Datalogic QuickScan Video Review

We got yet another video up for your amusement. This time it’s the Datalogic QuickScan series of retail barcode scanners. Available as a linear imager, laser scanner, and cordless imager, these barcode scanners are pretty snappy and lightweight.

Anyway, enjoy!

POS-X EVO-TM1 Quicklook Video

Not one to deprive you of the videos we make, here’s a quickie of the new POS-X EVO-TM1 touchscreen monitor. We got Travis to run this one, primarily because we wanted more videos of him on YouTube.

POS-X XI3200BT Barcode Scanner, And Video!

POS-X updated their XI3000 to become the XI3200, and so they did the same with their bluetooth barcode scanner. The XI3200BT is a pretty solid contender for any retail location needing a bit of mobility. It doesn’t have a batch memory mode, which is alright since it also has a 328-foot line of site radio range. That is a long distance to cover and can easily take care of most businesses.

And check this out, more video!

POS-X XI3200, Now With Video

The fellas over at POS-X did a rev bump on their mid-range barcode scanners, jumping from the XI3000 to the XI3200. I’m pretty sure that this scanner is 200 more than the predecessor, too. POS-X chose the XI3200 as the time to shift offering only a USB model. A lot of manufacturers, and even some end users, are still clinging to PS/2 and even RS-232 for their barcode scanners, but 9 times out of 10 we’re selling a USB model.

We have a video here to show off, just a quick look at some of the new features on this scanner. Once we have a couple in house we’ll try to chuck one off the roof.

User Reviews: They’re the Reviewiest

In our ongoing effort to make the site plump with content and solid, honest information, we’ve implemented user reviews. Customers can hop onto the site, find their favorite product, and write up their likes, dislikes, etc. It’s always nice to have verification on the awesomeness of a barcode scanner or receipt printer, especially if it’s from someone who isn’t drawing a paycheck from the site.

We’ll be adding them slowly, but if you want to check out a couple, the Honeywell 3800g barcode scanner. Two whole reviews! And they both backup the claim that it’s probably the best 1D handheld barcode scanner on the Earth. That’s a big dorky claim, and I’m sticking with it.

Ultra Ultra UltraScan Review

Hey so I already used my words plenty of times to talk about the UltraScan, so here’s some video of it, with the incomparable Jaime showing off the barcode scanner’s feats.

Symbol Video Review-a-thon

Hey check it out, this time we’re covering the Symbol LS4208, LS4278, and LS3008. Just for a quick rundown:

LS4208: Good for higher volume retail. It scans pretty quickly, and is aggressive. It is a little spendy, but it’s going to give you more bang for your buck than the less expensive scanners.

LS4278: The cordless version of the LS4208. It has a 70 foot range and built-in rechargeable battery. It’s not ruggedized, so it’d be better at home in retail environments as opposed to warehouses.

LS3008: Not only is it yellow, but it has an IP54 seal, so it can be sanitized pretty easily. I like to think of IP54 as making things “sneezeproof.”

All three can shoot a secondary rasterized laser pattern. Rasterization, in POS, is using mirrors to propagate a laser into more places. All laser barcode scanners do this by design, otherwise it’d just be a dot shooting out of the scanner. The secondary one on these barcode scanners gets the beam to wave up and down, helping increase accuracy on crappy barcodes, and gives certain models an easy way to scan PDF417 barcodes, which are 2 dimensional.

Yeah, the video’s a little washed out. We’re working on a location that provides more even lighting, while not sounding as echo-y.

HHP 3800g Video Review

Hey kids, feast your eyes on yet another review. This is the HHP 3800g. It may soon be the Honeywell 3800g, or it already is. Honeywell buys lots of companies, and HHP was one of them. Before HHP, they were Welch-Allyn. But this scanner is pretty rad for its price. Super durable, light immune, can read like everything ever that’s 1D. I’m a fan of that.

Yeah so the audio’s a little rough; we’re learning this as we go along as well. Hopefully we’ll have a better mic for the next one.

Meta descriptions are so fun!

As I’ve mentioned before, we review products that we sell. It’s no big secret that 95% of the POS retailers out there probably have a good handle on their product lines, but they don’t share that with the customer. Maybe they just like to feel special. I don’t know. Anyway, we’ve got about 35 reviews up live right now, but we’re not getting a lot of traffic through them, so my boss had me check out the metadata to see if anything weird was going on there. I give it a look and find out that half of them are identical to our template. No biggie, just means I have to make words up so Google looks at the pages and says “Ohhhhhhh, that’s a Symbol MC35 review, awesome!” instead of “Ohhh that’s a pos review what is that again?”

So I spent about a day whittling away at these descriptions, making them actually reference the product properly, as well as a little blurb about the contents. It was challenging after a while to be unique for each review. I’m pretty sure every 5th one has the same format with different main words. Oh well. It’s the thought that counts.

I don’t know when the site’s going to get crawled again, but here’s hoping that helps bump them up a bit too.

Motorola Scanvisor

Given my position as glad hander, manufacturer buddy, and product manager, I get to see a lot of the new stuff manufacturers are trying, generally on the day it’s released.

The Motorola Scanvisor is a pretty new thing from our Motorolian/Symboliotic friends. Motorymbol’s doing a lot to help the customer tell the difference between their product line and intended uses, and I know our sales staff and the end user are going to really dig it. For instance, it doesn’t seem like there are huge differences between the Symbol LS4208 and LS3008 aside from the paint job. Bright yellow=industrial, btw. The scan engines are comparable, they have similar warranties, but the LS3008 is designed for environments needing sterile equipment and can be cleaned with no ill harm. I kind of want to toss one in the dish washer and see how it fares.

I know this just from hacking through data sheets, spec information, and putting the products on the site. Customers aren’t going to have such an intimate knowledge of barcode scanners, and maybe our categorization doesn’t match their industry properly. The ScanVisor now lets them search by industry, environment, and myriad other uses as well as let them compare products. And it’s all in flash, which, as we know, is one of the many ways to tell if something’s high-tech.

I’d really like to apply a similar technique to our product review data so customers can find the right scanner with minimal work. Maybe have some input fields for different values, such as scan range, wireless capability, seal specification, etc. So then if they need a barcode scanner that can read from contact to 8 inches and has bluetooth capabilities, they can get a Metrologic FocusBT or Symbol LS4278.

Regarding the request for video of barcode scanner chucking, it’ll have to wait until I can find our Hi8 camera. But it should be awesome. Really really awesome.