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News Archive |
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Monday, 09 November 2009
Home Media Magazine reports that MOD Systems will deploy its Retail Digital Content Distribution System, a digital movie-download kiosk, at six Blockbuster and Hollywood Video stores in Dallas, Seattle and Portland, Ore., by Nov. 13. During the trial deployment, the kiosks will offer more than 1,000 new release and catalog titles from Paramount, Warner Bros. and other studios, the report says.
Using the MOD kiosks, customers can download movie content to SD cards and then view the content on devices with SD card slots. The company tells Home Media that rentals will be tested at different prices, and customers will have access to the content for 30 days after purchase. Once a movie is viewed, it will be available for 48 hours before the included digital-rights management technology locks it, preventing further viewing.
Friday, 30 October 2009
Working Solutions Ltd. has released the latest version of its CyberBrowser Internet browser for kiosks, the company announced in a news release.
Working Solutions says the product is developed exclusively for use in kiosk applications:
Because it concentrates on kiosk requirements and not desktop user functions, CyberBrowser's streamlined setup makes for a rapid configuration, providing a user-friendly interface that is designed exclusively for interactive, touchscreen kiosks. Capable of displaying exactly the same Web content as Microsoft's Internet Explorer, CyberBrowser enables the kiosk owner to decide which features and Web site their users will be allowed to access.
According to the release, CyberBrowser's features include an attraction mode, start page, surfing permissions and download management, among others. The product also integrates Sentinel, the security software behind the Acquire Kiosk Developer Solution. Working Solutions says Sentinel is a separate, secure software that locks down the kiosk and prevents unwanted access from either local or remote agencies.
Working Solutions says CyberBrower can be purchased at the new Web site, CyberBrowser.net.
Thursday, 22 October 2009
Digital-download kiosk provider MOD Systems Inc. has announced that CEO Anthony Bay will speak at William Blair & Company's 12th Annual Private Equity Conference next week. According to a news release from MOD, the event brings together more than 50 cutting-edge companies and more than 400 investors from leading private equity firms.
MOD says Bay will share with investors how the company is capitalizing on digital delivery trend in the entertainment segment:
At the conference, Bay will discuss how the MOD Retail Digital Content Distribution System helps retailers bring an expansive library of digital content into their stores, enabling consumers to browse, pay and download content from touchscreen kiosks. He will also address the future of movie and music downloads to flash-based storage and revenue opportunities in digital content delivery for retailers, device manufacturers and content providers.
The conference will take place Wednesday, Oct. 28 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago.
Tuesday, 04 August 2009
Carnival Cruise Lines has announced via its news blog an on-board, interactive self-service solution that will debut Sept. 21 on its 130,000-ton Carnival Dream ship, the company's largest. KioskMarketplace.com has learned the project's software is provided by Netkey Inc.
The solution will allow guests access to Carnival's FunHub, an intranet portal that will feature what Carnival says is the cruise industry's first on-board social network, as well as information regarding the ship's services, facilities and daily activities. The network will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and it also can be accessed via guest personal laptops or netbooks available for rent from the ship.
According to the blog post, FunHub's social network is much like those many travelers may already utilize day-to-day, and the portal's information features have been created to help guests craft their own cruise experience:
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Carnival Dream's on-board social network mirrors the experience one finds on other social networking sites. Guests can create a personal profile and use the application to meet and interact with others on-board, send and receive private messages, create groups based on interests and invite friends to attend shows or participate in on-board events. Guests can also create their own private or public discussion group, inviting others in their traveling party or friends they meet on-board to participate.
Designed as a convenient resource for wide-ranging information specific to the Carnival Dream, the intranet portal details the ship's numerous on-board activities, including entertainment options, daily events and youth programs. Carnival Dream's extensive food and beverage offerings are showcased with sample menus, hours of operation and more. A filtering application is available to assist guests in planning their day.
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The ship will provide access to FunHub via 36 "state-of-the-art" self-service stations located on decks three, four and five.
Thursday, 16 July 2009
The Bangkok Post: In a partnership with CAT telecom, Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport will install more than 120 high-speed Internet kiosks featuring 10 Mbps service for no charge to travelers. The project is part of the airport’s effort to rank among the world's top 10 airports by the end of the year, said Sereerat Prasutanont, the president of Airports of Thailand PLC. The kiosks will be available for both international and domestic travelers. Four terminals already have already been installed.
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Tuesday, 16 June 2009
MILWAULKEE — Frank Mayer & Associates Inc. has introduced an interactive digital-download media kiosk that allows convenient access to more than a million music tracks, movies, TV shows, ring tones, games and more.
Frank Mayer & Associates partnered with MediaPort, a leader in retail digital-media distribution, to create a custom kiosk enclosure where customers can mix and create CDs, DVDs or downloads personalized with artwork and messages. Features of the kiosk include tailored retail/product branding, an easy-to-use touchscreen interface, seamless retail integration and a variety of payment options.
“In today’s competitive retail market, companies are looking for convenient in-store solutions which drive traffic and create loyalty and new opportunities,” said Ronald Bowers, vice president of new business development for Frank Mayer. “The Retail Digital Media kiosk offers a host of intuitive options at the touch of finger and within minutes provides customer satisfaction and loyalty.”
Tuesday, 09 June 2009
Video Business: According to reports today, several high-profile record labels have signed with digital-download kiosk operator MOD Systems. The labels include EMI Music, Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group. The agreements, in addition to those MOD already has signed with several independent labels, give the company more than 5.2 million DRM-free music tracks to offer later this year on its retail digital-download kiosks. Using the kiosks, customers will have the ability to download content to digital devices, SD memory cards and USB devices. MOD also plans to offer more than 4,000 movies for purchase and download.
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Wednesday, 03 June 2009
TORONTO, Ontario — ADFLOW Networks, a provider of Web-hosted digital signage and interactive kiosk technology in the self-service vertical, announced today it has been named to the 21st annual PROFIT 100 ranking of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies by PROFIT Magazine.
This list recognizes the achievements of Canada’s entrepreneurial elite. Ranking Canada’s fastest growing companies by five-year revenue growth, The PROFIT 100 profiles the country’s most successful growth companies. Published in the June issue of PROFIT and online at PROFIT100.com, the PROFIT 100 is Canada’s largest annual celebration of entrepreneurial achievement.
“We are proud to be recognized for this prestigious award and to be classified among the rankings of Canada’s fastest growth companies,” said David Roscoe, CEO, ADFLOW Networks. “This award is a tribute to the loyalty and on-going support of our customers, the commitment of our employees and the strategic vision our company has maintained from the beginning.”
On average, 2009 PROFIT 100 companies grew their revenue by 2,262 percent over the past five years. The PROFIT 100 ranks the 100 fastest-growing companies in Canada by percentage revenue growth from 2003-08.
“The PROFIT 100 are an inspiration to entrepreneurs at all stages of growth, from startup to major corporation,” says Ian Portsmouth, editor of PROFIT. “Their business practices and product innovations are exemplary of how businesses can succeed in uncertain times.”
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Video Business: Digital kiosk company MOD Systems is negotiating with three retailers to launch test pilots in retail stores during the second half of the year, executives told Video Business at the Digital Hollywood conference in Santa Monica, Calif. MOD has partnered with Toshiba and NCR Corp. to develop and roll out the kiosks, which allow consumers to download movies to SD memory cards, the same cards used to store photos on digital cameras. SD cards are already playable on a number of devices, and Toshiba has announced plans to make its TVs, DVD and portable players and other devices compatible with SD cards as well.
