Portable Bar Code Scanners and RFID Take the Stage at NRF 2012

As retail industry professionals gather this week at the National Retail Federation (NRF) Convention and Expo in New York City, the focus is on enhancements for the customer shopping experience. And while most bar code technologies improve just incrementally rather than in giant leaps each year, there are plenty of new autoID entries for visitors to demo during the show. From item-level RFID to bar code scanners, retailers will find a lot to get excited about at NRF 2012.

TAGSYS Blazes a New Trail With Item-level RFID and NFC Technology

Partnering with Think&Go, TAGSYS found a way to improve the consumer shopping experience using item-level RFID tracking combined with the near field communication (NFC) technology available in the current generation of smartphones. As more and more retailers deploy RFID tags at the product level, these partner companies saw an opportunity.

Rather than restricting the tags to inventory control and security, they could be used as a direct conduit to the consumer. By adding product information, couponing, and social sharing, accessed from the tag via an NFC-enabled smartphone, the customer gains an enhanced shopping experience without increased cost to the seller.

Zebra Adds Relationship to Enhance Active RFID Location Solutions

Another joint venture, bringing Zebra and Checkpoint Systems together, helps retailers gain increased asset visibility across the enterprise. Briefings at NRF 2012 describe how these two companies plan to integrate both passive and active RFID with an industry-leading software program designed to capture and manage high volumes of autoID and sensor data for customers of all sizes.

With mobile deals and coupons exploding in retail stores, the ability to quickly and accurately scan bar codes from mobile devices must keep pace. Here are some of the latest portable bar code readers that you'll see at the NRF this week.

Read Bar Codes From Mobile Devices With New Code Corporation Portable Scanner

A long time player in the AutoID industry, Code Corporation (Booth 3111) launches their newest bar code scanner, the Code Reader™ 900FD (CR900FD) at NRF. Designed as an entry-level bar code reader, the portable scanner not only reads 1D bar codes but gives retailers the option of upgrading to 2D or stacked bar code reading by purchasing a license key. Equipped with both a manual trigger and an auto-detection mode (when used with Code's Universal Stand), the CR900FD also accurately reads bar codes from mobile devices.

Motorola Showcases Cordless Bar Code Scanning at NRF

Available for the first time at NRF 2012, a new entry from Motorola, the LI4278 portable scanner gives retailers a sturdy bar code scanner capable of reading 1D codes from both mobile devices and traditional sources. With Bluetooth compatibility, bar code scanning is no longer limited to store locations within reach of the cord. And this sturdy portable scanner has backward compatibility with an existing cradle design, offering more cost-effective upgrade options.

A Range of Bar Code Scanning Options From Datalogic ADC

The world leader in fixed retail bar code scanning, Datalogic ADC brings the Magellan line of scanners to New York City for the NRF (Booth 1661). With several different models to choose from, retailers will find portable scanners that offer a very small footprint to single-plane options, taking your business from the stockroom to the point-of-sale (POS) without skipping a beat.

Datalogic ADC also plans to demo the Gryphon and QuickScan series of general purpose portable scanners, both corded and cordless. And the PowerScan series of bar code scanners offers options for more industrial environments.

If you're looking for a portable bar code scanner with the most up-to-date features, you won't go wrong choosing one of the models showcased this week at the NRF in New York City.

NRF 2012 - Retail Gets Radical

NRF Annual Convention Kick-off

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