 |
News Archive |
 |
Friday, 30 June 2006
Arc Design offers the kiosk deployer expert sector knowledge on all aspects fo kiosk specification, design and fabrication.
Our first hand knowledge of fabrication costs and processes comes from working in-house at major kiosk vendors. This enables us to select the sest one for your project and negotiate the most cost effective way to produce it. As an unbiased third-party we can evaluate your concept`s strengths and weaknesses and help bring it into focus for all stake-holders.
Friday, 30 June 2006
Solectron Corporation provides a full range of electronics manufacturing and supply chain management services to the world's leading networking, telecommunications, computing, consumer, automotive, industrial and medical device firms. The company's industry-leading Lean Six Sigma methodology (Solectron Production System(TM)) provides OEMs with low cost, flexibility and quality that improves competitive advantage. Solectron's service offerings include new product introduction, collaborative design, materials management, product manufacturing, product warranty repair and end-of-life support. Based in Milpitas, Calif., Solectron operates in more than 20 countries on five continents.
Friday, 30 June 2006
Solectron Corporation provides a full range of electronics manufacturing and supply chain management services to the world's leading networking, telecommunications, computing, consumer, automotive, industrial and medical device firms. The company's industry-leading Lean Six Sigma methodology (Solectron Production System(TM)) provides OEMs with low cost, flexibility and quality that improves competitive advantage. Solectron's service offerings include new product introduction, collaborative design, materials management, product manufacturing, product warranty repair and end-of-life support. Based in Milpitas, Calif., Solectron operates in more than 20 countries on five continents.
Friday, 30 June 2006
ePaynews: U.K. grocery chain Tesco expects to chip-and-PIN-enable its self-checkouts in the wake of competitors Sainsbury's, Waitrose and M&S, whose in-store self-checkouts are already EMV-compliant. Until now, Tesco customers have used the store's self-checkouts without keying a PIN or signing for transactions. If any fraudulent card transactions occur at its self-service kiosks before then, Tesco is liable for the costs, even if other security measures are used to compensate for the lack of EMV security.
Read more
Friday, 30 June 2006
News.com.au: Banks are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of bandits who rob automatic teller machines (ATMs) in NSW.
An increasing number of ATM robberies has led the Australian Bankers' Association (ABA) to extend their reward scheme to cover ATM robberies and ram raids.
Read more.
Friday, 30 June 2006
IRVINE, Calif. · CeroView, a kiosk designer and global provider of turnkey kiosk solutions, announced it will offer free remote-management software with any complete kiosk system it sells. Remote management allows kiosk owners to monitor their kiosk networks · troubleshooting issues, updating content, monitoring system status and performing other tasks · over the Internet.
CeroView's remote-monitoring software is application independent, meaning it runs at the operating-system level, leaving the kiosk owner free to use other software.
"Offering this program is not meant to compete with reliable kiosk software companies," said CeroView president Derek Fretheim. "We still support companies like Netkey, Nanonation and St. Clair Interactive and their clients."
While the software is free, there is a $12.50 monthly service fee for the access and monitoring service.
The company also announced becoming a certified IBM Business Partner.
"We're very proud that IBM has recognized CeroView as a leading kiosk provider," Fretheim said. "IBM understands self-service and works with clients to help them innovate in their industry. Kiosks are an important aspect of the retail experience and IBM brings leadership products to market that meet the needs of clients in a range of industries."
As an IBM Business Partner, CeroView offers application-focused solutions using IBM's Anyplace Kiosk.
Wednesday, 28 June 2006
MINNEAPOLIS -- U.S. Bank has joined the MoneyPass surcharge-free ATM network giving customers surcharge-free access to an additional 7,000 ATMs nationwide, in addition to the nearly 5,000 U.S. Bank-owned ATMs that they already use free of charge.
"MoneyPass is the fastest growing surcharge-free network in the nation, and our customers will benefit tremendously from lower cost ATM access nationwide. Customers who are not near a U.S. Bank ATM should look for the MoneyPass logo to take advantage of the savings," said Steve SaLoutos, senior vice president of products and services at U.S. Bank.
Read more.
Wednesday, 28 June 2006
CHENNAI, India — Low-cost ATM machines developed by the Telecommunications Network (TeNet) Group of IIT, Chennai are being tested in the metropolis at two places.
The kiosk—ATM, named Grammteller, which was developed over a period of 18 months, by IIT's Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Departments, in association with Vortex India, is under pilot trial by ICICI bank. The ATMs are aimed at the rural market.
Read more.
Wednesday, 28 June 2006
CHICAGO - SSA Infinium, a provider of applications for the hospitality and gaming industries, today announced that it is working with IBM, Agilysys, Bally Technologies and InfoGenesis to offer integrated back office solutions for hospitality and gaming companies worldwide. SSA Infinium is a wholly owned subsidiary of SSA Global , a leading global provider of enterprise business software and services.
Read more.
Wednesday, 28 June 2006
ATM Express, Inc. is an experienced, fully licensed provider of ATM equipment and services for large and small businesses across the country. Our comprehensive approach increases merchant profits by backing up state-of-the-art machinery with direct technical and marketing support. Our goal is to deliver value to customers by increasing traffic, sales and revenue.
ATM Express is a licensed distributor of the best ATMs on the market, including Tranax Minibanks, Triton and Tidel.
Tuesday, 27 June 2006
FRANKLIN, Tenn. - When it comes to paying for goods and services, consumers continue to take matters into their own hands. North American consumers are on pace to spend over $475 billion at self-checkout lanes, ticketing kiosks and other self-service machines in 2006, an increase from $324 billion in 2005, reports a new research study conducted by IHL Consulting Group.
Read more.
Tuesday, 27 June 2006
LOS GATOS, Calif. - DVDPlay, Inc., the leading U.S. manufacture and operator of DVD rental kiosks, announced today that it rented its 5 millionth DVD movie. DVDPlay's rental growth rate continues to accelerate - outpacing traditional big box rental store rates by a wide margin. All DVDPlay new release and top hit movies rent from $1.00 to $1.49, depending on kiosk location. First-time rental is free.
"We reached the four million rental mark on December 19, 2005, the five million mark on June 15, 2006 and we expect to hit 10 million rentals by year end," said Chuck Berger, Chairman and CEO of DVDPlay. "Our automated kiosks are rapidly gaining traction in retail stores and consumer acceptance has surpassed even our most optimistic plans."
Read more.
Tuesday, 27 June 2006
SACRAMENTO -- Tower Records unveiled 'Tower Records Digital,' a music download store at Tower.com/Digital. As the most recent addition and the primary component of Tower's integrated digital media strategy, the digital music store complements its traditional retail stores, e-commerce, podcasting, and TouchView in-store kiosk presence.
Tuesday, 27 June 2006
BEAVERTON, Ore. - Planar Systems Inc., a worldwide leader in flat panel display systems, announced a distribution agreement with leading IT products distributor, Tech Data Corp. to expand the availability of its products, services and support to target customers. Planar's wide range of LCD touchscreen monitors, also available in open-frame kiosk displays, are specifically designed for OEMs, integrators and value-added resellers targeting the growing markets for point-of-sale and point-of-purchase systems in the retail, hospitality and food service industries.
"Point-of-sale applications in the retail and hospitality markets represent a significant growth opportunity for solutions providers looking to sell higher-margin technologies to new market segments," said Annette Taber, director of Tech Data's Advanced Technologies Group. "We are seeing demand for superior technology interfaces -- such as touchscreens, and Planar's full suite of touchscreen monitors will give our resellers a cost-effective solution that can easily be integrated into their customers' business environments."
With more than two decades of experience in the flat-panel display market, Planar has developed a responsive, value-added customer support model that gives channel partners easy access to troubleshooting analysis and solutions to bid opportunities. Throughout the next year, Planar also intends to increase its product offerings to continue to provide customers with best-in-class products and industry-leading service and support.
"We built our solid reputation in the commercial channel by providing best-in-class warranty and customer service, such as Planar's 'bid in minutes' promise, in-house technical support call center - a rarity in today's marketplace - and free demo program for qualified opportunities," said Mark Ceciliani, vice president and general manager, commercial business unit, Planar Systems. "Tech Data's industry-leading service and attention to its resellers illustrate a harmonious customer service philosophy."
Planar's PT LCD line and LA open-frame kiosk displays are available in 15-, 17- and 19-inch models, with the option of resistive touch technology designed for attended environments, such as employee-operated systems, or rugged, scratch-resistant capacitive touch technology geared more for unattended environments, such as kiosks or price-check stations. The embedded design of the LA line is designed for applications that require displays as part of the larger system, such as ticketing kiosks or gaming machines.
Planar guarantees the performance of each touchscreen monitor with its Customer First three-year warranty, which promises two-day advance replacement for the PT models. Design and engineering support are available for the embedded LA models. All Planar touchscreen products are available through Tech Data.
Tuesday, 27 June 2006
WASHINGTON -- Most of the electronic voting machines widely adopted since the disputed 2000 presidential election "pose a real danger to the integrity of national, state and local elections," a report concludes.
There are more than 120 security threats to the three most commonly purchased electronic voting systems, the study by the Brennan Center for Justice says. For what it calls the most comprehensive review of its kind, the New York City-based non-partisan think tank convened a task force of election officials, computer scientists and security experts to study e-voting vulnerabilities.
Read more.
Monday, 26 June 2006
James Bickers edits Self-Service World magazine. He recently covered Elo's new touch technology.
In the 15 short months since it installed its first machine, Zoom Systems has turned a lot of heads.
The San Francisco-based company, which was founded in 1998 and spent more than $20 million developing and patenting its automated retail concept, has landed two very high-profile deals that are moving it closer to chief executive Gower Smith's goal of 10,000 machines deployed in five years.
