This Week’s Product Pick

Honeywell Scanning & Mobility (Ft. Mill, SC) has shipped its new, entry-level scanphone, the Dolphin 60s. This lightweight, pocket-sized device provides communications through 3G WWAN, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. It carries an integrated one and two-dimensional scan engine, five-megapixel camera, and 2.8-inch color display. Additional features include standard and numeric keypads, extended battery life for an average worker shift, and ruggedness to withstand four-foot drops and 800 tumbles. "The Dolphin 60s provides a cost-effective solution for businesses looking to upgrade from the paper and clipboard by automating their inventory management and data collection," stated Taylor Smith, Director of Product Marketing at Honeywell Scanning & Mobility. "Honeywell designed this scanphone to meet the needs of retail, field service, and direct store delivery."

Honeywell's Dolphin 60s

COMPANY BUSINESS

Jelly Bean, and Beyond, for Motorola

A path to the future? Motorola Solutions (Schaumburg, IL) has given the channel an early look with this week's release of three popular devices--the ET1, MC40, and MC67--running Android Jelly Bean OS and supported by two new software resources. So-called Extensions by Motorola Solutions, or Mx, fortifies security, device management, and performance, while RhoMobile Suite 4.0 provides cross-platform development tools. "We're trying to think through the entire problem for retailers," RRN.Com was told by Barry Issberner, Senior Director of Product Marketing for the Enterprise at Motorola Solutions. "They need devices, they need stable, predictable platforms, and they need to know somebody's standing behind their systems. Finally, they need flexibility for the future."

While ET1 and MC40, both aimed at retail, previously featured Android, the Jelly Bean OS brings increased security, better graphics support, and improved logging, according to Motorola. "We felt it was time to bring some of our most important devices up-to-date," related Issberner, "and make sure we completed the entire platform for the enterprise. Even with Jelly Bean, however, we felt more was needed." Thus, Mx, which strengthens specifics of device management, such as memory encryption, application access, wireless roaming, and speed of data collection.  A "no charge," proprietary item, Mx has been recommended, not required by Motorola Solutions, and works in conjunction with third-party schemes such as SOTI, AirWatch, and Wavelink.

Completing this package, RhoMobile Suite 4.0 allows developers to write, integrate, host, and manage applications that work across platforms, "whether iOS, Android, Windows Phone, or in the future, Windows Embedded 8 Handheld." RhoMobile Suite 4.0 simplifies the development process by creating one common set of APIs for both JavaScript and Ruby, the company noted. In addition, Motorola offers its free SDK for its Android family. In the case of RhoMobile, of course, licensing comes into play for support and more robust developer resources. With its latest announcement, Motorola Solutions seems to have charted the course between consumer devices and the more rigorous requirements of business users.

Manager Dashboard for ET1 Tablet

A Big Tree for Leaf POS

Nice to have powerful friends. Take the case of Leaf, supplier of its purpose-built tablet for retail and hospitality, dubbed LeafPresenter. This week, Leaf revealed its $20 million investment from payment processing stalwart, Heartland Payment Systems (Princeton, NJ). Along with this funding, Heartland Payment will distribute Leaf's technology through its own sales force of 800. Above and beyond core card processing services, value-added apps such as payroll, loyalty, mobile commerce, and online ordering will be run through the LeafPresenter on the part of Heartland.

"While discussing a major distribution deal with Heartland, it became clear that we have much deeper synergies than simply selling together," recounted Aron Schwarzkopf, Co-Founder and CEO of Leaf (Cambridge, MA). "Heartland is spearheading a new wave of innovation across the industry that aligns with our mission of creating an open platform that empowers business owners to aggregate valuable services under one digital footprint. Local merchants have very different needs, so enabling their success with new technology is all about giving them options to create an experience that's most valuable for them and their customers. Our flexible platform lets merchants choose processing services from Heartland or any number of other providers, as well as vertical-specific POS applications from Leaf or any other player in the industry."