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Thursday, 30 April 2009
ITWeb: Cape Town, South Africa-based Breadbin Interactive has sold 72 of its Freedom Toaster kiosks and says it has received an order for 40 more. The mobile Freedom Toaster kiosks, built with a touchscreen interface, allow users to burn information, music, video, documents and software tools onto CD or flash drive, giving people access to a wealth of free information they did not have in the past.
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Friday, 10 April 2009
TORONTO — VirtuPlay Corp., a developer and manufacturer of coin-operated Internet and entertainment kiosks, has released its INTEVO countertop kiosk.
According to a release, the kiosk features a touchscreen; integrated, tamper-proof keyboard and trackball; and full Internet capabilities and touchscreen games.
Users can access e-mail, send postcards or video e-mail, and visit various news and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as sign in to IM accounts.
The INTEVO’s guided user interface self-upgrades at no cost to the deployer. Other features include a 500-note bill acceptor, electronic multiple coin accepter, and accented lights that are easy on the user’s eyes.
Wednesday, 08 April 2009
The Malta Independent Online: GasanMamo Insurance has installed the first online travel kiosk in Malta at the check-in lounge in the Malta International Airport. Passengers travelling out of Malta can now take out their travel insurance from a kiosk, which includes a built-in printer. “We always seek new ways to provide our customers with that extra comfort and peace of mind and this new travel insurance service will definitely go down well with whoever arrives at the airport, all packed up and ready to set off for the trip and remembers that he has forgotten to take out travel insurance,” said Julian Mamo, director at GasanMamo Insurance.
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Tuesday, 17 March 2009
E-consultancy.com: Sears Holdings is integrating a new branding strategy called "ShopYourWay" across all of its channels, including in-store, online, mobile, electronic kiosks and PDAs. The branding has already launched on Sears.com and soon will be introduced to Kmart.com. The full range of Sears and Kmart products will appear on each site and will increase the options available to consumers. The strategy also includes in-store Internet kiosks. Sears.com sells roughly 100,000 tools online, while its stores offer only some 7,000 to 8,000 options. With the ShopYourWay functionality, in-store shoppers also will have the opportunity to order out-of-stock items through the kiosk.
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Monday, 16 March 2009
The San Francisco Chronicle: Nevada lawmakers are reviewing a proposal that would permit some state prisoners to access the Web via special Internet kiosks. If the legislators pass the proposal, qualifying inmates would get limited Web access that would enable them to send and receive e-mail, engage in videoconferencing with the state Parole Board, interact virtually with doctors and purchase items such as digital downloads. Web traffic would be monitored by prison staffers.
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Thursday, 12 March 2009
SURREY, England -- Protouch Manufacturing Ltd., a U.K.-based provider of touchscreens and associated software, has announced that it will be the official supplier of Internet kiosks for the 2009 Screen Expo Europe.
The digital signage trade show will take place April 7-9 at the National Hall in Olympia, London.
In addition to surfing the Web at Protouch's Internet kiosks, attendees will be able to experience a wide range of the company's products, including the EPoS Xen X5 kiosk and Protouch's latest touchscreen software.
"The idea behind the hub is to give visitors a greater show and product experience of instantly being able to supply what they're doing to their own business needs," said Amanda Wallace, marketing manager for Protouch.
Protouch will showcase its products alongside its Internet hub at stand F11.
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Gujarat Global News Network: The Congress in Gujarat, India, has begun reaching out to the youth vote via a medium they will feel comfortable using. Planned Internet kiosks will dispense information about Congress and its leaders and its activities. The kiosks will also provide free Internet access.
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Friday, 23 January 2009
SHENZHEN, China -- Universal Travel Group Inc., a travel services provider in the People's Republic of China, has announced that it has entered into an exclusive, five-year agreement with Byte Power Info Tech Ltd, the developer of the TRIPEASY kiosk.
According to a news release, the TRIPEASY kiosk is the first of its kind in China. It provides user-friendly access to travel bookings and entertainment guides to those who have limited access to the Internet. The kiosk has a footprint of 16 square meters.
According to the agreement, Universal will integrate its TRIPEASY kiosks with Byte Power Info Tech's existing Internet kiosks. It will install the database related to travel services, government and public affairs and periodically provide on-site personnel to promote the use of TRIPEASY kiosks. Additionally, the company will increase the number of functions TRIPEASY kiosks may provide, such as utilities payment, fixed and mobile phone fee recharge, lottery purchase, transportation IC card recharge, etc. Byte Power Info Tech will provide the machine installation, operation, maintenance and local media promotion.
In the first phase of the trial rollout, 13 TRIPEASY kiosks will be integrated into the Internet kiosks at major shopping malls, office buildings, road junctions and pedestrian malls.
"We are pleased to take our TRIPEASY kiosks beyond the city of Shenzhen, and into a wide range of public locations in Chongqing," said Jiangping Jiang, chief executive of UTVG. "By co-operating with Byte Power Group, we will save the time, energy and expenses related to negotiating and securing public locations, as well as upgrade the functionality of our kiosks to appeal to a broader sense of consumers."
Friday, 02 January 2009
U.S. News & World Report: New digital download kiosks - units that enable consumers to download music, movies and television shows onto digital memory cards - are expected to launched next week. The kiosks will start with single music tracks and then move to DVD-quality movies, but will eventually dump HD-quality films onto SD cards that can be plugged into set-top players or even TVs. Toshiba is a major backer of the kiosks. The company lost the movie format war, it's HD-DVD format falling to Sony's Blu-ray in the battle to replace DVDs. It appears Toshiba is doing what it can to undermine Blu-ray's success, though the company denies that the two formats are in competition.
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Monday, 29 December 2008
The Paypers: The State Bank of India has deployed its first Internet banking kiosk. Located in the Mumbai Central Railway station, the kiosk provides railway travelers with a portal to access their Internet banking accounts. Users can also purchase railway tickets at the self-service device. It's the first in a network of 383 similar kiosks to be unveiled at railway stations across the country.
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Friday, 19 December 2008
CNN: A pair of German researchers have designed a prototype kiosk that gives iPhone users their first taste of the semantic Web. The semantic Web is just one component of what many tech analysts are calling "Web 3.0" -- the next generation of online interaction. Generally, it refers to an emerging Internet experience in which all things on the Web will be described with descriptor languages so computers can "understand" what they are. An object marked as baseball bat could be identified by the computer and the Web could immediately display related data, such as information on catchers' mits, baseballs, uniforms, etc. After the user places his iPhone on the kiosk surface, a circle appears around it displaying -- among other things -artists and albums similar to the MP3 tunes loaded on the iPhone.
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Thursday, 04 December 2008
iTWire: NEC Australia has announced the winning of a contract to provide the technology, nationwide network and management for the Australian government's national "Broadband for Seniors" initiative. NEC will deliver Internet kiosks to support the Broadband for Seniors initiative and increase the confidence and skills of older Australians in using computers and the Internet.
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Monday, 01 December 2008
Computerworld: Kiosks running Linux are more secure than those running Windows, says Mac Jones of Whangarei-based Netstop after Computerworld’s report on attack-code targeting Windows kiosks. The Windows operating system was designed for people at home and in offices, who, naturally, wouldn’t try to hack their own computers. But now, most 15-year-olds can pull up information on the Internet and hack a Windows computer, he said. To Jones, it proved too hard to make kiosks safe using Windows and he switched to the Linux OS. Last week, Computerworld reported that an attack tool, targeting Internet kiosks and terminals running Windows, had been released by a New Zealand security researcher, Paul Craig, who works for consultancy Security-Assessment.com. Craig released his findings at the world’s largest hacking conference, DEF CON, in Las Vegas in August.