Zoom's "automated stores" are sometimes referred to as vending machines, but the differences far outweigh the similarities. Equipped with a touchscreen interface that offers detailed product information and cross-selling abilities, the robotic devices are primarily used to dispense high-end electronic items like iPods and digital cameras, and their accessories.
The product mix is stocked and maintained by Zoom, which also handles returns and customer service. Retailers are given a percentage of sales in exchange for the use of floor space, which is a negotiated rate. Smith said the first automated store was installed in March 2005, with more than 100 installed since.
Big-name deployments
The Federated Department Stores chain, headquartered in Cincinnati, announced it is adding the machines to 180 of its 800 Macy's stores this fall. Jim Sluzewski, spokesperson for Federated, said that number is likely to grow to "a fair bit more than that."
"It's a major deal for us, and the first channel to scale nationally for us," Smith said.
The Macy's robotic stores will carry the now-typical mix of personal electronics and accessories. Sluzewski said Zoom solved a very specific problem at the right time for the company.
"Electronics is a category that we've gotten away from over the years, and it's a category that customers tell us they'd like to see in our stores," he said. "We saw the Zoom concept and it really did strike us as a way to provide that to our customer in a way that is easily managed."
Sluzewski said purchasing personal electronics from a department store is typically a "deterring process" that involves finding a salesperson to unlock the cabinet (and, in many cases, "walk the product" to the checkout with the customer). Locked-down products also make it difficult for customers to peruse product info at their leisure, a problem solved by Zoom's on-screen library of specifications and capabilities for each item.
While the initial product mix for Macy's will lean on iPods and accessories, Sluzewski said the company isn't ruling out the possibility of selling other product types through the Zoom machines. "We'll have to feel our way through it as we go along," he said.
 Another company experimenting with the system is Sony, which recently announced three Zoom placements in shopping malls in Atlanta, Boulder, Colo. and Santa Rosa, Calif.
"I think it's a great idea, and I give Sony a lot of credit for having first-mover advantage over the competition," said industry analyst Francie Mendelsohn, president of Summit Research Associates. "I will be very interested to see how the pilot goes. Sony will not consider the project a success if sales are cannibalized from other sources; they want new, incremental sales."
Expert opinion
Technology and logistics aside, are customers ready to buy a $200 product in the same way they buy a $2 one? Much has been made of the heartaches normally associated with candy-and-soda vending machines · lost money, incorrect products dispensed, vandalism · and the idea that all of those problems become incrementally worse when the product jumps from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars.
Mendelsohn said the company has gone to great lengths to resolve potential problems, like incorrect products or goods not delivered at all. Each machine bears a 24/7 toll-free phone number, and the company offers full refunds within 30 days of purchase.
But Mark Flanighan, retail consultant with U.K. firm IBD, sees a bigger problem with the idea.
"Vending machines are primarily a service of convenience, providing products that customers have an immediate need for," he said. "If you are thirsty, you buy a drink. If you are hungry, you will buy a snack. I don't see any relationship (between) high-ticket items and an immediate need."
He also said the "perception is still there" that vending machines will often lose or mishandle the customer's money, and that the continued rise of credit-card theft will make customers unwilling to swipe with a new machine.
Then there is the perhaps larger issue of returns · if someone buys a product at a machine inside a department store, will they be upset to learn that they cannot return it to the store if it is defective?
"I don't see any trust factor," Flanighan said.
But Mendelsohn, a fan of the Zoom stores, pointed out that it wasn't long ago when consumers were wary of buying anything over the Internet, for many of the same reasons · "and we've sure gotten over that!"
Monday, 26 June 2006
Bantek is ATM management. Bantek commits its considerable resources toward ensuring our customers receive the most reliable and accommodating ATM service possible.
Monday, 26 June 2006
Forbes.com: Bank of America customers will be able to put checks and cash into ATMs without an envelope or deposit slip when they use new machines moving from a pilot program to a national rollout starting this week in the Washington, D.C., and Atlanta areas, the bank announced today.
Bank of America, which has the largest bank-owned ATM network in the country and the most ATMs that accept deposits, will be installing the new ATMs later this year in the New York City, Phoenix and San Diego areas as part of the 1,500-machine national rollout. The bank began a pilot program in 2003 in Charlotte, and now has a total of more than 60 of the new ATMs in North Carolina and South Carolina.
Read more.
Monday, 26 June 2006
IndyStar.com: Thirteen of the meters are in the 100 block of South Illinois Street near the Ram Restaurant and St. Elmo Steak House. Others are being tested in the 400 block of West Washington Street.
Drivers can hunt for their loose change as usual — or pay with a credit card at an ATM-style kiosk.
Advertising executive Rose Durbin of Carmel, who works at Hirons & Co. near the South Illinois Street meters, called them a "great convenience."
"Without this service I would have to keep a roll of quarters or I would have to borrow from other employees," she said.
Parking is 75 cents per hour, for a maximum of two hours at a time.
Read more.
Monday, 26 June 2006
Bizjournals.com: Global Resources Inc., which advertised business opportunities for public-access Internet machines at "lucrative locations" has been ordered to pay $2.2 million, including restitution to 96 people who the state says were defrauded out of their investments.
In the lawsuit filed by the Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commission, a Pinellas County circuit court judge ordered Global Resources, and its former owner Stewart Pope, to pay $960,000 in civil fines and more than a million dollars in restitution.
Read more.
Monday, 26 June 2006
SiliconValley.com: The proliferation of digital cameras and plummeting prices of electronic storage have radically altered the way people take photos.
Instead of conserving the old-fashioned 24-frame rolls of film for capturing rare Kodak moments, they're filling 1-gigabyte memory cards with hundreds of snapshots of everything in sight: mundane street signs, decadent dinner entrees and one-handed self portraits.
What hasn't evolved is what people do with their photos: printing out 4-x-6-inch glossies.
But Hewlett-Packard is now offering more creative options: calendars, posters, albums and greeting cards created from digital photos while customers stand in retail checkout lines.
This week, HP starts the summertime roll-out of its Photosmart Studio, a first-of-its-kind, touch-screen kiosk in retail stores that can transform those digital-photo collections into calendars and other keepsakes in under an hour. If customers find they can do this as quickly as developing a roll of film, they may adopt a new tradition: ordering a photo booklet to pass around instead of sharing that second set of prints.
Read more.
Friday, 23 June 2006
ATMMarketplace.com: For Dr. Hansup Kwon, change is a good thing. It had better be, for the mild-mannered leader of Tranax Technologies Inc. is banking his company's future on it.
Kwon is shaking things up by allowing Tranax's core ATM products to be modified with enhanced self-service functionality. Calling his breed of self-service devices "SSTs," Kwon is refocusing the company's market vision and strategically partnering with software and solutions players.
The Fremont, Calif.-based company that found its niche in the entry-level retail ATM space is forging ahead with a plan to become the financial and retail markets' defacto self-service-technology provider.
Read more.
Friday, 23 June 2006
bizjournals.com: Duke University Medical Center announced Friday that it will use an IBM technology to speed physician access to patients' electronic medical records.
The system will enable Duke's 1,500-plus faculty physicians and 800-plus staff to access records from any laptop, workstation or computer kiosk in any Duke clinic or hospital in the Triangle with a single password. The cost of the system was not disclosed.
Currently, physicians and nurses use several different log-in names and passwords depending on what type of information they are seeking. Many tasks require them to call a central help desk for assistance.
Read more.
Friday, 23 June 2006
REDONDO BEACH, Calif. · SeePoint Technology announced that all of its small footprint kiosks are now available with a 17-inch or 19-inch touch display. SeePoint's new models provide a bigger and bolder platform for the deployment of self-service applications across a variety of industries, including retail, entertainment, healthcare and financial services.
The new 17- and 19-inch touch LCD option is available across SeePoint's full product line.
SeePoint's comprehensive kiosk offerings now include three touch display sizes, 19-inch, 17-inch and 15-inch. A HIPAA compliant filter may also be added to all models for applications, such as those in healthcare, where additional privacy is desired.
SeePoint kiosks combine small footprint and durable stands and enclosures with a specially designed Intel M-processor-based computer that provides high power performance, lower power consumption and mobility.
Thursday, 22 June 2006
PADERBORN · Customers at the Edeka store in Unterhaching near Munich, which uses Beetle iScan self-scanning equipment, regard the technology very favorably as indicated by a study commissioned by Visual Merchandising Initiative e. V., which polled 150 customers in April 2006.
Wincor Nixdorf equipped the Edeka Simmel store in Unterhaching, Munich, with the latest checkout technology in November 2005. In this installation, the scanning and payment processes are kept separate, with twelve fixed-location self-scanning units located ahead of six ePOS systems.
The specific results were: 73 percent prefer the self-scanning solution to a traditional checkout. Seventy percent of those asked said handling the self-scanning solution offered an enhanced experience factor, and 64 percent said waiting time had reduced. Half of all customers thought the new technology enhanced customer service, and over 80 percent said scanning their own goods offered more privacy. Especially interesting: older customers have a higher affinity to technology than younger ones, with 82 percent of over-50's preferring the new-style checkout as opposed to 69 percent of the under-50 age group.
"The study shows that the new technologies are accepted by customers within a very short period of time when familiarized them by service personnel," said Joachim Pinhammer, head of marketing at Wincor Nixdorf.
Two different configurations of fixed-location self-scanners from the Beetle/iScan family are being deployed in the Edeka store: four so-called Scan&Bag solutions where goods can be packed directly into bags, and eight Scan&Pass systems where purchases are scanned and then placed onto a conveyor belt with customers then paying at any one of six checkouts. At the self-scanning systems, service personnel are on hand to help customers scan their goods and familiarize them with the new technology. There are plans to introduce self-service for the payment process in future as well, using special payment terminals.
