iTWire - Handhelds ain't handhelds; why the Zebra mobile computer is a must-have...

Thursday, 30 March 2023 20:31

Handhelds ain't handhelds; why the Zebra mobile computer is a must-have for retail, logistics, and more Featured

You've all seen one - the handheld computer used by the postie, by couriers, by the floor walkers in factories and stores ... but not any old Android handheld is up to the task. Here are features that Zebra Technologies imbues into its devices to ensure your business can run and run and run, with the handheld augmenting your workers instead of hindering them.

Even if you've not heard of Zebra Technologies before, chances are high that you've seen a Zebra handheld out in the wild, whether you knew it or not. The company is enabling transport, logistics, healthcare, and retail - along with other industries - around the globe.

However, handhelds ain't handhelds; sure, you and I have a handheld smartphone we carry about everywhere, and while they serve us well, there's an extra level of ruggedness, capability, and reliability demanded by the realities of industry.

In fact, Zebra Technologies vertical solutions lead Tan Aik Jin (otherwise known as AJ) was keen to challenge iTWire and others as to how well our phones were up to the challenge of the daily bumps, drops, scans, and other tests that Zebra devices are put to daily.

For instance, would you be willing to drop your phone and bet it keeps working, without breaking? If so, from how high? Well, AJ was so confident, he borrowed the lengthier arms of his taller colleague to drop it from this high ... onto concrete? What do you think happened next?

Well, you can see it for yourself here. "No break," AJ says, proudly holding the Zebra TC handheld up for you to see. Its screen is still on, it has no cracks at all. If you're a factory worker who fumbled their handheld you simply pick it up and keep on going. If you're a business owner, there's no loss of time, no loss of productivity, and no mucking around trying to organise a replacement or repair.

AJ similarly challenged iTWire and others to many other challenges.

"How quickly can your phone scan a QR code?" he asked, before immediately zapping a code posted on a wall on the completely opposite side of the building. Meanwhile, I had to step forwards, zoom my camera in, and wait while my regular smartphone processed the blocky image. Then AJ went from the far to the microscopic; he scanned a QR code nearby that was so diminutive I initially thought it was a speck of dirt on the wall. Try as I might I had no hope of zooming it large enough in my phone's camera to make sense of it. Yet, his Zebra handheld was undeterred. Zap zap! With no more effort than pointing his device and pressing a button, he could read and interpret both QR codes - over and over.

And that was only the start.

Watch AJ's full demonstration here of Zebra Technologies hardware solutions for transport and logistics.

Challenges included, with timestamps (mm:ss):

• scanning fast-moving codes - 00:10 - "if your device can capture it as fast as our devices, you get a Happy Meal," AJ says at 01:29.
• being able to pick things up from the floor while still being able to scan - 04:11
• scan an RFID tag from across the other side of the room - 06:30
• scan an iTWire writer's barcode and get all his details - 06:58
• dropping it in cold, cold, ice water - 07:25
• dropping it from height onto concrete (the one above) - 09:04

Moving on from challenging us, AJ spoke about the retail and healthcare environments of the future, powered by Zebra Technologies.

For example, if you go into the change room and find the clothes you picked up were too small or large you'd have to get dressed back into your original clothes, go out, and find alternatives. Instead, Zebra can help you request help from the change room - choosing different styles, colours, sizes, or more; this is picked up on a retail assistants handheld, and they will come to you. See the demo here.

Or, if you are on the store floor, you can rely on Zebra's push-to-talk functionality here for communication and collaboration. Zebra Technologies sales engineering manager Daniel Park previously demonstrated this to iTWire here, and you can see it in more detail there.

Next, is a kiosk example here, showing how easy it is to set up your own store anywhere with terminal, scanner, payment solution, and printer.

An example of scanning product barcodes, such as blood came next, ensuring your items are the same and untouched throughout their journey.

AJ also explained why the Zebra healthcare products are white, namely, so they can be chemically wiped clean for healthcare-grade sterilisation and cleaning.

This really only touches the surface; as you can see, the Zebra Technologies devices are purpose-built for specific industry needs, requirements, and the challenges that come with them. Thus if you're in retail, transport, healthcare, logistics, or indeed, any business, be sure to check out the Zebra Technology offerings.

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