) has placed its new Beep'nGo on the Google Play app store for Android. Mobeam's communications scheme, as RRN.Com readers may know, allows smartphones to "beam" mobile coupons as one-dimensional barcodes (through pulses of infrared light). With such technology, screen-based coupons may be read by every one of the 165 million red laser scanners currently in use at retailers, according to the company. So who needs imaging, in other words.

In March, Mobeam announced the Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone as the world's first mobile device to integrate its technology. Now the new Samsung Galaxy Note 3 "phablet" (midway between phone and tablet) has become the second device with this capability.  With the Beep'nGo app, and Galaxy S4 or Galaxy Note 3, consumers select the loyalty, gift, or membership card to redeem, push the "beam" button, and point their smartphone at the laser scanner.

Light Pulses Communicate Mobile Coupons to Red Laser Scanners With Mobeam

Smile, You're on POS

Looking to the future, Omron Corporation, based in Japan, has unveiled its Human Vision Component, which provides the capacity to recognize consumer characteristics and preferences to great degree when incorporated into OEM equipment. So-called "HVC" includes ten algorithms from the company's OKAO Vision image-sensing technology along with camera module drawn into its compact, board-based configuration (2.4 in. x 1.6 in. and 5 V). It provides face recognition, categorization of facial expressions, age and gender estimation, gaze and blink duration, hand detection, and other functions. Beginning next year, Omron will roll out products for specific vertical industries to bring this futuristic capability to fruition.

When it comes to incorporating sophisticated algorithms into equipment in this discipline, according to Omron, CPU performance and memory size often falls short of the mark. Moreover, extensive knowledge of software and hardware may be required, along with the need for time-consuming design and development. With Omron's HVC, in comparison, all processes for image analysis are handled within the component itself. Subsequently, users simply need to mount the component on their system to capitalize on its promise.

To date, Omron has sold more than 500 million software licenses worldwide for human face/motion sensing, mainly in the digital camera and mobile phone markets. So far, much of its human recognition technology has been employed for consumer products such as security systems, home appliances, lighting controls, and robotics (including mechanical pets, believe it or not). In this latest announcement, Omron pointed to automatic vending machines and even point of sale as potential markets, enabling ongoing, real-time detection of consumer preferences and purchasing behaviors.

Omron's Human Vision Component Recognizes Physical Characteristics and Expressions of Customers

Channel Factoid

It's been five years since the economic implosion, and small businesses continue to struggle for financing, since traditional bank lending remains depressed, according to the recent survey by Merchant Cash and Capital. Before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, only 6% of respondents in this segment found it very difficult to get financing, but that number grew significantly in the ensuing years, with half of responding merchants saying it was somewhat or very difficult to obtain financing between 2008 and 2012. Today, nearly one in two (45%) still believe this to be true--and 86% said they expect this difficulty to remain over the next twelve months. Nearly seven out of ten respondents (69%) feel that traditional financing has not returned to 2007 levels. As a result, 40% of business owners surveyed said they have considered or implemented secondary ways (besides bank loans) to finance their business, which includes the risky use of credit cards (15%) or asking friends and family for funds (9%). And more than half of respondents (54%) said they don't plan to hire in 2014. "Even though the economy is improving and banks claim to be financing more, there really seems to be some disconnect between what lenders are saying and small businesses are feeling," suggested Stephen Sheinbaum, CEO of MCC. "Without access to capital, small businesses will continue struggling to grow and hire, which is critically important to economic recovery in the U.S."

HELLO GOODBYE

Vanguard at Vantiv

Vantiv, Inc. (Cincinnati), one of the payment processors interested in working with our channel, has enlisted Daniela Mielke as its Chief Strategy Officer. This new hire brings considerable buzz given her previous posts. Prior to Vantiv, she held the title of VP of Global Strategy at PayPal. Earlier in her career, she served as VP of Global Strategy at Visa. She also has fulfilled various finance, sales, and marketing positions with McKinsey & Co. and Nestle, S.A.

"I'm thrilled to be joining Vantiv," shared Mielke. "Vantiv is a company on the move, and I am pleased to be joining at such a unique time in its growth. They are at the vanguard of the payment processing industry, and I look forward to contributing to the next phase of the company's history."

"Daniela is a dynamic, results-oriented leader who comes to Vantiv with deep experience in payments strategy and financial services," stated Charles Drucker, CEO at Vantiv. "She is an accomplished and practical payments professional who has built successful teams and relationships throughout her career, and we look forward to her doing the same at Vantiv." As market differentiation, Vantiv emphasizes its single, proprietary platform, RRN.Com has been told in several conversations.

Daniela Mielke, Chief Strategy Officer, Vantiv

Jamison Takes Direction

Jamison RFID (Hagerstown, MD) has broadened its executive team with the hiring of Anthony Dublino as Director of Commercial Business for North America and promotion of Gina Lehman to Director of Government Business. Jamison RFID addresses the need for portals, housing structures, mounting components, and custom designed enclosures in its namesake industry with over 6,000 warehouse, retail, and supply chain customers in North America. Its roster of partners features system integrators such as Atlas RFID, Barcom, Lowry, Millennium Technologies, and Rush Tracking Systems.

Dublino has over twenty years of experience in supply chain optimization, including channel distribution, strategic alliances, and operations. Previously he led business development for TAGSYS RFID and Hi-G-Tek. Lehman has more than thirteen years in supply chain sales and marketing. Prior to joining Jamison RFID as National Account Manager in 2010, she worked at Hi-G-Tek and Motorola/Symbol.

Gina Lehman, Director of Government Business, Jamison RFID