Leaf has built its platform along three lines: the LeafPresenter, the LeafBusiness cloud-based analytics and management platform, and the Leaf Appstore for the developer community. A latest generation of LeafPresenter, debuted in May, brought an improved camera capable of reading one and two-dimensional barcodes, a second camera on the front of the tablet, an HD-quality display, and more efficient battery, according to the company, all in augmentation of existing mobile ordering and checkout. It is powered by an updated version of the Leaf OS, while extending support for NFC and EMV Chip-and-PIN. Leaf follows the pay-as-you-go philosophy, charging merchants $50 per month for LeafPresenter and LeafBusiness.

LeafPresenter, Purpose-Built Tablet for Mobile POS, Now Backed by Heartland Payment Systems

Worth Your While

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

NRF 103rd Annual Conference & Expo
National Retail Federation
January 12-15, 2014
New York City

ALL IN THE FAMILY

Elo @ The Office

Elo Touch Solutions (Milpitas, CA) has rolled out "Elo @ The Office," its nifty new approach to the needs of business environments such as lobbies and meeting rooms. Such bundles combine Elo's large-screen touch computers with leading software packages to enable cloud-based collaboration, digital whiteboard, building directory, and virtual receptionist functionalities. In keeping with the times, Elo @ The Office extends compatibility with communication schemes such as Cisco WebEx, Citrix GoToMeeting, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Lync, Microsoft Skype, Ready Talk, as well as applications such as QlikView for business intelligence and Salesforce.com for CRM.

Elo's Digital Whiteboard Solution combines its 70-inch touchscreen with Hitachi's StarBoard Software, enabling workers to capture meeting notes, deliver multi-media presentations, and work together in teams through multi-touch. Elo's Directory Solution employs JibeStream NovoTouch Software with its 55-inch touchscreen to provide directory listings and three-dimensional maps for visitors to buildings or wide campus settings. For the Elo Virtual Receptionist Solution, Elo has loaded its 42-inch touchscreen with WinTech LLC's ALICE Software so employees may communicate with visitors in the lobby from their desks using face-to-face video or audio-only conversations. A centrally located receptionist may manage several remote office lobbies with this system.

Elo's Touchscreens Are Bundled With Software for Advanced Office Solutions

A&P RFID at DAP

DAP Technologies (Phoenix) has worked with Omni-ID to bring both active and passive RFID reading capability for its M9010 mobile tablet. Armed with Omni-ID's active RFID, as well as passive RFID, end-users with the M9010 now eliminate the need to carry multiple devices, according to the two vendors. With rugged form factor, DAP's M9010 addresses asset-tracking, inventory management, and field service reporting, with particular emphasis on difficult environments such as yard management, manufacturing, and warehousing and logistics.

"Our customers are constantly looking for ways to simplify and create process efficiency--today that means taking technology out of the office and bringing it directly to the field," reported Ed Nabrotzky, EVP of Sales (Americas) and Product Development for Omni-ID (Rochester, NY). "The all-in-one approach that these DAP tablets provide--including the ruggedized form factor, combined with the intuitive interface and Auto ID functionality to track assets no matter what they're tagged with--is particularly appealing to our base of harsh environment customers. So appealing, in fact, that these tablets are already being deployed in volume to one of our high visibility customers in the oil and gas industry."

Part of DAP's M9000 Series, the M9010 has Windows Embedded Standard 7 for seamless integration into most enterprise environments. It incorporates an Intel Atom E660T CPU at 1.3 GHz for improved graphics, lower power consumption, and faster PCIe speeds (as well as 2 GB DDR2 and 16 GB SSD). A wide range of communications are supported, such as Gobi 3000, ZigBee, Bluetooth Version 2.1+EDR, 802.11a/b/g/n, and Wireless USB, with one-dimension scanner, five-megapixel camera. and seven-inch touchscreen. Befitting its market, M9010 holds MIL-STD-810F and IP-67 ratings.

