POS, Payment Processing, And Data Collection News

By The Business Solutions Network

Getac Reveals Ultra Rugged Notebook

Getac recently announced its new B300, an ultra-rugged notebook designed for the most extreme, mission-critical environments found in military and law enforcement applications, as well as with certain field service technicians.

The B300 uses Intel’s 6th generation Skylake Core i7 processor to increase computer and GPU performance while reducing power consumption. Dual hot-swappable batteries provide up to 30 hours between charges and potentially infinite battery life. The available 13.3-inch touchscreen display is Getac’s brightest screen at 1400 nits. Getac’s QuadraClear direct bonding technology decreases reflections and increases screen readability, even in direct sunlight, for greater field productivity. A one-touch feature allows the screen to be viewed with night vision goggles without additional screen filters. The full-sized keyboard is backlit red to avoid silhouetting, an essential feature for officer safety and covert operations.

Getac has prioritized protection against data theft and malicious attacks by delivering a security solution in the B300 that takes full advantage of Windows 10 security. TPM 2.0 monitors and protects system start-ups to ensure the device is tamper-free before releasing control to the operating system, while BitLocker encryption protects data at rest, in use, and in transit. Multifactor authentication options such as fingerprint and SmartCard reader work in tandem with Microsoft Windows 10 identity protection features for additional protection. In the event that the system is ever stolen, optional Absolute DDS allows it to be disabled remotely.

MobileDemand Introduces 3D Camera Tablet

Rugged Windows tablet provider MobileDemand recently launched a new 8-inch rugged tablet. Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the new tablet is an integrated 3D camera. The xTablet T8650 is engineered specifically for the mobile workforce and allows workers to create photorealistic 3D models as well as take automatic measurements.

The Intel RealSense 3D rear facing camera, integrated into the tablet, captures 3D scenery and objects, overlaying virtual information into a live image feed. Users can capture depth-based images for applications such as volume dimensioning, measurements, scene capture, and more. The camera has multiple image sensors allowing depth sensing to see the world in 3D much as humans do. Combined with software that MobileDemand is also developing, it allows systems to understand what is seen.

Three dimensional data acquisition with mobile devices is in the infancy stage. MobileDemand is developing software to acquire measurements, dimensions, object recognition, and 3D e-scenes using advanced computer vision technology and algorithms. These interfaces can be fed 3D data, such as measurements, to existing end-user applications in a variety of industries.

The rugged tablet with 3D camera runs enterprise-ready Windows 10 Professional, and runs on an Intel Atom X5-Z8550 processor, 4GB of memory, and 64GB of storage. Other features of the rugged tablet include a high-performance 2D bar code imager, fingerprint reader, 4G LTE, GPS, dual color cameras, hot swappable batteries, vehicle mounting, and more.

Focus POS, Sterling Payment Technologies Team Up For EMV Solution

Focus POS has announced a partnership with Sterling Payment Technologies to offer an EMV solution to businesses in the hospitality industry. This EMV solution offers restaurants the capability to accept payments from mobile wallets thanks to NFC and tokenization technologies.

EMV became a necessity in the hospitality industry thanks to the liability shift that took place in October of 2015. This shift meant that any restaurant that wasn’t EMV compliant would be held accountable for certain fraudulent transactions processed by its system. Utilizing the proper EMV technology protects businesses and customers from fraud. In order for restaurants to succeed, they must offer EMV transaction support and credit card data tokenization. With the growing popularity of mobile wallets and payments, NFC technology is also a requirement.

Focus POS customers who use the VeriFone VX 805 and the latest Focus software can take advantage of this new EMV solution. This semi-integrated solution protects electronic payments, so Focus POS doesn’t directly handle sensitive customer data and information less likely to be stolen.

 

Agilysys Adds Business Analytics, Data Extraction Capabilities

Agilysys recently revealed that rGuest Analyze, the company’s business intelligence solution, will now be packaged with InfoGenesis POS, enabling hospitality customers to use existing POS data to increase revenue, more effectively manage costs, and enhance guest satisfaction.

rGuest Analyze addresses the growing requirement for food and beverage and retail operations to leverage POS data as one of their most important assets. Adding to InfoGenesis’ existing reporting capabilities, rGuest Analyze’s on-demand business intelligence information and customized dashboards allow managers to identify key performance metrics — such as sales trends, table turns, server performance, and product mix — and act on the insights in real time to boost profitability and optimize operations.

In addition, rGuest Analyze includes Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) functionality, which provides a clean data stream that integrates into users’ own workflows. For customers who have already made a significant investment in an enterprise business intelligence (BI) tool or need to add point-of-sale data to other internal systems, rGuest Analyze’s DaaS data extraction capability simplifies the creation of POS data files in a standard format for import into existing BI applications.

Other key features of rGuest Analyze include operational metrics that allow managers to compare business performance across multiple locations; mobile access that enables managers to take charge of the business, even when off-site; and reporting tools that allow users to segment critical data, generate reports on the fly, answer ad-hoc operational questions, and schedule automatic distribution of key reports.

Posiflex Unveils New POS Terminal

Posiflex recently introduced its new XT3915, a 15-inch resistive touch screen POS terminal configured by default with a 128 GB SSD (solid state drive). Additionally, seven of the industry’s retail and hospitality POS developers — 2TouchPOS, Action Systems Inc. (ASI), Digital Dining, Dinerware, Focus POS, Future POS, and pcAmerica — have certified the new terminal for interoperability. Aloha POS software also has been reseller tested and approved.

The XT3915 runs on an Intel Celeron J1900 processor and comes with 2 GB of RAM (expandable to 8 GB), is spill and dust resistant, and has a folding neck base for viewing adjustments. It also has a multifunctional base for an optional powered USB, 8-port hub, second drive, and/or battery backup.

“The XT3915 with SSD greatly improves the operational speed of 2TouchPOS,” says Kevin Bolton, VP of 2TouchPOS. “Database I/O for ticket management and disk write logging is much faster than with the traditional hard drive.” According to ASI’s test lab certification reports, during the testing, the XT3915 took 21 seconds to boot up from cold. This was the fastest time-to-ready of any unit tested to-date, and performance overall was rated exceptional in running Restaurant Manager POS software.

Panasonic Updates 10.1-Inch Toughpad

Panasonic recently introduced its latest fully rugged 10.1-inch Android tablet at the Panasonic Automotive Innovation Summit in Barcelona. Because the product was unveiled at an automotive show, Panasonic pointed out that the unit is ideal for automotive workshop reception areas and showrooms. However, the device is equally suited for professionals working in the retail and hospitality industry for point of sale and order taking, and for mobile workers needing access to documentation in the field.

The Toughpad FZ-A2, succeeding the FZ-A1, has a fanless design and is equipped with an Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Quad Core processor (2 MB cache, 1.44GHz up to 2.4GHz) with 4GB RAM and a 32GB embedded memory.

The 10.1-inch display (1920x1200), has been designed for use and clarity of vision both indoors and outdoors. The 10-point capacitive touchscreen display can be used by hand, gloved hand, or with a capacitive stylus pen for annotation or signature collection even in the rain. In addition, the device features a user-removable, hot-swappable battery with a nine hour working life to match the needs of a typical work shift.

Additionally, the Toughpad FZ-A2 includes the latest WLAN 802.11ac Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8260 technology as well as Bluetooth v4.2 class 1. Finally, the Toughpad FZ-A2 is fully ruggedized with magnesium alloy, was drop tested to 4 feet, comes with an IP65 ingress protection rating for resistance to dust and water, and will operate effectively in temperatures ranging from 14˚F to 122˚F.