In addition to the self-scanning equipment, the Unterhaching store features other innovative technologies such as self-service weighing scales with optical product recognition, a reverse vending system (for empty bottles and cans) and a so-called "Vensafe" to protect especially theft-prone items. These technologies were also evaluated by customers. Asked to give ratings between 1 (good) and 6 (bad), the statistical mean score by all customers for all the systems mentioned was 1.78.
Wincor Nixdorf's store software TP.net is being used to run the checkout systems and control all the technologies in use at the store. TP.net provides full functionality for controlling different technologies in stores, including the "Revendo 8000" reverse vending solution which has also been integrated into the in-store IT environment.
Thursday, 22 June 2006
Internetretailer.com: Pressed by competition to expand multi-channel shopping services through initiatives like in-store web-based kiosks and store pick-up of online orders, many retailers avoid the more costly work of integrating channel data and wind up disappointing customers, Gartner analyst Mark Riseley tells Internet Retailer.
"A lot of retailers are confused about what multi-channel retailing really means," says Riseley, who's based in London. Many either don't realize that multi-channel retailing requires integrated customer, product and inventory data shared across each selling channel, or they don't have the cross-channel organizational support for it, he says.
But without that shared information stored in a central database, retailers who reach out to customers in multiple channels can cause more problems than they expect, Riseley says. If an in-store kiosk isn't integrated with multi-channel order management and inventory management systems, for example, a customer might order something at the kiosk only to find out later that it wasn't in stock, Riseley says.
Read more.
Thursday, 22 June 2006
sita.com: There has been a dramatic rise of 40 percent over the last year in the numbers of people booking their travel on-line, according to SITA, the world's leading provider of communications and IT solutions to the air transport industry.
Early data from the most comprehensive industry survey of airline IT trends, states that the global average of on-line plane ticket sales now stands at 28 percent compared to 20% last year which means that an estimated 560 million of today's two billion airline passengers now use the internet to make their bookings.
Read more.
Wednesday, 21 June 2006
Tampa Bay Business Journal: Global Resources Inc., which advertised business opportunities for public-access Internet machines at lucrative locations, has been ordered to pay $2.2 million, including restitution to 96 people who the state says were defrauded out of their investments.
In the lawsuit filed by the Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commission, a Pinellas County circuit court judge ordered Global Resources, and its former owner Stewart Pope, to pay $960,000 in civil fines and more than a million dollars in restitution.
"These people put their faith and money into a business venture and got absolutely nothing in return," said agriculture commissioner Charles H. Bronson in a release. "We asked for and received the maximum fine for each offense, and I hope this sends a message that we will go after companies that rip off our citizens."
Read more.
Wednesday, 21 June 2006
USA Today: Visa USA has confirmed that an ATM security breakdown has exposed more consumers to potential mischief.
The story is the latest in a string of lapses that have illuminated the often flimsy controls over the personal information entrusted to businesses, schools and government agencies.
The Visa breach dates back to February when Visa began notifying banks of a security problem affecting a U.S.-based contractor that processed automated teller machine transactions.
Read more.
Wednesday, 21 June 2006
WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- MEI announced the integration of its bill acceptor technology into the BodySpex kiosk, an electronic scale that measures body fat and body composition. With the scale, users insert a few dollars to test important health indicators like total weight, body fat percentage, fat mass, lean mass, metabolism, and body-mass index.
BodySpex kiosks utilize bioelectric impedance analysis technology and feature an MEI bill acceptor to collect cash payments for each use. Simple-to-follow touchscreen instructions and audio prompts guide users through their tests. Results are displayed on-screen or are available on a printout, so users can take results home or to their health professional. Through a wireless Internet connection, the kiosks also send each user's fitness data to a secure account online at BodySpex.com, where each user's test results are automatically stored and displayed in easy-to-read charts.
"These kinds of tests used to be administered in doctors' offices and health facilities by an attendant," said Justin McGilvery, marketing director at BodySpex. "With our do-it-yourself interface and reliable cash acceptor, BodySpex kiosks can now be placed in any location, making health monitoring readily accessible and affordable for the general public."
Wednesday, 21 June 2006
The multi-faceted initiative, sponsored by Formula 1 racing teams, includes a Spanish language Public Service Announcement with driver Juan Pablo Montoya; retail point of sale materials; an interactive responsible drinking educational kiosk based upon the Blood Alcohol Educator program created by The Century Council, a not-for-profit organization funded by distilled spirits producers; a sweepstakes where a consumer will win a trip to the Brazil Grand Prix in October, and a bilingual Web site.
Read more.
Tuesday, 20 June 2006
York, Pa. -- Livewire, a leading provider of interactive self-service systems, recently announced several changes to its senior management. David McCracken has been named president, Donald England has been named vice president of sales and business development, and Robert Galante has been named director of software development.
David McCracken has been with Livewire for over six years serving in the capacity of chief technology officer. During that time, he was responsible for development of Livewire's product offering, and helped elevate Livewire to the forefront of the self-service ticketing and transaction-based kiosk markets. Mr. McCracken's twenty-five years of experience includes a unique blend of engineering, information technologies, strategic planning, and business management. As president, Mr. McCracken will be responsible for the company's strategic direction, product strategy, operations, and marketing efforts.
Donald England brings to Livewire a wealth of knowledge from the hospitality, retail, gaming and supply chain industries. His experience includes more than twenty-five years of strategic marketing, advertising, product management, and business development in technology software and services. Mr. England will lead Livewire's sales efforts, marketing strategies, and channel relationships.
Robert Galante, the architect of Livewire's transaction engine, takes over the management role of Livewire's software development group. A Microsoft MCAD, Mr. Galante's twenty-five years of experience includes e-commerce web development, real-time manufacturing controls, and a wide variety of technologies that fit uniquely into the self-service world. In his new position, Galante will continue to drive Livewire's software architecture as well as manage and mentor the company's software development staff.
"As Livewire continues to grow, it's important that we have the right mix of talent leading our effort to enhance our current product offerings, strengthen our existing market position, and position the company for new market opportunities," McCracken said. "I believe that the strength and experience of our management team is a direct reflection of who Livewire is and what we have to offer to the marketplace.
Tuesday, 20 June 2006
Infoworld.com: Companies using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on products should always tell their customers and make sure they know whether they can deactivate the tags, according to a set of best practices for RFID deployment proposed by a group of IT vendors, RFID users, and consumer advocates.
"There should be no secret RFID tags or readers," according to a draft report by the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) Working Group on RFID. Members of the group include Cisco Systems, IBM, Intel, the National Consumers League, Procter & Gamble, and VeriSign.
The report adds that, by itself, consumer notification does not mitigate all privacy concerns. Companies collecting personally identifying information through RFID tags should tell customers how that data will be used. And if customers can opt out of sharing that information, or can destroy the tags, those options must be readily available, the report says.
Read more.
Tuesday, 20 June 2006
silicon.com: Visitors to the 2006 World Cup may not know it but each and every ticket holder will carry an RFID tag.
All of the 3.2 million tickets issued for this year's tournament will come equipped with an RFID chip inside, which is scanned whenever a fan arrives at the gates of any of the 12 stadiums.
According to Philips, which supplied the RFID tech, the track-and-trace chips have been included in the tickets to combat counterfeiting and ensure only those with legitimate tickets can get in to watch the matches.
Each of the tickets is now personalised with the holder's name in an effort to stop touting and prevent hooligans from getting access to World Cup matches.
Read more.
Tuesday, 20 June 2006
The Australian: The $67 million automated border processing system will begin next year with a single SmartGate Series 1 kiosk in each Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airport.
The first operational unit will be installed at one of the three airports in February.
SmartGate will perform customs and immigration checks using data contained in e-passports.
The system incorporates facial recognition technology, which matches a live image of the traveller against a digitised photo stored on a microchip embedded in the passport.
If the images match, the traveller is cleared through the control point.
If not, the traveller will be referred to a Customs officer for further examination.
Read more.
Tuesday, 20 June 2006
Canoe.ca: Indigo Books & Music (TSX:IDG), Canada's largest book chain, plans to unveil a new website this fall designed to improve its interaction with customers, the retailer's CEO said Monday.
The new-look site will be rolled on Nov. 1, and is part of an expanding "have it your way" approach to customer service, president Heather Reisman said at Indigo's annual shareholder meeting. The company is also upgrading its in-store kiosks.
"This is not just a small segment of the market," said Reisman. "This is everybody who understands that the Internet is the place to go for true value."
The company is also introducing Indigo EOutlet, a section of the chapters.indigo.ca website targeting true value shoppers through which it will sell bargain books and overflow product at a discount.
Read more.
Monday, 19 June 2006
At hotels, self-service literally fills the air.
Two schools of thought conflict over selling public access WiFi Internet at hotels. One side says free public WiFi is essential for hotel customers' convenience. The other side says giving it away is giving away money. A 100-room hotel that keeps half its rooms booked and sells Internet access for a typical rate of $10 per day makes $183,000 in annual access fees.
According to HotelChatter.com, a hotel industry web site, WiFi for guests is a necessity to keep customers returning:
"Hotels have finally realized that WiFi is a must-have, something that tops the wish list of many potential guests. But the rush to quickly set-up hotel WiFi networks, coupled with the fact that wireless fidelity is still a fairly new technology, means that consistent wireless internet access, pricing, and service, is not a given across hotel brands, small hotel groups or even from the lobby to your room."
HotelChatter also blasts the notion of hotels charging guests for WiFi, saying it "certainly gives them a bad rep."
Hotspot International CEO Louie Miller disagrees. Under the Hotspot business model, guests purchase time cards that they can use to access the hotel's Internet. His company has grown to include 50 hotels in four countries, mostly on a revenue share model in which Hotspot maintains the systems and splits the sales.