DAP M9010 Tablet Reads Both Active and Passive RFID

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CERTIFICATIONS

CipherLab's CP60 Charged Up

CipherLab (Plano, TX) has achieved advances on three fronts for its rugged CP60 mobile computer. First, the CP60 has received certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance (Austin, TX), which serves as the industry trade association for the IEEE's 802.11. Under testing, CP60 satisfied standards for interoperability, security, easy installation, and reliability, according to the two parties. As such, it will wear the Wi-Fi Certified logo.

CipherLab also announced that the CP60 has been approved for use with the suite of software from RedBeam, Inc. (Suwanee, GA). RedBeam addresses barcoding and data collection for fixed asset tracking, inventory control, and check-in/checkout processes, and, like CipherLab, distributes through BlueStar. Lastly, CipherLab's CP60 now holds certification from AT&T, the leading telecommunications company in the U.S. This applies to the HSDPA/HSUPA feature of the mobile computer. "With this certification, our users can better enjoy more flowing connectivity with greater reliability," indicated Luis Wu, GM at CipherLab.

A new entry this year, CipherLab's CP60 carries an OMAP 3 CPU at 1 GHz, 4 GB Flash, and 512 MB SDRAM, with Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5.3 and Windows CE 6.0 R3. Measuring 7.3 in. (L) x 3.3 in. (W) x 1.7 in. (D), and weighing 18.2 oz., CP60 furnishes communications via 802.11a/b/g/n with Cisco CCX Version 4, Bluetooth Version 2.1+EDR, 4G HSPA+, and GPS. Additional features include 3.5-inch transflective TFT color LCD with LED backlight, laser reader/long range laser reader/two-dimensional imager, and five-megapixel camera. It passes IP-65/IP-67 ratings for water and dust as well as eight-foot drops onto concrete and 2,000 tumbles at three feet.

Extended Capabilities for CipherLab's CP60 Mobile Computer

Scanbuy: Stop, QR Trolls!

Scanbuy, Inc. (New York) and Marshall Feature Recognition, LLC (Marshall, TX) have collaborated to help companies protect themselves from frivolous patent attacks when using QR Codes. Following licensing of the MFR patent portfolio, together with its own patent holdings in this area, Scanbuy has assembled its new "Stop the Trolls!" toolkit, with features such as white paper, legal precedents, examples of prior symbologies, advice from previous victims, and additional resources. Scanbuy will promote this jointly created toolkit to businesses that make use of QR Codes in their marketing campaigns.

"MFR has the oldest, most extensive patent portfolio in the QR Code space and continues to grow their portfolio," emphasized Mike Wehrs, CEO/President of Scanbuy. "Some companies who provide QR Code services are claiming they have a license from MFR where none exist. That's not stopping Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs)--trolls--from suing firms to force a settlement through threat of high legal fees."

Scanbuy Partners with Marshall Feature Recognition on QR Code Toolkit to Resist Patent Attacks

Code Corner

With an eye towards restaurant and hospitality, Lavu, Inc. (Albuquerque, NM) has released Version 2.2.2 for use with iOS 7. New features include real-time inventory count-down and warnings, employee time record tracking, management level access to open orders, and enhanced "Happy Hour" capability. In addition, Version 2.2.2 of Lavu iPad POS now offers its customer database, which allows the restaurant staff to create new customer entries or search through existing customer histories. This improves efficiency with phone orders, allows targeted e-mail marketing, and provides insight into customer demographics. Lavu 2.2.2 also adds the ability to configure the printing of merchant and customer copies of "Tab Preauth" transactions. "Lavu Version 2.2.2 gives restaurant managers and owners what they have asked for: more features designed completely with the hospitality industry in mind," maintained Alex Gibbs, Manager of Product Development with Lavu, Inc. It may be downloaded in the Apple App Store.

NOTES FROM THE FIELD

Winner's Circle for Mercury

At this rate, Mercury will need more room in its trophy case. In September, the payment processor was recognized as one of the top companies in Colorado, and its CEO Matt Taylor was named one of the top five most influential young professionals in the Centennial State. Kudos came by way of ColoradoBIZ Magazine, which featured Mercury in both its September and October Editions.