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Friday, 14 November 2008
(New Zealand) Scoop Independent News: Security consultant Paul Craig from Security-Assessment.com in August released some break-through research at the world’s largest hacking conference, DEF CON 16, in Las Vegas. The research highlights potential insecurities associated with Internet kiosks that yielded a first-of-a-kind attack methodology. The toolset developed as part of Paul’s research, dubbed iKAT (interactive Kiosk Attack Tool), highlights the potential for a "would be" hacker to compromise any Windows kiosk in sub 10 seconds.
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Thursday, 13 November 2008
The West Australian: Internet kiosk company pieNetworks expects to raise about $3.4 million for a planned New Zealand kiosk rollout. To raise the money, the company will offer each of its shares for 1 cent. The funds will be used for production and network development for the Webphone kiosks. PieNetworks plans to install 50 of the kiosks in shopping centers around New Zealand, beginning during the first quarter of 2009. The issue will be partially underwritten to a minimum amount of $1.3 million by company chairman Peter Gunzburg and other shareholders.
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Wednesday, 05 November 2008
Fermanagh (Ireland) Herald: Fermanagh shoppers got a little more than they bargained for when they were offered the chance to learn how to use the Internet, as well as a range of interactive services, while doing the weekly shopping. As part of the nationwide campaign, "Get Online Day," Tesco Enniskillen and digital inclusion initiative, EverybodyOnline, joined forces to help people step into the virtual world and discover what the Internet has to offer. Members of the EverybodyOnline team were on hand in Tesco Enniskillen to show shoppers how to use the free public touchscreen Internet kiosk.
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Friday, 31 October 2008
The (Malaysia) Star Online: Information in Internet kiosks can be hacked in just 10 seconds, warns Paul Craig, principal security consultant of Security-assessment.com, a New Zealand-based company. Such kiosks are common in airports, train stations, libraries, hotels, corporate lobbies, and on street corners, but they’re not as hack-proof as one might assume. "Internet kiosks are designed to not trust users but they trust commands from a remote Web site, which a hacker can simply surf to and access the tools he needs (to access user data)," Craig said a recent security conference.
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Thursday, 30 October 2008
Network World: A Miami woman has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison and ordered to pay $18.2 million in restitution for a scheme to sell Internet kiosks that were promised to generate substantial income for buyers. Lillian Glaubman, who served as administrator for Pantheon Holdings, also known as Internet Machine Company, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Wednesday. She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and one count of mail fraud in July.
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Monday, 13 October 2008
CIOL.com: Soon there will be more reasons to walk into a public call office in Bangalore, India, than just to make a phone call. Hundreds of PCOs in the city and elsewhere in Karnataka are now set to be upgraded into e-kiosks that provide multiple utility services, including the ability to book travel tickets, pay a variety of taxes, chat, browse and much more. The state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. has partnered with Intel and the Karnataka PCO Owners Association to enable PCO operators to upgrade into electronic information and transaction kiosks.
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Monday, 08 September 2008
(Baku, Azerbaijan) APA: Azerbaijan's electronics maker Kur will begin production of Internet kiosks in the country for the first time. The company's office in Baku said the introduction of Internet kiosks in public places is the most promising step in providing information services.
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Tuesday, 26 August 2008
United Press International: The Internet networking site MySpace is hosting a bevy of activities and events related to this week's Democratic National Convention in Denver, the site said. The MySpace activities are part of the company's IMPACT initiative, a statement said Monday. The MySpace Cafe is serving as a home base for, among others, bloggers, journalists, delegates and the general public where they can enjoy free wireless Internet, kiosks to check their MySpace and blog about convention happenings.
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Wednesday, 20 August 2008
CNET News.com: Internet companies including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are planning to use this year's political conventions to show off their technology and products and, of course, host massive parties for employees, celebrities and politicians. Among one of the technology features at the conventions: Kiosks at which anyone can upload videos to YouTube.
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Wednesday, 26 December 2007
Los Angeles Times: The Connecticut attorney general's office sued Best Buy in May, charging the electronics heavyweight with using deceptive in-store Web sites to trick customers into paying higher prices than available on the company's actual site. "We thought Best Buy had addressed this," Connecticut Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal said. "That's what they said to us. Apparently that's not the case.
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Friday, 14 December 2007
RICHMOND HILL, Ontario · The Home Depot Canada is changing the way customers shop for home improvement projects with the opening of its first project-orientated store in Richmond Hill, Ontario. The new 115,000-square foot store has been redesigned both functionally and aesthetically based on customer demand.
The project store features a new layout that creates a more project-oriented shopping flow; redesigned departments for greater access to project information and expertise; inspirational showrooms; project-oriented customer service; a new seminar area; self-service kiosks for homedepot.ca product orders; more than 40,000 products; a Tool Rental Centre, Installation Services and an 18,000 square-foot Garden Centre.
"The Home Depot has long been Canada's home improvement store, offering the selection, expertise and value customers expect when completing their projects. As the market leader in the industry, we are always challenging ourselves to look for ways to improve our business for our customers," said Annette Verschuren, president of Home Depot Canada and Asia. "By listening to those who shop our stores, we developed an innovative project store concept that is the next evolution in the home improvement shopping experience."
The Richmond Hill store will include new interactive kiosks to provide customers and associates with the opportunity to access homedepot.ca, complete special order transactions, book installations, complete credit card applications and look up a price and product information.
Monday, 10 December 2007
The Hindu Business Line: India-based NETHOTZONE has joined hands with U.S. company Ahem! Management Solutions to set up kiosks providing free Internet facility in 155 cities and towns in India.
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Friday, 07 December 2007
contentSutra.com: Smile Interactive plans to set up around 97,000 e-commerce kiosks in the next three years in India, starting with 900 in the first phase. These kiosks, at petrol pumps, malls and grocery stores, will allow consumers to download music, book tickets and buy products online.
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Tuesday, 04 December 2007
Express India: Passengers soon may get a respite from standing in long queues for railway tickets with Northern Railways planning to introduce e-ticketing through ATM kiosks at all major railway stations. Railways will set up 305 ATMs across their train routes.
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Tuesday, 25 September 2007
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. · The semester is in full swing at Baton Rouge Community College, where returning students will notice technological advancements designed to empower them, officials said in a news release.
BRCC chose Self-Service Networks to deliver self-service kiosks that help students perform a range of services such as class registration and tuition payment.
This new technology complements Self-Service Networks first project with BRCC where it created an interactive directory enabling students to find specific class locations and faculty offices. The directory also includes campus maps, which help students and visitors easily find a destination.
Thursday, 20 September 2007
eWeek.com: With Borders just seven months away from having to fly on its own without Amazon.com, the nation's second-largest bookseller has quietly launched its beta site. Eventually, kiosks will be involved: A customer wanting to plan a trip to Hawaii could go to the travel section and then to the Hawaii section. A nearby kiosk would use partner services to book flights, arrange hotel rooms and print out relevant brochures. Someone visiting the romance section might use a kiosk to access a dating service or possibly even connect with someone in that section, during a wine-and-cheese gathering for customers. But in the preliminary beta site triggered live on Sept. 6, only the most faint hints of the new strategy are evident.
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Friday, 14 September 2007
Tampa Bay (Fla.) Business Journal: Publix Super Markets has added kiosks in its GreenWise Markets that offer tips and recipes related to fresh foods and health-related products. The Healthnotes Connect Fresh Ideas kiosks are an extension of healthy living resources Publix offers in-store and online, such as nutritional shelf-tags to highlight certain foods that are especially healthy.
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Tuesday, 04 September 2007
Albotas: According to some reports, Apple will this week unveil its new iTunes kiosks that will be set up through various retail outlets in North America. No word has yet been released about how many or in what stores the kiosks will be placed, but reportedly the kiosks will allow users to directly dock iPod/iPhones for the download of songs on a whim.