"If the hotels stopped and think about what they're giving away, they're giving away telephony and, potentially, home movies," Miller said. "I don't think it's viable that hotels will ever give it away. People have to take into consideration and look at Internet as being the infrastructure for delivering additional services and, if they give it away, they're giving away other services. For example, I'm sitting in a hotel right now and it costs me $3 to $5 per minute to call the U.S. If they give me the Internet for free, I can hook up Skype and my Bluetooth headset and call the U.S. for two cents per minute."
But Miller's math doesn't phase the Kimpton Hotels chain, a string of mostly four-star hotels across the United States, which leads the pack in Hotel Chatter's hotel WiFi assessments. Kimpton management disregards the notion that giving away free Internet will put a damper on phonecall or in-room movie sales.
"Very few people will download movies," said Andy Furrer, VP, technology, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants. "Very few people will carry their Skype phone with them. The business traveler, a guy like me, I'm a technologist, I don't carry that stuff around with me. And I have a cell phone and that's way more convenient than booting my laptop and getting my calls for two cents per minute."
While they have opposite philosophies, one thing Kimpton and Hotspot have in common is the use of Eleven Wireless' hotel broadband management solutions. The company, which is growing along with the hotel WiFi industry, sees WiFi as a cresting wave, according to founder Josh Friedman.
"We thought (WiFi) would change everything," Friedman said. "How people use the Internet, how they connected to the Internet. We decided, as business travelers, that there was a great need for WiFi access because they have better economics associated with them, so we deployed these at hotels."
Monday, 19 June 2006
ATLANTA — NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) announced today that Millennium Technology Group Orlando, a leading provider of technology products for the hospitality industry, has been named an NCR RealPartner reseller of the NCR EasyPoint Xpress Check-In self-service kiosk.
The 1,334-room Rosen Centre hotel in Orlando, Fla., will be the first Millennium customer to use multiple NCR EasyPoint Xpress Check-In kiosks for check in, check out and guest services.
"This alliance supports our leadership in supplying superior technology solutions for the hospitality industry," said James Bina, president of Millennium Technology Group Orlando. "We are pleased to add the NCR EasyPoint kiosk to our suite·a superior self-service device that blends seamlessly with our full offering of enterprise and property management solutions."
Millennium offers full-service help desk and software support for Visual One Systems, a leading provider of lodging-management software. Millennium will provide sales, installation and support of the NCR EasyPoint Xpress Check-In solution in conjunction with Visual One Systems' kiosk-interface software.
"This partnership provides a new breadth of opportunities for NCR and Millennium to offer and deliver best-in-class self-service solutions to Visual One Systems' extensive user base," said Tracy Flynn, vice president of hospitality solutions for NCR's Retail Solutions Division. "Our relationship represents our mutual commitment to provide solutions that deliver the efficiency, convenience and service demanded by today's travelers."
Monday, 19 June 2006
ytnews.com: Alzheimer's disease is degenerative and leads to a collapse of brain functions. A new Israeli computer program attempts to slow down deterioration in patients' brains.
The computerized system, which was developed by students from the engineering faculty at Ben-Gurion University, projects images, sounds, and texts from the patient's past and stimulates him to remember past events.
The computer system, which is designed for the use of patients and their families, includes a computer and touch-screen monitor installed with information from the patient's life; when operating it patients can view and react to images, sounds and texts. Two students, Moshe Barel and Yoni Epstein, developed the system.
Read more.
Monday, 19 June 2006
TAMPA, Fla. - Florida residents can now conveniently and securely pay for groceries, takeout foods, car wash, and gasoline with the touch of a finger at a new retail location in Tampa. The service is the first finger-scan payment system in the state of Florida.
"Coast to Coast's unique convenience center concept, located at the corner of Florida and Bearss Avenue, is a great fit for incorporating biometric payments, and we are excited to be the first Tampa retailer to give our customers the convenience and security of paying with the touch of a finger," said Amer Hawatmeh, president of Coast to Coast. "The system debits a shopper's checking account just like writing a check or using a debit card, but without having to hassle with wallets, cards, PINs, paper or checks. Because account numbers are not exposed, the technology is helping us provide our customers with faster checkouts and more secure transactions."
Biometric payments leader Pay By Touch, which recently acquired BioPay and owns and operates the BioPay-branded biometric payment network throughout the country, powers the new finger scan service.
Read more.
Monday, 19 June 2006
hattiesburgamerican.com: With millions of dollars in grant money pouring into Pine Belt schools from Cisco Systems, acquiring new technology won't be a problem for many local districts.
And with a new program launched by the Digital Opportunity Trust, learning to use it will be much easier.
The program will train interns who will be stationed in the schools receiving grant monies for 10 months. The interns, said Digital Operations Trust interim director Kim Alexander, will help teachers and administrators learn to use the new technologies and successfully integrate high-tech teaching tools - such as the Promethean Activboard, a computerized whiteboard that functions as a touchscreen and connects to the Internet - with traditional teaching techniques.
"This is an absolutely wonderful opportunity for our schools to be able to have somebody there full time who has been trained to integrate technology effectively into the classroom," said Hattiesburg Public Schools Superintendent Annie Wimbish.
Read more.
Monday, 19 June 2006
www.gov.tw: This June, tourists in Taiwan won't need to mess with all sorts of agritourism information or worry about not being able to find someone who knows where they can find the farm products they have been looking for. The Council of Agriculture's EZcall added Kaohsiung and Pingtung to its network, giving people a chance to access information by Internet telephony either from their home or while on the go.
Internet telephony (an inter-computer communication system using Voice over Internet Protocal, VoIP) is a tool that allows people to use a business or home phone to make calls. It also costs less. The Council of Agriculture has set up the EZcall kiosks at selected train stations and tourist centers. People can use these platforms to look up local agritourism information. They can also use free Internet phones to make calls, place orders, make reservations, order tickets or call a taxi.
Read more.
Monday, 19 June 2006
Pagestream Corp - Document imaging company.
4252 NW 120th Avenue
Coral Springs, FL 33065
T -954-840-0204
F -954-575-8012
Friday, 16 June 2006
TORONTO -- Digital View, provider of digital signage and digital media networks, and Pattison Outdoor Advertising, Canada's largest out-of-home media firm, are launching a unique interactive advertising experience for consumers. Shoppers in some of Canada's busiest malls are now able to choose which TV commercials they'd like to view during a special promotion, using their cell phones like remote controls.
The first client to sign up is Nike Canada, which kicked off this year's world soccer championships blitz with a series of long-form TV spots featuring some of the planet's best-known soccer players. This groundbreaking digital signage was tested first in Toronto's Yorkdale Mall and is now running at Bramalea Town Centre, Montréal's Mall Champlain and Montréal Eaton Centre, as well as Vancouver's Oakridge Centre and Metropolis at Metrotown malls.
Engaged by a large LCD, directional speakers and vinyl floor graphics, consumers are encouraged to select, via text-messaging, any one of the five "Joga Bonito" Nike Soccer videos that rotate on the screen.
"This is exciting on a number of levels," Digital View chief operating officer Stuart Armstrong said. "Not only does this allow consumers to choose what they want to see, they're also more deeply engaged with the brand advertisers through the text-messaging process."
The text message request routes through wireless carriers to a custom SMS receiver device that controls the output of Digital View's Remote Player 300 digital signage player. The video that is chosen is then played in full audiovisual mode.
The program is able to track the popularity of the videos by counting requests, and also engages consumers by sending them return messages, encouraging them to visit a dedicated Web site and to opt in to receive other Nike news via SMS text messaging.
Friday, 16 June 2006
WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- MEI announces the integration of its bill acceptor technology into the BodySpex kiosk, an electronic scale that measures body fat and body composition. With this scale, users can insert a few dollars to quickly and easily test important health indicators like total weight, body fat percentage, fat mass, lean mass, metabolism, and body mass index.
BodySpex kiosks utilize bioelectric impedance analysis technology to assure a high level of accuracy, and feature an MEI bill acceptor to collect cash payments to begin each use. Simple-to-follow touch-screen instructions and audio prompts guide users through their test. Results are displayed on-screen or are available on a printout, so users can take results home or to their health professional. Through a wireless internet connection, the kiosks also send each user's fitness data to a secure account online at BodySpex.com, where all of the user's test results are automatically stored and displayed in easy-to-read charts.
"These kinds of tests used to be administered in doctors' offices and health facilities by an attendant," noted Justin McGilvery, marketing director at BodySpex. "With our do-it-yourself interface and reliable cash acceptor, BodySpex kiosks can now be placed in any location, making health monitoring readily accessible and affordable for the general public."
The BodySpex kiosk was developed in response to several growing healthcare trends. As health care costs continue to rise, businesses are seeking new ways to encourage their employees to improve their fitness. Also, popular weight loss competition television shows have encouraged and educated many Americans. The BodySpex system is a cost-effective vehicle for creating, managing, and judging these competitions and employee incentive programs.
BodySpex kiosks can also be configured to display ad screens and play video, enabling local merchants and national advertisers to reach a specialized market niche.
Friday, 16 June 2006
datamonitor.com: Wells Fargo plans to roll out two new credit cards using Visa contactless technology in the second half of 2006.
The company said the new cards, the Wells Fargo Visa Platinum Credit Card and Visa Signature Credit Card, can be used for payments under $25 when the customer holds the card near a reader at the checkout as opposed to swiping them or handing them to a cashier. The cards can also be used in the traditional way for larger payments.
The new cards have built-in security with the WellsProtect program where cardholders are protected against any unauthorized transactions. Wells Fargo ATM, ATM & check card and credit cards are all covered by the WellsProtect program.
Read more.
Friday, 16 June 2006
ATLANTA - NCR Corporation announced today its latest innovation in hotel self-check-in: a kiosk for hoteliers who want a smaller footprint and easy-to-manage design.
Available as a free-standing, countertop or wall-mounted kiosk, the solution features a manual card encoder, which allows for a smaller, value-priced self-service kiosk solution.