"These lists offer a snapshot of the business leadership that is driving Colorado's innovation economy," observed Taylor. "It's an honor to be named top both individually and as the top financial company. Both awards are a true testament to our team's dedication to our customers and our partners."

This represents the most recent honor for Mercury, based in Durango. Last month, the company also was added to Inc. Magazine's 500/5000 list of fastest-growing companies in the U.S., with revenue jumping 157% between 2007 and 2012. Earlier, in August, Outside Magazine chose Mercury as one of America's "2013 Best Places to Work," citing employee opportunities in career advancement, health and wellness benefits, and community-centered volunteering efforts. Finally, in the channel, Mercury won the 2013 Gold Medallion in the Vendor of Excellence Awards, as well as "Best Electronic Payments/Financing Processor," at this year's Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) Show in Las Vegas. At present, Mercury's ecosystem includes 500 ISVs and 2,500 VARs in POS.

Matt Taylor, CEO, Mercury

A Wine Solution for ISV (in Grapevine, No Less)

Granbury Solutions (Grapevine, TX) has purchased WineWare Software, one of the leading providers of point of sale and wine club solutions for wineries, tasting rooms, and wine bars, as well as breweries, distilleries, and related markets. WineWare's products are entitled "SmartPOS" and "SmartClub," respectively, with integration of club management with both restaurant and retail environments. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"We're delighted to be part of Granbury Solutions, and with all their resources, to be able to offer many more great products to our customers," proclaimed Jeff Weidler, President and Owner of WineWare Software. "Our brand is widely known as the industry leader, and this move makes our services and product offerings so much stronger." The WineWare team will continued to be based in Paso Robles, California, according to the two parties.

WineWare Purchased by Granbury Solutions. President/Owner Jeff Weidler Stands in Booth at Last Year's Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers Show

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

Future POS; Present Mobile Wallet 

A leading ISV in hospitality and retail, Future POS (Butler, PA), will extend mobile wallet capabilities in conjunction with the payment and loyalty platform from Paydiant (Wellesley, MA). Under this integration and certification, nearly 8,000 customer locations with Future POS may offer mobile payments for the range of checkout scenarios, including pay-at-the-counter, pay-with-handheld, and pay-at-the-table, according to the two parties. Also cited as benefits: "tender steering to lower cost payment instruments, distribution of offers to drive more frequent customer visits and higher average ticket size, and more secure payment mechanism that leads to less card fraud and fewer charge backs."

Consumers can use any iPhone or Android smartphone to download the restaurant's or hospitality service provider's mobile wallet app and link their preferred payment cards. Next, customers scan the QR Code embedded in the screen of Future POS. From there, customers employ their mobile device to choose which offers to redeem and which card type to use to complete the transaction. Sites with Future POS can also accept payments from and distribution offers to customers using mobile wallets issued by Paydiant's banking and financial partners.

"The mobile wallet is about much more than payment," reflected Chris Gardner, Co-Founder of Paydiant, which recently received $15 million in another round of funding from investors. "It strengthens customer loyalty by increasing convenience, personalization, and value in the consumer relationship. Paydiant's software-only, cloud-based solution delivers these benefits to retailers and hospitality providers using their existing POS infrastructure." Steve Pritchard, Dealer Manager for Future POS, added, "And best of all, it's available today."

Paydiant Portal on Future POS Screen

Big Island, VAST Success

MAM Software (Allentown, PA) has championed the fact that Hawaii Tire Company, the largest such firm on the Big Island, has experienced significant success since implementing its VAST Enterprise POS. All four of company-owned Lex Brodie's Tire Stores have implemented this solution, which replaced an outdated legacy system with limited capabilities. Now, after two years, Hawaii Tire has reported increased margins and revenues, streamlined productivity in business operations, and widely improved customer service. As part of this new system, an integrated parts catalogue and labor guide accelerates the estimating process while ensuring jobs are profitable.