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Tuesday, 28 August 2007
SYDNEY, Australia · 22Moo is in the final stages to enable millions of iPod and iPhone owners around the world to download movies, videos, games and music to their iPods or iPhones from places such as airports, train stations, hotels, shopping malls, schools, cafes and coffee shops, with their launch of the iPod and iPhone compatible Internet kiosk, the Digital Diner 9.
22Moo is now in the final stages of migrating to the 20-inch iMac and extending software and hardware support for the iPhone as well, the company says. It also has added Internet-browsing to the Digital Diner 9 kiosk.
22Moo plans to launch the kiosk at the CES and Macworld shows in January 2008.
Tuesday, 21 August 2007
The Globe and Mail (Canada): Author Margaret Atwood's unlikely invention, the LongPen, is moving into a record store and several bookstores in Canada, the United States and England for a trial run that could bring fans and their idols closer together. Its makers are courting notables in the world of music, sports and film to start using the remote-controlled pen, which allows people to sign autographs from anywhere in the world and chat with others via video conferencing using a kiosk.
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Monday, 30 July 2007
Business of Cinema: With a severe drop in CD sales, retail outlets are using other options to sustain their stores. Planet M, a music store in India, says it soon expects to introduce digital-music downloading in its stores. Through the kiosks, customers can download the songs available in the store.
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Monday, 02 July 2007
Delhi (India) Newsline: The Delhi Cabinet plans to approve an initiative to place 40 Wi-Fi enabled kiosks in the middle of Central Park, where users without laptops could surf the Internet and shop online for free.
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Wednesday, 27 June 2007
ATLANTA · NCR Corp. has announced the launch of its hotel self-service kiosk solution, NCR Xpress Hotel.
According to a news release, NCR Xpress Hotel's software uses the same common use self-service platform that powers thousands of airline check-in devices in 285 airports worldwide. The solution can also be equipped with a check-in module that provides multi-airline check-in as well as prints boarding passes.
NCR Xpress Hotel includes NCR ResortPort kiosk hardware, which includes an optional bi-directional passport reader and barcode imager.
NCR Xpress Hotel also can include NCR WayFinder, an interactive mapping application.
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
ATLANTA · NCR Corp. has announced the launch of its hotel self-service kiosk solution, NCR Xpress Hotel.
According to a news release, NCR Xpress Hotel's software uses the same common use self-service platform that powers thousands of airline check-in devices in 285 airports worldwide. The solution can also be equipped with a check-in module that provides multi-airline check-in as well as prints boarding passes.
NCR Xpress Hotel includes NCR ResortPort kiosk hardware, which includes an optional bi-directional passport reader and barcode imager.
NCR Xpress Hotel also can include NCR WayFinder, an interactive mapping application.
Friday, 25 May 2007
ABCnews.com: The Connecticut attorney general is taking Best Buy to task for using a different version of its Web site on in-store kiosks than customers found accessing the Web at home. The maneuver allowed Best Buy to charge shoppers at its store more than they would have been charged at other computers, which the state attorney says amounts to illegal bait-and-switch activity.
Read more.
Monday, 30 April 2007
ATLANTA · Wine Market Tech announced the release of its Wine Market Kiosk application at the FMI Trade Show in Chicago.
Retailers can view the Wine Market Kiosk application at FMI May 6-8 in the NCR Corp. and StoreNext/Retalix booths.
Wine Market Kiosk is a second-generation wine, recipe and cheese-pairing kiosk that provides grocers and specialty-wine retailers with content from WinesandRecipes.com to support their wine-marketing programs.
Wine Market Kiosk enables retailers to select from three application modules to best suit their environments.
The new application is designed to be scalable to any retail environment and provides full integration with a retailer's PLU and POS servers.
With wine-industry sales expected to grow by 62.5 percent over the next three years, many retailers are actively developing strategies to expand total wine sales and market share.
"Wine Market Kiosk addresses the full scope of needs and requirements our grocery and wine retailers have asked for. This enables our retail partners to leverage the wine category, which is the ninth-largest category for retail grocery, and one which is highly profitable," said Jon Holland, president of WinesandRecipes.com.
Friday, 20 April 2007
Newindpress.com: An Indian post office has opened its doors as an Internet kiosk. The country's first-ever postal netcafe, PostNet, was inaugurated at the Chandramoulipuram post office. The PostNet's offerings include Web browsing, printing, scanning, CD-writing and webcam/online chatting.
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Monday, 16 April 2007
LOUISVILLE, Colo. · ZOOX Stations Inc. and RMES Communications Inc. have teamed to bring the first Internet and PC game Cafe to Denver International Airport, according to a news release.
Using a booth enclosure, travelers can now go beyond just checking their e-mail and surfing the Internet · the stations also feature PC game titles that are available for local or online play.
The cafes are an upgrade to the present "Shibby" Internet equipment, which have been a mainstay to DIA travelers since 2002.
The interface guides users to one of two tiers of use · high-speed Internet or PC gaming. Quick links to popular sites like MySpace, YouTube, and Google are one source of entertainment. The gaming aspect adds a whole new entertainment option, the company says.
The Internet and Game cafe is the creation of ZOOX Stations, a Louisville, Colo.-based division of KIOSK Information Systems.
"The single ingredient needed to make this machine a gamer magnet is idle time," said Rick Malone, president of KIOSK and ZOOX Stations. "Our development team has included the highest caliber gaming technology and a full complement of industry-leading title options that appeal to even the most sophisticated gamer. With RMES' attention to quality operation, we are extremely confident it will be a hit with DIA patrons."
Main terminals at the airport are expected to integrate the equipment and services by July.
Friday, 16 March 2007
Hindu.com: In an attempt to curb piracy in digital content, Giri Trading Agency, part of the South India Music Companies Association, has launched Anytime Digital Download kiosk in the Chennai Airport. The kiosk, with a touch-screen facility, would have a database of film, classical Indian music, devotional songs, video clips and ring tones that could be downloaded onto iPods, USB-mp3 players and pen drives.
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Tuesday, 27 February 2007
NewsObserver.com: Something is disappearing from hotel lobbies in North Carolina: the imposing, impersonal front desk. Desks that resemble tables or podiums are replacing those long, marble barriers · for decades the cold centerpiece of the American hotel lobby · as more hotels experiment with new check-in procedures aimed at cutting down long lines and making guests feel more welcome.
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Monday, 19 February 2007
SUNNYVALE, Calif. · Hoteliers can now provide their patrons with a compact, stylish computer-access kiosk that can streamline guest service by freeing up employees to help guests who require more personal services.
Vertical Systems Inc. is offering Aspen, a sleek, high-style kiosk unit that can be placed in hotel lobbies, corridors, conference rooms or other public spaces. Aspen kiosks can house either VSi's BoardEZ airline boarding-pass printing systems, Internet-access PCs or a hotel's own proprietary computer equipment with high quality printer for guest use.
VSi's Aspen comes with a wired or wireless network connection and can be loaded with hotel-specific software.
The Hyatt Regency Indianapolis installed its Aspen kiosk near the reception desk as part of a station that includes two of the hotel's automated express check-in/-out units. The kiosk houses the Hyatt FastBoard boarding-pass unit.
"The guests love being able to check out of the hotel and go to the Aspen kiosk and print out their boarding pass," said Richard Walter, the hotel's Director of Rooms.
Thursday, 08 February 2007
NEW YORK · Big Apple Wallcovering announced Feb. 3-6 the introduction of its No More Books kiosks to worldwide manufacturers and distributors at the 2007 Wallcovering's Association Annual Convention in Marco Island, Fla.
According to a news release, the kiosks feature video instruction and facilitate electronic order placement with Big Apple Wallcovering, which processes the orders and drop-ships samples with the customer. The kiosks also provide a search engine that allows easy selection for the customer.
