Metrologic Focus Review

I just love posting video links apparently. The Metrologic Focus and FocusBT are two really solid imagers from our Metrologician friends, soon to be Honeywelled. Yes, Honeywell, the company that makes everything, will now be making barcode scanners as well. Rocket Fuel and thermostats, that’s diversification if I ever saw it.

So yeah, things to know about the Focus. It’s a 2D barcode imager, so it actually takes a photo of the barcode and then analyzes the data. This means you can get a totally biffed up barcode, and the Focus will parse out the good parts of it until it can make a complete barcode. And it does this really quickly.

The barcode scanners basically run a linux derivative, or so I’ve been told, which means that they can be programmed to send just the data you need. Well, after a lot of work, they now have that in the form of EasyID. This lets you scan the barcode on the back of a state ID or driver’s license, and it’ll send the pertinent data to whatever application you’re running. It’s excellent for places that do credit card applications, and eliminates the errors from new typists or having trouble distinguishing between l & I.

So here’s the video, enjoy.

Unitech PA500 and PA600 Review

The review squad has been doing two at a time, and so here you go. The Unitech PA500 and PA600 are pretty cool, they both have the same internals, but the PA600 has a beefier body and IP54 seal.

Epson TM-T88IV Video Review

Jaime has been pounding out reviews like it’s going out of style, and so I’m sharing yet another with you. This time we’re covering the Epson TM-T88IV thermal receipt printer, the one that impact printers want and other thermal printers want to be. There’s a reason that almost every thermal receipt printer on the market emulates the ESC/POS standard, and the Epson TM-T88 line is it.

The TM-T88IV’s been on the market for a few years now, which means that it’s established as a versatile and easy to use printer. Recently, their drivers have been updated to require no restart, no headaches, nothing more than picking your printer and interface from an installation wizard. I’m pretty sure a lot of manufacturers are worried for if/when the TM-T88V drops.

Anyway, here’s the vidya.

Symbol LS2208 Video Review

I’m just putting videos all over the place. This round is the Symbol LS2208, one of the premier barcode scanners from our Symbol/Motorola friends. Pretty sure it’s been around forever, and it’s just as badass as it was when it was unleashed on the markets. If you go to a Radio Shack — and I know everyone needs wire clamps and PCB on occasion — the LS2208 is their main scanner.

Our reviewer mentions the durability being able to hold up to 6-foot drops. We were able to drop it from 13 feet a few times before it looked like the top plastic piece was going to explode off. Once we got it squished back together so it looked fine, it worked like a champ. The auto-sense trigger was permanently set, but it still works fine.

We’ve had a full text review online for a while, in case you’re looking for more info.

We get a little goofy on Halloween

This is part one of our two part series on why drinking a ton of soda, eating massive amounts of cupcakes and candy, and then trying to do a product review isn’t always the best plan. But it does make us look like contestants from Let’s Make a Deal.

PrehKeyTec MCI 3100 Review

Gentlemen! BEHOLD!

We just cranked out a video review for the PrehKeyTec MCI 3100. This is a pretty solid programmable keyboard, and I think it’s designed to survive really rough & soggy conditions, like a bar in Waterworld. That was a weird movie. Unlike this movie. This one is rad.