According to Hawaii Tire, follow-up sales on return visits are up 80% because the system notifies personnel that service was recommended and previously declined. Likewise, automation of customer follow-up and retention programs through mail and e-mail reminders increased to 90%. Speed of tire quoting, which includes all fees, such as mount, balance, and disposal, has increased by 80%. Invoicing speed has jumped 50% since duplicate work of entering estimates has been eliminated. Finally, parts return for mistaken orders fell 60% because the system forces the capture of the Vehicle Identification Number at the beginning of the process.

"The VAST System gives us great efficiency and visibility," relayed Josh Porter, Managing Director for Hawaii Tire Company. "A work order screen keeps track of everything. We can view multiple location inventories at one time, and when the sales manager creates an estimate, it can be checked for consistency in pricing and deliverables." Added Bill Klepeiss, President of the VAST Division for MAM Software, "Hawaii Tire wanted point of sale that could manage all of its business offerings, and offer stability and flexibility--features that were lacking in their previous system."

.

Hawaii Tire, and Josh Porter, Managing Director, Sings Praises of VAST Enterprise POS

Channel Factoid

Interest in big data continues to rise, with 64% of organizations investing or planning to invest in this technology, compared with 58% in last year's survey, according to Gartner. However, less than 8% of survey respondents have actually deployed. Of the 64%, 30% have already invested in big data technology, 19% plan to invest within the next year, and an additional 15% plan to invest within two years. Industries in the lead at present include media and communications, banking, and services. In media and communications, 39% said they have already invested, followed by 34% of banking organizations, and 32% of services firms. Planned investments over the next two years are highest for transportation (50%), healthcare (41%), and insurance (40%). However, every vertical market again shows big data investment and planned investment. Looking at the state of affairs for those companies that have made investments, 70% have moved past the early knowledge gathering and strategy formation phases and into piloting (44%) and deployment (25%). Among those planning to invest during the next two years, not surprisingly, 80% fall into the two earlier stages. "Our survey underlines the fact that organizations across industries and geographies see opportunity and real business value rather than the smoke and mirrors with which hypes usually come," concluded Lisa Kart, Research Director at Gartner.

HELLO GOODBYE

A Pair of Seagulls

Seagull Scientific (Seattle) has promoted Fred Dotson to Global Director of Sales. A well-known figure in our channel, Dotson joined Seagull Scientific as Distribution Manager - Americas in March. Previously, he spent fifteen years with ScanSource, in progressive titles of IBM Business Development Specialist, Director of Technical Services, and Director of Merchandising. He began his career at Gates/Arrow Distributing, the wellspring of many early ScanSource employees.

Seagull Scientific also has enlisted Grace Liu as GM of Asia Pacific. Liu's experience includes roles as the Taiwan Country Manager for CA Taiwan as well as the Taiwan GM for Hitachi Data Systems. In addition to Taiwan, Seagull Scientific has branch offices in Spain and Japan, and sells through resellers into more than 150 countries.

Fred Dotson, Global Director of Sales, Seagull Scientific

Sato Seats CMO

Sato Holdings Corporation (Tokyo) has named Masao Kodama as its Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). In this new role, Kodama will have responsibility for all facets of marketing, including research, business planning, branding, and product rollout.  "I'm excited and honored to hold this new position, and am looking forward to driving changes that will take Sato's business to the next level and make us better able to deliver increasing value to our customers," shared Kodama.

A Senior Manager of Sato's Market Research and Planning Office, Kodama brings over thirty years of professional experience. Prior to joining Sato in 2012, he worked with Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. in numerous positions of increasing responsibility in marketing and product management, including R&D, CRM, and Demand Forecast. He heads the Global Committee of Japan's CRM Association and received his Master's Degree in Business from Carnegie Mellon University.

"With his extensive experience and expertise, Kodama is a great fit for the position of CMO," commented Kaz Matsuyama, CEO/President of Sato Holdings Corporation. "As CMO, he will play a critical role in increasing Sato's global presence, raising brand awareness, and ensuring the group's marketing strategy is in line with our business goals and long-term vision to become the world leader in Auto ID solutions." Sato America, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, serves the channel for North America.

Masao Kodama, CMO, Sato Holdings Corporation