"We have invited the industry to move forward with us and recondition outlets to eliminate sample books and replace them with our No More Books kiosks," said Neal Jablon, president of Big Apple Worldwide. "We will commence the roll out of kiosks into retail paint and wallcovering stores this spring."
Wednesday, 07 February 2007
TROY, Mich. — Nextep Systems has announced the useof the Nextreme Outdoor Kiosk, a kiosk the company says represents the "next step" in outdoor-kiosk design. The kiosk is reportedly the first consumer-use outdoor kiosk to use an industrial PC with a solid-state disk, technology typically only found in harsh, military settings.
The Nextreme kiosk offers a NEMA/4 enclosure with powder-coated finish, a 15-inch LCD touchscreen with safety glass, and requires no fans or other moving parts except and optional printer. Optional periphreals include a meagnetic-stripe reader, barcode reader, keyboard, 17-inch display, wireless network card and thermal printer — all rated for outdoor use.
Wednesday, 31 January 2007
Wqad.com: New Internet kiosks are being installed at rest areas along the Iowa interstates. Information about the weather, road conditions and tourist spots soon will be just a click away for drivers in Iowa.
The Iowa DOT already has computer monitors at most rest areas with rotating screens that display weather and road data. But in most cases, travelers can't choose what they want to see.
Read more
Wednesday, 10 January 2007
WALCOTT, Iowa · IOWA80.COM, a provider of trucking accessories in North America, has unveiled a new Internet kiosk located in the Indianapolis Truckomat. Another Truckomat kiosk location will be announced soon.
Customers can browse the Web site, order products and even pay right at the kiosk, said Rodney Pugh, vice president of Truckomat. He said the kiosk is intended to serve drivers who want to purchase chrome and truck accessories not available at Truckomat locations.
Pugh said the company wants to offer drivers the best possible service, even during their downtime.
"The kiosk enables drivers to shop while their trucks are being washed," he said. "It's our way of reminding our Truckomat patrons that we are a full-service chrome and accessories shop. The kiosk is an easy and convenient way for drivers to browse our online store of over 120,000 products, and have their purchases shipped directly to their homes or business locations."
Wednesday, 10 January 2007
Fox28.com: An Indiana hospital has teamed up with the March of Dimes to help parents of premature babies. A new computer kiosk now sits in the waiting room outside the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Memorial Hospital. These new kiosks cost about $60,000.
Read more
Monday, 18 December 2006
ABERDEEN, N.C. - Meridian Kiosks, a leading manufacturer of kiosks and self-service terminals, announced the appointment of Kevin Kent to the position of vice president of business development.
According to a news release, Kent will oversee the company's sales, marketing and channel relationships, and be responsible for continuing Meridian's growth.
"Kevin comes at a key time for us as we are expanding rapidly on many fronts. He is well-equipped to lead our sales and marketing teams, and his industry experience is a huge asset to us and our customers," said Chris Gilder, Meridian Kiosks' chief executive.
Kent was formerly the director of business development for Swecoin US, one of the top manufacturers of self-service printers. Prior to Swecoin, he spent five years in product marketing and sales for AdKnowlege, where he worked with Fortune 500 companies and the top advertising agencies to serve and optimize their online marketing campaigns.
"Meridian has quietly emerged as one of the leading kiosk companies and has a reputation for innovation and speed. Over the last couple years I've seen the quality of their work firsthand, and it is exciting to now join the team and help expand the MK brand," Kent said. "With the new facility now fully operational, we have a lot of new capabilities to offer our customers."
Kent holds a bachelor's degree in business/economics from Wheaton College.
Tuesday, 12 December 2006
Madison.com: Sears has opened 100 kiosk-enabled Land's End shops inside Sears' stores. The stores include a variety of merchandise not typical of Land's End, meant to extend that brand.
Read more
Tuesday, 05 December 2006
Asia Pacific News: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is implementing ticket-kiosk and Web-check-in applications. The airline has introduced e-ticketing for all bookings made directly with the airline and through travel agencies, eliminating paper ticketing long before the IATA-mandated Dec. 31, 2007, deadline.
Monday, 04 December 2006
Hard News Media: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh plans to deploy 1 million Internet kiosks in 2007, to be known as Common Services Centres. The kiosks will provide automated e-governance access to rural villages throughout India.
Read more
Wednesday, 22 November 2006
SYDNEY - Australian hardware and software developer 22Moo announced it has begun development on its third-party iTunes/iPod kiosk.
Under current plans, the prototype will be powered by an Apple Intel-based Mac Mini running a 15-inch TFT touchscreen with virtual keyboard software, a wireless Internet connection and a customized application for timed access to iTunes.
The "PodBuffet" (project name) will also feature multiple dock connectors and a female USB and Firewire port for older iPods and Shuffle owners.
Tuesday, 24 October 2006
Wired.com: The iPod name came from an earlier Apple project to build an Internet kiosk, which never saw the light of day. On July 24, 2000, Apple registered the iPod name for "a public internet kiosk enclosure containing computer equipment," according to the filing.
Read more.
Friday, 20 October 2006
WEST CHESTER, Pa. · MEI announced that new Pay E Mail Internet kiosks, designed and patented with a slim footprint so that they can be easily swapped into existing payphone enclosures in airports, hotels, convention centers and rest stops nationwide, will use its Series 2000 Combo Acceptors to let users pay with cash, credit or debit cards.
Pay E Mail kiosks are vandal-resistant, constructed of heavy-duty steel and aluminum, and have a 15-inch flat screen and full-sized keyboard with a trackball mouse.
Pay E Mail kiosks provide business and leisure travelers convenient access to e-mail and Web surfing. Internet access is now the No. 1 request for new services at hotels, which represent the largest market for this device. The company will deploy more than 120 kiosks in the Atlanta Airport by year's end. Additional installations are underway at airports in San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, N.C., Orlando, Fla., and Pittsburgh.
Thursday, 19 October 2006
HERTFORDSHIRE, England - BAA, the world's leading airport company, has awarded a new seven airport Internet kiosk contract to Spectrum Interactive plc, estimated to be worth £5m (U.S. $9.3 million), following a competitive tender process. Spectrum already operates over 200 Internet kiosks within the BAA estate and also provides payphones to each airport. The new contract will commence in 2008.
The agreement also includes rights to install new units into Heathrow Terminal 5 which opens in March 2008. Terminal 5 alone is expected to service around 30 million passengers per annum by 2010.
"We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this prestigious contract," Spectrum Interactive chief executive Mark Lewarne said. "BAA is a long standing Spectrum partner, and we have worked extremely hard to offer a superb package of good design, service and operational support to suit the demands of some of the busiest airports in the world. Securing this contract and extending our relationship with BAA into Terminal 5 allows Spectrum to invest further in new design and product features. We look forward to a long continued association with our partner BAA."
Friday, 06 October 2006
ABC 7 Chicago: The Chicago Department of Aviation has installed a touchscreen kiosk that offers travel information to visitors at O'Hare International Airport. The kiosk, which officials are calling a "virtual concierge," provides airport, hotel, transportation and weather information in seven languages. Information is available in English, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish.
Read more
Friday, 06 October 2006
SYRACUSE, Ind. - RV manufacturer Ameri-Camp is beginning to use interactive kiosks to showcase its RV product lines, the company announced in a news release.
The Syracuse, Ind.-based company is employing the interactive information centers for use in dealer shows, meetings, RV sales centers and even inside the RV units.
Ameri-Camp worked with Video and Sound Productions to create, develop and produce interactive marketing, videos, CD-ROM's and information centers as part of its aggressive marketing strategy.