The hardware includes a key dispenser to hold blank room keys. Guests checking in via the kiosk can insert a blank room key from the dispenser into the key encoder. Once the room key is encoded and returned to the guest, the integrated self-service printer provides the room number and guest-stay confirmation.
"This latest version of NCR EasyPoint Xpress Check-In opens new opportunities for small- to medium-sized hoteliers who want to provide their guests with the convenience and efficiency of self-service," said Mike Webster, vice president and general manager of NCR Self-Service. "In addition to leveraging the proven NCR EasyPoint kiosk platform, the manual card encoder enables us to offer a highly-effective self-service check-in solution that requires a lower capital investment, space and resources."
The NCR EasyPoint Xpress Check-In kiosk with manual key encoding will be among the latest technology solutions demonstrated in the NCR booth (# 1500) at the 2006 HITEC show in Minneapolis, June 19-22.
Thursday, 15 June 2006
BAY CITY, Mich. · Burned Media, a digital music and media company, has announced its first self-service music burning kiosk location in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada market.
The company has announced that the first QuickTunes music-burning kiosk in Canada is operating in a cafe newsstand concept store called Journo, located on King Street in the entertainment district of Toronto, Ontario. The self-service unit also offers the QuickPix instant digital photo processing application.
Thursday, 15 June 2006
ePaynews: Touchscreen kiosk terminals are infiltrating North America's convenience stores as operators seek to reduce staff overheads and maximize floor space by automating routine tasks such as prepaid wireless top-ups, financial services and bill payments. The latest kiosks can dispense, activate and reload prepaid or stored-value cards or issue receipts for prepaid wireless top-up to reduce inventory costs, shrinkage and ordering or stocking time for each store. Customers welcome the ability to use the kiosks to conduct multiple transactions in a single visit such as topping up a prepaid phone, paying bills or cashing checks while picking up everyday purchases at the store.
Read more
Wednesday, 14 June 2006
Indianapolis, Ind. — Self-service will soon be hitting the streets of Indianapolis. The city is trying out a new way to pay for parking.
Parking meters are the city's unforgiving metal parking police. Feed them a few quarters and they'll keep your car in check. But let them go hungry and you could pay the price.
Soon the more traditional models may expire as the city considers a more modern way to collect on parking debts.
Read more.
Wednesday, 14 June 2006
HOUSTON - qtags has created a new advertising program called GoodyBag that delivers promotional offers via a spam-free, no-charge shortcode program. The GoodyBag program is deploying in NYC's Times Square on a 32-foot by 38-foot digital video board and will feature national and regional advertisers. The board is part of the Smart Sign Media digital advertising network.
The GoodyBag ad program hosts multiple advertising messages in a single text word. Each time the word is texted, a different advertiser's 145-character message will be sent to the texter's mobile phone, offering a special goody."
Read more.
Wednesday, 14 June 2006
Maysteel LLC is a Wisconsin-based company specializing in the custom fabrication of metal enclosures, assemblies, and components — on both a contract basis and via proprietary products used in the distribution of electric power. Maysteel was founded in 1936 and today has three manufacturing locations and more than 513,000 square feet of production space:
Allenton, WI - USA
Columbus, WI - USA
Menomonee Falls, WI - USA
For more than 35 years, Maysteel has been privately owned by the U.S.-based
Everett Smith Group, Ltd. Everett Smith Group is a privately held investment company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with roots back to 1858. The company is conservatively managed, financially strong, manufactures and procures materials around the world, and is dedicated to building on its reputation as a reliable and stable manufacturer of superior quality, engineered products.
Wednesday, 14 June 2006
stuff.co.nz: Moorhouse Pak 'n' Save is the first supermarket in New Zealand to trial four self-checkouts, which allow customers with 12 items or less to scan, pack and pay for their groceries without using the regular checkout system.
First-timers are guided through the process by a visual-audio display. All methods of payment can be used, except a cheque. Change is given, and the system can also be used as an automatic teller machine.
Wednesday, 14 June 2006
businesswire.com: Visa USA announced an agreement with Verified Identity Pass, Inc. (Verified ID) to offer discounted memberships for Clear, Verified ID's registered traveler program, to select Visa Signature and Visa Traditional Rewards cardholders.
Clear members receive fast access through security checkpoints by verifying their biometric information in specially-designed Clear lines, enabling time-pressed travelers to quickly move through long lines and experience a more hassle-free travel experience.
Tuesday, 13 June 2006
BEAVERTON, Ore. -- Planar Systems announced in a news release the latest advancements in 3-D stereoscopic LCD displays with the availability of its StereoMirror 20- and 23-inch wide monitors. The new 20- and 23-inch monitors will offer flicker-free images and optimal user-comfort for geoscientists, cartographers, engineers, image analysts and environmental planners. The larger formats, intense depth-perception and increased stereo contrast allow users to more accurately extract 3-D data and differentiate images to map terrain, identify boundaries, plan missions and investigate habitats.
The SD2020 and SD2320W allow users to view stereo images independent of position, using lightweight polarized glasses that are similar to sunglasses. Because both eyes see a continuous, full resolution and flicker-free image, the monitor can be used for an entire workshift without discomfort in normal office lighting. Alternatively, CRT stereoscopic displays can cause eyestrain, headaches or even nausea from alternately blinking right and left images. Autostereo displays, which do not require a user to wear glasses, restrict users, forcing them to position their heads in a specific "sweet spot" with no room for movement over extended periods of time while delivering full resolution to each eye.
Beyond the applications for stereo 3-D imaging, Planar is exploring emerging imaging applications, including molecular modeling, CAD/architecture and PC computer gaming.
Tuesday, 13 June 2006
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. -- Clear Channel Radio announced the successful implementation of the first and largest deployment in the broadcast industry of an electronic inspection system that ensures and certifies FCC compliance of all public files. Clear Channel Radio's proprietary Electronic Public Inspection File ("E-PIF") system was developed to maintain documents for on-demand, public viewing from all of its main studio locations.
Clear Channel Radio's Electronic Public Inspection File system enables field personnel to manage, contribute and update files stored in the central database over the secure Clear Channel Intranet, using a simple Web-based interface. The public is provided undisturbed access, and the ability to print files from individual kiosk machines located at Clear Channel main studios.
Tuesday, 13 June 2006
www.iht.com: While announcing a recent profit revision, Hewlett-Packard disclosed its purchase of Silverwire Holding for an undisclosed sum. Silverwire is a Swiss software company with 23,000 licenses for photo kiosk software sold in 30 countries. The move comes as HP expands its stake in the kiosk market.
Read more.
Tuesday, 13 June 2006
CINCINNATI -- Electronic Art, a full-service Internet services company specializing in computer kiosks and Web-based software development, signed a contract to provide kiosks to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center for an upcoming exhibit on the tragedies in Darfur, a region of western Sudan.
The exhibit, which opens at the Center on June 14th, 2006, features images and video taken by George and Nick Clooney during a recent visit to Darfur. The Clooneys hope their trip to the war-torn Sudan province will focus world attention on getting protection and aid for the refugees. The poignant exhibit, named Smallest Witnesses: The Conflict in Darfur through Children's Eyes, presents drawings from children in refugee camps along the border between Darfur and Chad. The children's illustrations offer a fresh, often heartbreaking perspective on the violence and suffering in the region.
The kiosks provided by Electronic Art will be used in the exhibit to enable guests to learn more about the struggles in Darfur and empower them to become more involved by supporting organizations that are actively helping refugees. Custom software was created to make the exhibit interactive for guests, and to allow them to visit the websites of organizations that have partnered with the Freedom Center, perhaps becoming "agents of change" in the process.
Along with providing kiosks and custom software, Electronic Art is also fabricating custom signage hardware to match the kiosks. For the opening night event, the Center will have five to six kiosks available and then a reduced number during the temporary exhibit, lasting for one month.
Tuesday, 13 June 2006
asianage.com: MetLife India Insurance is appealing to Internet kiosk operators in rural India as part of a plan to attract customers in outlying areas, calling insurance a technology product. MetLife joins a growing number of companies vying for Indian customers, and promises to continue boosting efforts to do so.
Read more.
Tuesday, 13 June 2006
PayKiosks` products provide a complete solution that can be used both customers who travel with their own laptops as well as those who do not. Customers have the choice of accessing the Internet by using the PayKiosks Internet terminal or by using the wireless (Wi-Fi) signal transmitted by the Internet kiosk to connect their own laptop or PDA.
Monday, 12 June 2006
On the surface, it's smart and easy. The idea: integrate streaming video into kiosks to help customers use them much like greeters would. But, for a variety of reasons, the solutions have taken years to develop and are only now breaking the surface.
Now two companies, Experticity and SMART Technologies, offer live-assisted selling devices. The technology creates new possibilities for up-selling, cross-selling and suggested selling. For example, a remote gift registry kiosk consultant can suggest higher-priced merchandise as a client is creating a wish list.
Microsoft showcased partner-company Experticity's LiveSupport on-screen, on-demand service at Retail Systems 2006. The kiosk software incorporates a remote customer-service professional via webcam who can answer questions, print info to the kiosk remotely, or run the kiosk's interface on the customer's behalf.
"The agent can say 'O.K., here's the cheapest (gift) but here are some other alternatives,' up-selling in a way an automated system can't do," Experticity founder and chairman D.L. Baron said. "If I'm doing this in a self-service environment, there's very little to influence my choices, whereas in this environment the human can say, 'Well, you can register for the cheapest product but here's another in that category.'"
Experticity currently targets big footprint, warehouse-style chain retailers (i.e. Home Depot) that sell products requiring large amounts of technical knowledge.
"There is also great potential for design elements to be injected," Baron said. "If your live, on-screen expert has a designer background, they can then suggest items that would go with that bedroom suite."