Ameri-Camp also introduced the information center at its recent dealer meeting and the concept received an enthusiastic response.
"Customer trends are adopting this technology and it's important we give them the latest tools to help in their decisions," said Dave Raphael, Ameri-Camp marketing director. "These interactive information centers are able to deliver information to customers in a fun, effective and affordable way."
The self-contained interactive kiosk features product videos and information, floorplans, picture galleries, page turning brochures and information on the Ameri-Camp company, all accessible from a touchscreen.
RV Manufacturing Enterprises LLC, under the name Ameri-Camp, manufactures a range of travel trailer and fifth-wheel recreational vehicles, and has dealers located throughout the United States and Canada.
Tuesday, 03 October 2006
Denver —The Denver Newspaper Agency has launched electronic coupon advertising for local retailers and their affiliated product manufacturers.
YourHubClub.com, aligns with the DNA's weekly publication, YourHub.com, a website where users post their own photos and stories. YourHub.com is produced every Thursday by the Rocky Mountain News and delivered by the Denver Newspaper Agency to subscribers of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post.
The market launch of YourHubClub, introduced on August 31, offers consumers a free club membership for viewing, selecting, and redeeming electronic coupons within their neighborhoods. The offering of electronic coupons compliments the newspaper coupons and advertising in print, as well as the promotions on YourHub.com websites.
In addition, retailers can go online and see how many consumers have viewed, selected, and redeemed their coupons. This form of feedback is valuable in determining the effectiveness of a retailer coupon and in targeting consumers with the items they are most likely to buy.
For consumers, this new offering gives the flexibility to use newspaper coupons, use electronic coupons, or apply both options to save money. YourHubClub Electronic Coupon solution takes the Internet world into the marketplace and reduces the need for consumers to print web-based coupons for redemption. Coupons can be viewed at convenience store kiosks, while fueling your car, and at other kiosks throughout the neighborhood, or at home (www.yourhubclub.com). Participating retailers then redeem the coupons simply by swiping the consumer's membership card or entering their phone number.
Wednesday, 27 September 2006
Hotel Interactive: Embassy Suites Hotels announced the launch of its 20/10 brand evolution program with the completion of EmbassyDirect Registration Kiosks in all of the brand's 182 hotels, as well as the added capability of printing airline boarding passes directly from all kiosks.
With this announcement, Embassy Suites Hotels is the first hotel brand to install the kiosk check-in technology in all hotels. Additionally, the hotel brand also becomes the first to announce airline boarding-pass printing capabilities for 18 major airlines from the kiosks in 100 percent of its hotels.
This new complimentary service spearheads the brand's 20/10 brand evolution and enhancement program, a comprehensive series of product and service upgrades and enhancements, as well as brand standards, to keep the Embassy Suites Hotels brand a leader in the upscale, full-service hotel category. By year-end 2007, the Embassy Suites brand will have funded nearly $10 million on several 20/10 initiatives including breakfast, team member uniforms and registration kiosks.
Read more
Tuesday, 12 September 2006
TheHinduBusinessLine.com: In an attempt to improve its income, India's Southern Railway is exploring revenue opportunities in addition to its traditional business including building modern hotels with Internet kiosks.
Read more.
Tuesday, 05 September 2006
DQChannels.com: Supported by the government of Andhra Pradesh and leading banks such as State Bank of India, the initiative involves identifying local entrepreneurs and giving them complete support to set up an e-commerce kiosk.
Read more.
Wednesday, 05 July 2006
Burnaby BC - TIO Networks Corp., formerly Info Touch Technologies Corp., today announced the launch of the KEY A-D insurance offering to ExxonMobil customers and other TIO convenience retail networks. KEY A-D, which is underwritten by Stonebridge Casualty Insurance Company, will provide an accidental death benefit for $12 a year.
"When I was approached by Stonebridge to sell an insurance product on our bill payment network, I was immediately interested," says Hamed Shahbazi, chairman and CEO of TIO Networks. "We strive to offer products to the cash preferred demographic and this product has been developed specifically for TIO's customer base."
"Our customers have been requesting more financial services be offered on our terminals," says David Taylor, U.S. Category Manager for ExxonMobil. "KEY A-D insurance supports our strategy to provide services to the under-banked consumer."
"We are excited about the opportunity to test a new distribution channel," says Margo K. Lucero, kiosk senior marketing manager for Stonebridge Casualty Insurance Company. "TIO Networks and ExxonMobil are ideal partners to determine the effectiveness of insurance offerings in convenience stores."
TIO Networks and Stonebridge will launch initially in Texas and Tennessee in On The Run and Tigermarket locations with a strategic, long-term plan for a nationwide roll out that will encompass multiple offers, markets and retailers.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, 17 May 2006
CALGARY, Alberta - SMART Technologies Inc. announces its participation in cutting-edge research being conducted at the FedEx Institute of Technology at the University of Memphis in Tennessee for the interactive kiosk and digital signage markets. The Memphis Intelligent Kiosk Initiative (MIKI) is a research project designed to investigate the preferred and most efficient forms of human interaction with information kiosks. The Actalyst interactive overlay, from SMART, fastens securely over a large flat-panel display to create a durable, touch-enabled kiosk. Using the recordings from this kiosk, researchers are studying how visitors to the FedEx Institute access information. The three-year project is the first of its kind for the institute and will help to define objective benchmarks for the emerging interactive kiosk market.
The intelligent kiosk allows visitors to find the location of more than 80 rooms within the institute as well as information on events at the institute, the history of the university, the MIKI project and the institute's various research groups. Researchers are attempting to determine if people prefer interacting with an animated on-screen character or just a computer-generated voice. They are also examining what methods of providing directions are most effective. The kiosk uses a camera to identify when people approach the kiosk and a speech-recognition system then begins to interact with them. These features allow people to find information by touching the digital display with a finger or speaking to the kiosk. Once a topic of interest has been identified, the kiosk can reply in a variety of ways, including verbally or with 3-D animations, video presentations, images or additional sound signals and music. The entire interaction is recorded so researchers can collect this valuable data and determine how it may be applied for the emerging interactive kiosk and digital signage markets.
"With the addition of the Actalyst interactive overlay and the unstructured speech interaction, MIKI has become more than a fancy display. It has become a personality with which visitors enjoy interacting and treat as they would a human receptionist," said Lee McCauley, assistant professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Memphis. "In numerous places where a static display or no assistance has been available before, an intelligent kiosk application, like MIKI, can be installed to enhance both marketing initiatives and efficiency. For retail locations in particular, an intelligent kiosk would be like a Google for 'bricks-and-mortar,' providing the information people want and creating targeted marketing for the retailer."
Tuesday, 18 April 2006
 Based on extensive POS/KIOSK development experience, Evalue has developed a KIOSK SBC series that offers low cost of ownership while maintaining high system reliability. These KIOSK solutions are available in EPIC and mini-ITX form factors with features such as a built-in touch screen interface, single voltage operation, ultra low-power consumption and RoHS compliance. Moreover, customers can select from the most popular platforms including Intel's Pentium M, the AMD LX series and VIA processors.
Intel platform
Evalue delivers Intel-based KIOSK SBCs in both EPIC and Mini-ITX form factors. The full range of Intel-based Mini-ITX motherboards are supported with the most powerful chipsets including the 915GM, 855GME and 852GM. And all feature high-speed bandwidth interfaces for increased system performance. The Mini-ITX solutions support an optional 19V DC-DC power module that reduces cost, saves space and enhances boost efficiency. Moreover, all Mini-ITX motherboards support an impressive range of high-speed storage and networking connectivity options such as multiple SATA, USB 2.0, PCI, Mini-PCI or LAN/Gigabit LAN interfaces. The ECM-3720 is another Intel choice and has an EPIC form-factor size of 165 mm x 115 mm. The ECM-3720 features dual View, dual LAN and single +12V operation, in addition to its touch-screen interface.
AMD platform
The EMB-9655 is an ultra-low power Mini ITX motherboard featuring an onboard AMD Geode LX700 processor. The AMD Geode processor consumes a maximum power of 3.1W (TDP) and 1.3W typical at 433 MHz. Incorporating the built-in, touch-screen interface and single 19V power module, the EMB-9655 enables a great number of mobile applications in small footprint designs with extended battery life.
VIA platform
The ECM-3624 harbors an onboard VIA Eden ESP10K processor and a CN400 chipset in a small EPIC size. It supports MPEG-4 acceleration and MPEG-2 decoder with versatile functionalities such as dual LVDS, TV-out, 5.1 CH audio and an optional 4/5/8-wire resistive touch screen controller. Also, the ECM-3624 supports multiple I/O interfaces including two serial ATA ports, four USB 2.0 ports, one PCI-104 slot, one CompactFlash slot and dual 10/100Mbps Ethernet controllers for flexible expansion and connectivity.
Applications
All the above Evalue KIOSK SBCs offer ideal solutions for applications such as POS, KIOSKs, Thin Clients, Set Top Boxes, and other interactive appliances requiring highly reliable and low-power single board controllers.
About Evalue
Evalue has positioned itself as an innovative solution provider since its establishment in 2000. The company has successfully expanded its expertise from x 86 platforms into RISC-based hardware and software solutions. Backed up with an R&D team of seasoned engineers, Evalue provides a wide selection of products ranging from board level to system level products covering RISC computers, x86 based single board computers, ETX, motherboards, InnoFlex Panel PCs, Box computers and more.
Evalue is a member of the Intel Communications Alliance (ICA), a community of developers and solution providers utilizing Intel technology in their product development and deployment. Members are committed to providing a strategic supply of standards-based solutions to the communications and embedded market segments. For more information, please visit: www.intel.com/go/ica.
Wednesday, 29 March 2006
NEW DELHI — Intel Corporation today officially launched an innovative PC platform that has been developed exclusively to meet the needs of rural villages and communities in India. Designed as a result of defining locally relevant computing solutions based on Intel technology, the Intel-powered "Community PC" platform is equipped to operate in a community setting while accommodating the varying environmental conditions prevalent in the country.
With an objective to bridge the urban-rural divide, today Intel also announced its "Jagruti" ("Awakening") initiative designed to provide rural communities in India with greater economic and social opportunities. By collaborating with leaders in business, government, education, online services and Internet service providers, Intel's Jagruti program will support the spread of rural Internet "kiosks" based on the new Intel-powered Community PC. These kiosks will help accelerate access to the benefits of information and communications technologies (ICT) in villages across India.
The aptly named Community PC platform was defined by Intel after intensive ethnographic studies in rural India showed that a clear desire for technology access exists in remote rural communities. Unfortunately, weather conditions (heat, dust, humidity) and unreliable power sources can compromise typical PCs used in such environments.
To address these issues, the Intel-powered Community PC platform was developed to be a fully functional, expandable and shared-access computing solution. It is a highly reliable, manageable system that supports remote diagnostics and control features under low power requirements. Unique features include:
- Ruggedized chassis: The chassis has been designed to withstand dusty conditions, varying temperatures and high humidity. It has a removable dust filter and integrated air fan to regulate the temperature of the motherboard. The chassis is designed to keep the motherboard cool at temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius and the PC resistant to humidity levels of 70 to 85 RH (Relative Humidity).
- CPSU: The PC is equipped with a Customized Power Supply Unit which is comprised of an Integrated Power Supply and the UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) unit, which allow the PC to maintain continuous load power in the event of a power outage.
- Low power consumption: The total power consumption of all peripherals is less than 100 watts.
- Access Control:The platform comes installed with a certificate-based access, allowing banks to verify the validity of installment payments against the purchase of the PCs.
Intel expects many of these Community PC platforms to be deployed in Internet "kiosks" common in Indian villages. The kiosks are operated by local entrepreneurs and provide neighboring communities with access to services such as e-Government forms (land records and marriage licenses, among others). This saves time and money for potential users who no longer need to spend an entire day and take multiple modes of transportation into the main city to complete necessary paperwork. They can now visit a local kiosk and have a kiosk "operator" input their data online quickly and cost-effectively.
The Community PC model thus provides both a means of improving efficiencies for the locals as well as creating entrepreneurship opportunities for prospective kiosk owner/operators. Intel, after studying this business model in detail and identifying the needs and limitations of existing PCs being used in rural communities in India, initiated several pilot projects utilizing the Community PC platform in villages across the country.
The Intel-powered Community PC platform is part of Intel's commitment to enable individuals, communities and countries to gain equal access to the technology tools, skills and educational content they need to fully engage in the global economy.
"Intel actively supports efforts to provide computer technology to places where it hasn't previously been available," said William M. Siu, vice president and general manager of Intel's Channel Platforms Group. "Our experience shows that ICT adoption in developing nations requires much more than providing a standard PC; the technology often needs to be adapted to the local usage and environment of a particular country or region. In addition to defining the platform and developing the ingredient technologies, Intel also collaborated with local hardware, software and service companies to deliver on the promise of the Community PC platform. Overall, Intel has made substantial investments in technology, ecosystem partnerships, and education initiatives in support of this belief."
Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.
Intel is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
Wednesday, 29 March 2006
NEW DELHI — Intel Corporation today officially launched an innovative PC platform that has been developed exclusively to meet the needs of rural villages and communities in India. Designed as a result of defining locally relevant computing solutions based on Intel technology, the Intel-powered "Community PC" platform is equipped to operate in a community setting while accommodating the varying environmental conditions prevalent in the country.
With an objective to bridge the urban-rural divide, today Intel also announced its "Jagruti" ("Awakening") initiative designed to provide rural communities in India with greater economic and social opportunities. By collaborating with leaders in business, government, education, online services and Internet service providers, Intel's Jagruti program will support the spread of rural Internet "kiosks" based on the new Intel-powered Community PC. These kiosks will help accelerate access to the benefits of information and communications technologies (ICT) in villages across India.
The aptly named Community PC platform was defined by Intel after intensive ethnographic studies in rural India showed that a clear desire for technology access exists in remote rural communities. Unfortunately, weather conditions (heat, dust, humidity) and unreliable power sources can compromise typical PCs used in such environments.
To address these issues, the Intel-powered Community PC platform was developed to be a fully functional, expandable and shared-access computing solution. It is a highly reliable, manageable system that supports remote diagnostics and control features under low power requirements. Unique features include:
- Ruggedized chassis: The chassis has been designed to withstand dusty conditions, varying temperatures and high humidity. It has a removable dust filter and integrated air fan to regulate the temperature of the motherboard. The chassis is designed to keep the motherboard cool at temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius and the PC resistant to humidity levels of 70 to 85 RH (Relative Humidity).
- CPSU: The PC is equipped with a Customized Power Supply Unit which is comprised of an Integrated Power Supply and the UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) unit, which allow the PC to maintain continuous load power in the event of a power outage.
- Low power consumption: The total power consumption of all peripherals is less than 100 watts.
- Access Control:The platform comes installed with a certificate-based access, allowing banks to verify the validity of installment payments against the purchase of the PCs.
Intel expects many of these Community PC platforms to be deployed in Internet "kiosks" common in Indian villages. The kiosks are operated by local entrepreneurs and provide neighboring communities with access to services such as e-Government forms (land records and marriage licenses, among others). This saves time and money for potential users who no longer need to spend an entire day and take multiple modes of transportation into the main city to complete necessary paperwork. They can now visit a local kiosk and have a kiosk "operator" input their data online quickly and cost-effectively.