The week before Experticity showed the solution in Chicago, SMART Technologies showed Instant Expert there, at the Digital Retailing Expo. The solution incorporates Tandberg and Polycom video conferencing hardware, a large SMART interactive digital sign, Omnivex software, and an audio dome by Brown Innovations that lets the staff on the other side hear the customer's tiniest whisper. SMART director of interactive digital signage Robert Grawet said the solution continually draws interest at tradeshows.
Grawet conceived Instant Expert while reading a Business Week article describing the difficulty Home Depot has with keeping a competent sales staff. In contrast to Experticity's integrated software, which took years to develop, SMART assembled Instant Expert in a couple weeks, mostly based on available hardware.
"All of the pieces (of Instant Expert) are off-the-shelf," Grawet said. "It's one of those things that, the more I read magazines and about the problems retailers have world-wide, the more evident it is that a solution like this is strong for retailers in-general. They all have similar problems, 107 percent-per-year turnover, things like that. Instant Expert allows them to not have an expert in every aisle all day, every day. They instead can have an expert on a regional basis."
Grawet said SMART's solution can be scaled onto much larger screens than Experticity's, due to the higher quality real-time video and sound transmissions, but is also more expensive.
Given that live-assisted selling devices are new, there are few hard metrics yet to verify their effectiveness, though it does seem to bridge many traditional kiosk gaps. According to Baron, using LiveSupport next to a product can increase its sales from 300 to 400 percent. And according to an Experticity case study, LiveSupport can decrease the need for on-site staff by 17 percent.
While these applications are new, the live-assisted kiosk idea is almost 30 years old.
Banks were first to pipe in professional assistance to ATM customers via video camera, in the 1970s. Now, NCR, Diebold and Wincor have teller assist solutions in which the customer communicates with a remote teller who controls the transaction.
Analyst Francis Duffy has followed the self-service industry since ATMs became wide-spread. He says live-assisted self-service devices are less worthwhile for intimate, high-touch specialty retailers, where well-trained on-site staff make such a system redundant.
"To cost-effectively run a live Q&A session with an expert requires a certain degree of scale," Duffy said. "Very large chains with high staff turnover and marginally knowledgeable sales personnel stand to benefit the most from running centralized live expert operations because there is a greater chance that demand for the service and resulting sales will justify the costs of installing and operating such systems."
Live-assisted sales software can also extend outside the store. In its current form, deployers can offer LiveSupport for download — meaning customers who use it in-store to buy, for example, materials for a home improvement project, or recipe ingredients, could then download the client to their home computer and have the on-screen expert walk them through the project.
"We see a screen at the end of every aisle, counter and desktop as a channel for liveSupport service," Baron said. "And the eventual destination will be on cell phones and iPods."
Monday, 12 June 2006
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Elo TouchSystems, the global leader in touch technology and a division of Tyco Electronics Corporation, has developed acoustic pulse recognition (APR), a completely new and unique way of sensing touches on a display. Consisting of only a glass overlay mounted in front of the display, together with a small electronic controller board, Elo's APR technology provides a new set of benefits that have been only partially achieved before by other touch technologies.
The 1529L touchmonitors will be available for purchase in September 2006, with APR included as an additional touch technology choice. Elo will initially direct its APR touch technology toward the retail and restaurant POS markets.
Seamless synergy
"Elo invented touch technology 35 years ago," says Elo president Mark Mendenhall, "and we've consistently continued innovating ever since. The new APR touch technology is one in a long line of products developed by Elo to meet the changing needs and demands of our customers.
"APR combines the ultimate in optical quality, durability and stability of surface wave and infrared, with the excellent dragging properties of capacitive," explains Mendenhall. "Plus, it has the advantages of resistive technology·stylus, gloved hand and fingernail activation, and low cost. APR works with water and other contaminants on the screen, is not affected by surrounding metal or poor grounding, can be scaled from PDA size to 42" displays, and provides palm rejection during signature capture."
We Hear You
According to Elo product manager David Chen, the new APR operates by listening for a touch. "Simply stated," says Chen, "a touch at each position on the glass generates a unique sound. Four tiny transducers attached to the edges of the touchscreen glass pick up the sound of the touch. The sound is then digitized by the controller and compared to a list of prerecorded sounds for every position on the glass. The cursor position is instantly updated to the touch location."
Chen explains that APR differs from previous attempts to recognize the position of touch with microphones because it uses a simple table lookup method instead of requiring powerful and expensive signal processing hardware to attempt to calculate the touch location without any references. "Therefore," Chen confirms, "Elo's APR touch technology is more cost-effective and not economically limited to very large displays. And most important, it also comes from the leader in acoustic touch technologies for the last 20 years, Elo TouchSystems."
APR: The Beginning of a Revolution in Touch
"To create APR," says Steven Abramovich, Elo's vice president of sales and marketing, "we placed all of the popular touch technologies·capacitive, infrared, resistive and surface wave·on the drawing board. Then we integrated the best features of each seamlessly into fully sealed, attractive POS monitors that herald just the beginning for this revolution in touch."
Abramovich sees APR technology as another example of his company's drive to remain customer-centric. "We've always put the needs of the customer first," he says, "and we can attribute our success to responding to those needs. We created IntelliTouch surface wave twenty years ago because of customer demand for a new technology, and we developed APR for the very same reasons. Customers are looking for an economical solution that incorporates the best of everything. We provide that with APR. It has the narrowest borders of any overlay touch technology·a mere five millimeters, including the sealing area. This makes it easy for multiple LCD displays to be placed side by side."
Abramovich continues, "In addition, APR has a fixed coordinate system that is never subject to changes in time, position or environment. This means that traditional touchscreen calibration can be eliminated from the customer's application if the display size and position are fixed."
Friday, 09 June 2006
Irvine, Calif. - CeroView, an award winning kiosk designer and global provider of turnkey kiosk solutions, today announced is has become a certified IBM Business Partner. This certification comes after CeroView won the Best Kiosk Enclosure Design award at the world's largest self-service industry trade show, KioskCom earlier this year in Las Vegas. It was the second straight year CeroView won an award for best kiosk enclosure design.
"We're very proud that IBM has recognized CeroView as a leading kiosk provider," said Derek Fretheim, CeroView's President. "IBM understands self-service and works with clients to help them innovate in their industry. Kiosks are an important aspect of the retail experience and IBM brings leadership products to market that meet the needs of clients in a range of industries."
As an IBM Business Partner, CeroView offers application focused solutions using the IBM Anyplace Kiosk.
"We call our IBM solutions 'Anyplace optimized' and bundle best of breed components to complement the IBM Anyplace Kiosk product family," Fretheim said. CeroView currently offers three base kiosk models that incorporate the IBM Anyplace Kiosk.
These base models are modular and are able to handle multiple devices and different branded looks. The modularity of the CeroView Anyplace optimized product line provides over 30 different configurations. All systems are fully configurable with a multitude of options to add printers, RFID readers, scanners and other devices. CeroView will support IBM VARs and distributors with its IBM product line.
Friday, 09 June 2006
 WASHINGTON · Saying he is "passionate about the space," NCR president and chief executive Bill Nuti kicked off the company's first U.S. self-service conference by pledging "tremendous investments over the next several years" to make the company the leader in self-service for many years to come.
Nuti addressed a crowd of about 75 attendees from companies deploying or considering deploying self-service devices, including kiosks, self-checkout units and ATMs. About as many NCR staffers mingled with them in Washington yesterday and today in an event that was equal parts seminar, product exhibition and cheerleading for the growth of self-service not only as a set of technologies, but as a way of life.
"We have to educate leaders of business on how important this is," Nuti said.
The growth of self-service transactions shows the importance of the applications, he said. Last year, Google boasted more than 27 billion searches on its Web site, but the number of ATM transactions · just one type of self-service use · was about 50 billion.
NCR has held self-service conferences in Europe the past three years, with the most recent being in Barcelona, Spain, in May. About 300 people attended that show, up from about 75 for the first one. Officials hope the growth of the U.S. show mimics the European increase.
Nuti stressed several aspects of self-service that will drive its growth and serve as rungs for its further climb in the industry:
Intelligent deposit. Nuti said that ATMs able to accept cash and checks without the medium of an envelope experienced between 50- and 100-percent increase deposit volume. NCR displayed at the show ATMs that printed images of deposited checks on the receipt.
Bill payment. Already, wireless companies receive $1 billion a year · 10 percent of their revenue · in the form of self-service facilitated payments.
Backend/front-end integration. Self-service applications are significantly more powerful when backend data management is able to interface with the front-end. At the conference was a Personas 71 outfitted with NCR's new Aptra Relate software. The programming greets users by name and stores preferences such as language, common withdrawals and receipt preference. NCR's teller-assist units provide bank personnel information about customers using counter-mounted kiosks, enabling tellers to offer products like specifically tailored loans and investments. Such data-driven applications require sophisticated and massive data management. Nuti said NCR's acquisition of data warehouse company Teradata means NCR is the only company able to service both front-end and backend needs.
Several NCR applications were exhibited that were either new or sported new functionality.
Medical. When medical facilities install self-service check-in kiosks, Nuti said, wait- times decrease 50 percent for new patients and 75 percent for returning patients. Another benefit enabled by strong backend data management is the ability of information to be shared with researchers in real-time, helping establishments such as the Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Florida track the effectiveness of experimental treatments.
Branch automation. Nuti said U.S. banks are spending $1.4 billion this year on branch renewal at the same time bankers estimate 67 percent of a teller's time is spent on low-value transactions, and about 40 percent of their time overall is spent waiting for customers to complete their end of the transactions. Teller-assist devices will enable one teller to service three to four customers at a time, the way self-checkout uses one clerk to oversee four lanes.