The Community PC model thus provides both a means of improving efficiencies for the locals as well as creating entrepreneurship opportunities for prospective kiosk owner/operators. Intel, after studying this business model in detail and identifying the needs and limitations of existing PCs being used in rural communities in India, initiated several pilot projects utilizing the Community PC platform in villages across the country.
The Intel-powered Community PC platform is part of Intel's commitment to enable individuals, communities and countries to gain equal access to the technology tools, skills and educational content they need to fully engage in the global economy.
"Intel actively supports efforts to provide computer technology to places where it hasn't previously been available," said William M. Siu, vice president and general manager of Intel's Channel Platforms Group. "Our experience shows that ICT adoption in developing nations requires much more than providing a standard PC; the technology often needs to be adapted to the local usage and environment of a particular country or region. In addition to defining the platform and developing the ingredient technologies, Intel also collaborated with local hardware, software and service companies to deliver on the promise of the Community PC platform. Overall, Intel has made substantial investments in technology, ecosystem partnerships, and education initiatives in support of this belief."
Intel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.
Intel is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
Monday, 20 March 2006
Carson, CA - CrossCheck, Inc. and MagTek announced the certification of two versions of MagTek's MICRImage check scanner for deployment with the CrossCheck PC Conversion Plus service — MICRImage RS232 with modem and MICRImage with Ethernet connectivity. With the scanner, merchants can process check payments for conversion through CrossCheck's Conversion PlusSM service through their PC. CrossCheck is offering both traditional dial and high-speed Internet processing.
CrossCheck, the nation's largest privately held check approval and guarantee company, will make the PC option available to any merchant using their CrossCheck Conversion Plus service. The CrossCheck Conversion Plus service enables a merchant to convert checks at the point of purchase, eliminating the need to take checks to the bank for deposit. Check information is sent through a POS terminal or by PC using the CrossCheck web site and funds are ACH'd into the merchant account. CrossCheck's Conversion Plus service includes business check conversion and guarantee features.
"We are committed to making our check services fast and convenient, and that means offering our merchants a variety of equipment and processing options. We are pleased to add this PC capability to our innovative CrossCheck Conversion Plus service and to have it available with the MagTek equipment for our Auto Dealers, Building Material merchants and retailers using PCs at their POS," said J. David Siembieda, president and CEO of CrossCheck.
"CrossCheck's Conversion Plus solution allows merchants to gain additional value from their existing PCs by simply adding the MICRImage check scanner and the CrossCheck software. MagTek is committed to providing quality products to customers who use a variety of point-of-sale products and CrossCheck continues to be a great solution provider, said John Arato, Vice President, Business Unit Manager, Retail Products at MagTek."
About CrossCheck, Inc.
CrossCheck, Inc. provides check approval and guarantee for a variety of merchants nationwide. For more than 20 years, its goal has been to increase merchants' profits by allowing them to accept more checks and to provide their customers with payment flexibility. Annually, CrossCheck processes and approves billions of dollars worth of transactions for its retail and dealer outlets. CrossCheck is known for industry firsts and cutting-edge technology. Visit www.cross-check.com for more information.
About MagTek®
As the industry's leading supplier of card readers and check readers and scanners, MagTek continues to deliver superior technology and products to the POS market. Their wide range of magnetic stripe, EMV certified smart card, hybrid readers, check readers, and check scanning solutions offers the retail industry a myriad of payment transaction options that far exceed the marketplace demands. For more information, visit www.magtek.com.
For more information:
MagTek, Inc.
20725 S. Annalee Ave.
Carson, CA 90746
Kristin Coughtry
CrossCheck
Tel: 707-586-0551
Kathy Crumley
MagTekÂ
Toll: 800-788-6835
Tuesday, 28 February 2006
Plano, Texas — Feb. 28, 2006 - Plano-based StoreNext Retail Technologies LLC signed an agreement today with mCosm LLC to offer a suite of self-service applications to independent grocers. mCosm products also deliver in-store advertising and promotional content to shoppers.
Two new mCosm all-in-one computer products — the fanless Touch&Go Paige and the Touch&Go Messenger self-service kiosks — will be offered with StoreNext's Connected Services Internet-based applications under the agreement, to create a centralized kiosk management system for small-chain grocers.
mCosm is a leading provider of digital, interactive units that simplify the complexity and reduce the cost of content, devices, applications and media management, creating opportunities for incremental revenue from advertising, promotional, and sponsorship content. The offer includes consulting and implementation services to customize the applications with a common "look & feel" to provide a cohesive consumer experience.
"This agreement with mCosm provides independent grocers with a dynamic, interactive technology that not only enhances the shoppers' experience, giving them more flexibility and information, but also offers retailers a suite of high-impact self-service applications delivering targeted content for instore promotions and localized store information," said Ray Carlin, president and CEO of StoreNext.
Designed for mounting on a store shelf end-cap or on an in-line store shelf, the Touch&Go Paige Computer is powered by the Intel Pentium M processor. It allows shoppers to look-up prices and store locations of available products, match wine with food and access new promotions.
The Touch&Go Messenger is a portrait- or landscape-mounted, all-in-one computer with a LCD/Touch screen, ranging in size from a 32-in. to a 45-in. unit. These interactive systems allow retailers to better feature in-store promotions, announce upcoming events and relay more detailed information to customers.
StoreNext's Connected Services gives retailers online access to data center applications and provides up-to-date content delivery and remote monitoring of the digital units.
About StoreNext
StoreNext Retail Technologies LLC is the No. 1 supplier of retail technology to independent grocers and regional chains. Based in Plano, Texas, StoreNext is a joint venture of Retalix Ltd. (NASDAQ: RTLX) and Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Inc. and markets Fujitsu POS hardware, Retalix's ISS45 and ScanMaster POS software, Retalix Store and Retalix HQ, as well as Internet Connected Services for managing stores via Web-enabled applications. StoreNext is the IT company that's dedicated to meeting the needs of this wholesaler-served market with packaged solutions that were previously available, affordable or practical only for large chains. Web site: www.storenext.com.
About mCosm
mCosm LLC provides individually designed turnkey solutions to meet the interactive marketing and self-service needs of retailers and their customers. mCosm offers advanced software for unattended retail devices, including centralized remote content and application management plus hardware and application performance monitoring and failure tracking. mCosm is an affiliate company of Micro Industries, which manufactures Touch&Go computers. Web site: www.mcosm.com or www.microindustries.com.
Thursday, 16 February 2006
OTTAWA · Wireless Logix Group, parent company of SSKA member KioskLogix, and Protus IP Solutions announced in a news release the integration of MyFax into the BizCenter Logix business center solution located in hotel lobbies, airport club lounges and multidwelling units throughout the United States.
MyFax, an Internet-based fax service offered by Protus, allows busy business travelers to send and receive faxes using existing e-mail accounts or the Web. It also enables users to better manage their fax communication · reduces paper usage and allows faxes to be scheduled at a preset date, all at a lower cost than traditional fax servers or fax machines, regardless of physical location.
Faxing is a critical component to many business transactions where sales orders, purchase agreements, contracts and other documents are time-sensitive. With Internet-based faxing capability, faxes can easily be forwarded, saved and stored digitally, allowing for smarter document management. Internet fax virtually eliminates lost pages, allows for immediate electronic document storage and ensures delivery of the document to the right hands.
A key benefit MyFax offers Internet fax users in a public facility is document confidentiality. Using Internet fax service, business users eliminate the risk posed by traditional fax machines of exposing private and confidential faxes as they sit idly on the paper tray.
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