Retail. The next step in self-service checkout Nuti calls "self-tender," where cashiers scan and bag items and the customer handles payment on his own. Where in the case of smaller purchases it is efficient to have the customer handle all components of the transaction, self-tender expedites larger purchases by having trained personnel move the merchandise.
Friday, 09 June 2006
bayoubuzz.com: New Orleans mayor C. Ray Nagin praised the efforts of the city's department of safety and permits, which deployed emergency residential permit processing kiosks from 5point to help residents back into their homes after Hurricane Katrina.
Read more.
Friday, 09 June 2006
Comark Corporation has been a leading manufacturer of Industrial Computers, NEMA Enclosures, LCD Systems, Flat Panel Displays, and high speed Distributed I/O platforms for over 30 years. We provide Engineered Solutions for Pharmaceutical, Factory Automation, Petrochemical, Marine, Food and Beverage, Process Control, and Building Automation applications.
Our products are designed to spec and built to last.
Thursday, 08 June 2006
Mebane, N.C. - ArcaTech Systems will introduce its newest product for cash automation in branch environments, the Arca1000 Personal Cash Dispenser (PCD), at CUNA's Future Forum 2006 in Orlando, FL.
This ultra compact unit dispenses 6 denominations and is designed to be used for dispensing to tellers, customer service associates or even directly to members and customers. At just 12 inches wide and 32 inches tall, this unit can be used in a variety of branch environments, including new open branch designs.
"Our customers have been looking for a more affordable, smaller footprint,
6 denomination cash dispenser. We have developed the Arca1000 in response to these requests, and are confident that it will meet and surpass the unique needs of today¹s branch environment," says Aubrey Meador, Vice President of ArcaTech Systems
Thursday, 08 June 2006
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Elo TouchSystems, the global leader in touch technology and a division of Tyco Electronics Corporation, announces the next generation of its industry-leading AccuTouch five-wire resistive touchscreen technology. The new touchscreen construction offers original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) improved environmental specifications and a new option for a true flat cable attachment. Previous significant developments included the change to a Z border electrode pattern for greater edge linearity and the introduction of higher-quality glass substrates for increased durability; now Elo is adding a new construction for increased environmental stability.
Wednesday, 07 June 2006
MELVILLE, N.Y. & BELLEVUE, Wash. - The North American Components (NAC) business of Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: ARW) and BSQUARE (Nasdaq: BSQR), a leading provider of smart device solutions to Microsoft Windows Embedded and Windows Mobile device makers, announced today that BSQUARE has joined the Arrow Consulting Engineering Services (ACES) program.
The ACES program connects Arrow's OEM customers with specific design needs to an elite network of the best engineering design service teams in North America through a single point of contact.
BSQUARE brings exceptional Microsoft Windows CE expertise to the ACES portfolio of design capabilities, which includes firmware development, turnkey board design, wireless expertise, and signal integrity analysis. Its line of Intel XScalehardware development platforms, specialized drivers, and Windows training function as building blocks for OEMs who need to bring their products to the market place quickly, within budget, and with minimal overhead.
"Our partnership with Arrow exposes us to a new channel of OEMs who need to build general embedded or wireless devices, and will drive future sales of BSQUARE products and services," said Pawan Gupta, vice president, Products and Marketing, BSQUARE. "Arrow's customers can choose to either develop their designs in-house, leveraging BSQUARE training and technical support, or they can outsource key pieces of their Windows Embedded development and testing to our engineering services team."
"Our OEM customers who need to bring their Windows CE-based designs to the market place quickly will be attracted to the option of leveraging BSQUARE's industry-leading expertise at any stage in their device development," said David West, vice president, Market Development, Arrow North American Components.
Microsoft named BSQUARE its "2006 Windows Embedded System Integrator of the Year" for its execution of more than 350 successful Windows Embedded service engagements throughout the world.
Wednesday, 07 June 2006
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Elo TouchSystems, the global leader in touch technology and a division of Tyco Electronics Corporation, has developed acoustic pulse recognition (APR), a completely new and unique way of sensing touches on a display. Consisting of only a glass overlay mounted in front of the display, together with a small electronic controller board, Elo's APR technology provides a new set of benefits that have been only partially achieved before by other touch technologies.
The new breakthrough APR touch technology will be formally announced on June 7, 2006, at the Society for Information Display (SID) International Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition at the Moscone Center, San Francisco, California. Demonstrations of APR on Elo's popular 1529L 15" LCD desktop touchmonitors will be conducted at Elo's booth #236 from June 7 through June 8, 2006. The 1529L touchmonitors will be available for purchase in September 2006, with APR included as an additional touch technology choice. Elo will initially direct its APR touch technology toward the retail and restaurant POS markets.
Seamless Synergy of the Best in Touch
"Elo invented touch technology 35 years ago," says Elo president Mark Mendenhall, "and we've consistently continued innovating ever since. The new APR touch technology is one in a long line of products developed by Elo to meet the changing needs and demands of our customers. It provides the seamless synergy of the best in touch.
"APR combines the ultimate in optical quality, durability and stability of surface wave and infrared, with the excellent dragging properties of capacitive," explains Mendenhall. "Plus, it has the advantages of resistive technology·stylus, gloved hand and fingernail activation, and low cost. APR works with water and other contaminants on the screen, is not affected by surrounding metal or poor grounding, can be scaled from PDA size to 42" displays, and provides palm rejection during signature capture."
We Hear You
According to Elo product manager David Chen, the new APR operates by listening for a touch. "Simply stated," says Chen, "a touch at each position on the glass generates a unique sound. Four tiny transducers attached to the edges of the touchscreen glass pick up the sound of the touch. The sound is then digitized by the controller and compared to a list of prerecorded sounds for every position on the glass. The cursor position is instantly updated to the touch location."
Chen explains that APR differs from previous attempts to recognize the position of touch with microphones because it uses a simple table lookup method instead of requiring powerful and expensive signal processing hardware to attempt to calculate the touch location without any references. "Therefore," Chen confirms, "Elo's APR touch technology is more cost-effective and not economically limited to very large displays. And most important, it also comes from the leader in acoustic touch technologies for the last 20 years, Elo TouchSystems."
APR: The Beginning of a Revolution in Touch
"To create APR," says Steven Abramovich, Elo's vice president of sales and marketing, "we placed all of the popular touch technologies·capacitive, infrared, resistive and surface wave·on the drawing board. Then we integrated the best features of each seamlessly into fully sealed, attractive POS monitors that herald just the beginning for this revolution in touch."
Abramovich sees APR technology as another example of his company's drive to remain customer-centric. "We've always put the needs of the customer first," he states, "and we can attribute our success to responding to those needs. We created IntelliTouch surface wave twenty years ago because of customer demand for a new technology, and we developed APR for the very same reasons. Customers are looking for an economical solution that incorporates the best of everything. We provide that with APR. It has the narrowest borders of any overlay touch technology·a mere five millimeters, including the sealing area. This makes it easy for multiple LCD displays to be placed side by side."
Abramovich continues, "In addition, APR has a fixed coordinate system that is never subject to changes in time, position or environment. This means that traditional touchscreen calibration can be eliminated from the customer's application if the display size and position are fixed."
Elo TouchSystems, global leader in touch technology, is a division of Tyco Electronics Corporation. Elo develops, manufactures and markets a complete line of touch products that simplify the interface between people and computers in both public-access and employee-activated applications. Founded in 1971, the company is headquartered in Menlo Park, California, with manufacturing sites in the United States, Belgium, Brazil, China, and Japan. (Elo operates in Japan under the name of Touch Panel Systems.) For more information on Elo's products and services, please contact Elo TouchSystems at 800-ELO-TOUCH (800-356-8682), visit Elo's website at www.elotouch.com or direct electronic mail inquiries to .
Elo TouchSystems and IntelliTouch are trademarks of Tyco Electronics Corporation. All products and company names referred to herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or mark holders.
Wednesday, 07 June 2006
London/Paderborn — The Banker Technology Award for New Channels Project of the Year will be presented to HSBC and Wincor Nixdorf at the 2006 awards ceremony, to be held at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London on June 8th.
The prize rewards innovation in the banking industry, and the HSBC-Wincor Nixdorf partnership is to be recognised for its high-tech refurbishment of the HSBC's UK branches.
The ambitious project, which saw the installation of 470 new generation Wincor Nixdorf Cash and Cheque Deposit Machines (CCDMs) and 500 self-service kiosks, has revolutionised the way the banking chain does business.
"Traditionally, the ratio of high street bank floorspace was 20 per cent front-of-house compared to 80 per cent back-office processing space," says David Nibloe, Head of Self-Service, HSBC Bank PLC. "We realised that in the modern banking environment, with telephone and internet banking becoming ever more popular and cheque-based transactions less common, there was an opportunity to come up with a new model that would serve customers better and increase productivity."
The branch refurbishment has reversed the ratio — now, 80 per cent of the Floor space is open to the bank's customers, and the emphasis is on self-service banking. The CCDMs reduce the need for cashiers to handle basic account servicing, while the kiosks offer the benefits of internet banking in-branch.
The Wincor Nixdorf technology was the key to managing the transition successfully. "Self-service deposit machines have been around for a long time now," explains Bill Bolding, Wincor Nixdorf Account Director for HSBC.
"But they have been held back by a lack of customer confidence in the technology. The Wincor Nixdorf ProCash 3000 with the new Cheque Deposit module changes that."
The new machines allow customers to insert a pile of cheques, each of which is scanned. The image is then printed on the receipt dispensed to the customer, providing the peace of mind which was lacking with previous envelope-drop systems.
"The machine is much quicker for both customers and staff," adds Bill Bolding. "It can process batches of up to 50 cheques at once, and it saves the time spent on manual paper processing which the envelope-drop boxes used
to require."
The award recognizes the effect the branch refurbishment has had on the high-street banking environment. "We're getting around 8,000 deposits per day with the CCDMs and 19,000 transactions with the kiosks," David Nibloe.
"And those numbers are rising all the time. No other UK banks have made such substancial changes to their retail environment, so HSBC will be well-positioned to lead the way in future. We're delighted that The Banker Technology Awards have recognized that."
Tuesday, 06 June 2006
Coinstar, Inc. was founded more than a decade ago with a simple, yet innovative idea: a self-service machine that turns coins into cash. Since our inception, we've processed more than $12 billion dollars in change in over 350 million transactions. Today, Coinstar is a multi-national, multi-product company with more than 65,000 points of distribution.
Our mission is to become the world's premier provider of business solutions for the retailer's front-of-store by offering a network of consumer products that are convenient, reliable, safe and fun. Through our innovative spirit and strong company values we continue to deliver on this mission.
Monday, 05 June 2006
They're small, but they have a big future.
Cash recyclers are still limited in their capabilities and uses. Large cash recyclers hold hundreds of bills, compared to thousands of notes in bill dispensers. But as demand for financial kiosks grows, the interest in recyclers as an alternative to validator/dispenser combinations follows and companies continually improve recyclers to meet the demand. We queried two experts in the cash recycler field, MEI strategic marketing manager Neil Young, and JCM vice president of commercial sales Dave Elich, to determine the benefits, the challenges and the future of cash recyclers.
SelfService.org: What are the key benefits of cash recycling?
Young: The immediate advantage is the cost savings associated with reducing the amount of float (bills needed for inventory) required to start up a self-service application. Over the long term, there are costs associated with cash management, which includes refilling the seed inventory and clearing and securing the cash. When retailers use the same cash that is paid in to dispense, they reduce these charges significantly. Recyclers also reduce employee contact with cash, delivering additional savings through reducing commercial cash handling fees, shrinkage and cash room activities.
Recyclers also improve the consumer cash experience by consolidating the input and output of the cash into a single device.
And, in terms of integration and footprint, one device to replace two separate devices means less space required, fewer container bins and cassettes to handle and store cash, and less communication ports required to control it.
SelfService.org: What indicates the demand for cash recyclers?
Elich: There is a general trend to automate more and more retail transactions and move those interactions to kiosks. When you do that, you have to do it in a cost-effective way, both in terms of size (of the kiosk), and in effectiveness resulting in savings to operator, such as less cash handled daily, less pick ups by armored car service, less inventory. Those combined factors drive the demand.
SelfService.org: What are current challenges in design and implementation of cash recyclers and how will they be overcome?
Young: Recyclers are complex devices involving mechanical, software and electronic components. The products will be useless at best, and turning away customers at worst, if they are not functioning properly, preventing the system from completing transactions or achieving its throughput targets.
Early entry models have not worked out all the bugs, are not reliable enough, and were not designed to optimize security and dispense the denominations of cash demanded by today's consumers.
Some of the specific challenges are: reliably accepting and transporting low-quality street money, designing a mechanism to make it easy to replenish denominations as needed, determining capacity requirements in terms of specific denomination types (which vary by industry, application, location and geographic markets) and closing the cash management cycle to avoid cash handling on the floor.
Addressing these needs requires the design of a recycler as a complete system. Integrating recyclers into new product platforms such as OEPTs for the quick-serve and c-store industries, and self-checkout systems for the grocery and chain store industries involves first understanding the footprint, power and communications requirements of the component. Then it requires working with a payment systems vendor that understands the requirements, and can provide the tools needed to integrate the component.
SelfService.org: Do you believe cash recyclers will eventually replace acceptors and dispensers in machines that use both?
Elich: Not only do we expect cash recyclers to replace acceptors and dispensers in kiosks, but we expect kiosks with cash recycling technology to replace more and more cash drawer operations. Think about what happened when VCRs first hit the market. There were issues of consumer acceptance, size constraints and cost considerations. Over time, as consumer acceptance of the product increased, improvements were made and costs came down. Compare that to the automatic transaction industry. Over time, we can expect that operator acceptance of the product will increase and the cost will decrease. There is a marked trend in the industry toward more and more automation, and as that increases, we expect recycling to increase in parallel.
Monday, 05 June 2006
Irvine, Calif. — Worldlink Integration Group Inc., a national provider of technology deployment services, today announced the addition of two new office locations. In addition to their national headquarters and staging center in Southern California, Worldlink now has additional locations in the Phoenix and Minneapolis metro areas. These additions are the first in a long-term strategy to regionally staff project managers with a goal of constantly making the customer experience with Worldlink as intimate as possible.
"As we continue to achieve and surpass our growth targets, we will naturally expand our portfolio of regional and national clients," said David R. Clarke, Worldlink's president and CFO. "We will continue to localize our senior project management functions to maximize the level of communication and service our clients receive from us."
Monday, 05 June 2006
Dayton, Ohio — TEC Singapore Electronics, a division of Toshiba TEC Corporation, has signed an agreement with NCR Corporation to license NCR's simultaneous two-sided thermal printing technology. NCR's patented printing process reduces paper roll receipt usage by as much as 50 percent and provides additional operational savings on freight, storage, disposal and roll changes.
TEC Singapore Electronics designs, manufactures and sells printing devices to equipment OEMs who incorporate TEC's printing devices into their business solutions. Customers include major OEMs in the point-of-sale (POS), ATM and self-service kiosk markets. This license gives TEC the ability to sell two-sided thermal printing devices to its customers worldwide.
"We believe this represents the beginning of a new standard in printing technology," said TEC executive vice president Masato Yamamoto. "We are delighted to be able to offer two-sided thermal printers to the OEM market."
In addition to store checkouts, two-sided thermal receipt printing opens the door for applications in banking, event ticketing, self-service kiosks and more.
"We believe the advantages of simultaneous two-sided printing are so numerous that it will ultimately replace single-sided printing as the technology of choice for business transactions going forward," said Peter Dorsman, vice president and general manager of NCR's Systemedia Division, a leading provider of printer consumables such as paper rolls, laser cartridges and RFID solutions.
Beyond introducing efficiencies at the POS by requiring fewer paper roll changes, two-sided printing also reduces paper consumption, benefiting the environment by helping save trees. Implementing the technology at a large discount department store could save up to 75 trees per year.
"Two-sided printing technology allows businesses to expedite the checkout experience as well as address the growing consumer demand for environmental stewardship, which can increase customer loyalty in an increasingly competitive environment," said Dorsman.
NCR's two-sided receipts allow for customized messaging, offering retailers who employ CRM greater promotional flexibility over pre-printed paper rolls with static information. They can also be printed in combinations of black on one side of the receipt with black, red or blue on the other side to attract attention and promote more effectively, but with no additional cost for standard paper or the printer.
Monday, 05 June 2006
MTI is a provider of interactive merchandising and kiosk solutions for retailers. Initially serving the consumer electronics retail industry, today MTI is a recognized industry leader offering turn-key design, fabrication, installation and in-store support services. For top mass merchants, consumer electronics, automotive aftermarket, and other specialty retailers, MTI is the choice for point-of-purchase and kiosk displays that let customers try out products and get detailed product information. These displays feature cutting-edge designs, integrated product promotion capabilities, and facilities that guard against product damage and theft.
Thursday, 01 June 2006
The source for rolled paper products. ASKAMI is a direct-to-the-manufacturer online resource for your roll paper needs, saving you time and money. No more waiting for a quote or return calls·with ASKAMI, you can receive a quote in three simple steps and place your order instantly. Your order is guaranteed to work perfectly!
Thursday, 01 June 2006
BURNABY, BC — TIO Networks Corp. formerly Info Touch Technologies Corp. announced an agreement with Presto Convenience Stores to deploy self-serve automated bill payment and financial services touch-screen kiosks in Wichita, Kan. These terminals enable cash preferred customers to pay a host of bills including wireless, utility and cable and update their accounts quickly and conveniently. Customers will also be able to purchase prepaid products and services and revalue and/or activate stored value products.
TIO Networks and Presto will share transactional revenues generated from various financial applications. The first 10 terminals have already been installed in the greater Wichita area.
"I am excited about partnering with TIO networks. Their kiosk is going to allow Presto to offer services that customers want in a convenient self-serve fashion. Once customers try it and see how easy it is, they'll wonder how they ever lived without it." Terry Presta, President of Presto Convenience Stores.
"We are thrilled to partner with Presto, one of the largest convenience store retailers in the state of Kansas , to launch our bill payment and financial services program in Kansas . Together, we aim to offer self-serve automated financial services to the cash-preferred demographic", said Hamed Shahbazi, Chairman and CEO of TIO Networks. "From bill pay to pre-paid products such as stored value card, the issuance and reloading of cards, we are bringing a world class financial services offer to Presto's patrons this spring."
Thursday, 01 June 2006
ATLANTA, Ga. — Soon, even more shoppers at Germany's Real hypermarkets and Extra superstores will hear familiar sounds as they scan, bag and pay for their own purchases. The self-checkout units, from NCR Corporation are being programmed to speak French, Turkish and Russian, in addition to German and English.
"We recognize that some of our customers do not speak German as their native language," said Markus Jablonski, public relations manager for Extra. "With this development, we will now offer a new standard of service in our stores. We want all consumers to feel comfortable and optimally served, regardless of language, and — ultimately — to become loyal Real or Extra customers."
Following extensive testing in a store in Eschborn, near Frankfurt, conversion of the complete menu structure of NCR FastLane to the five languages is currently in progress in approximately 50 Real and Extra locations. NCR FastLane is the only self-checkout offering consumers such an extensive choice of languages.
"In a coalescing Europe, multilingualism in customer service is a matter of course," said Ulrich Hieber, director of NCR's Retail Solutions Division in Germany. "Innovative technical solutions can help make this happen, providing an additional customer benefit that complements traditional dialogue between staff and customers."
|
