News

Hand Held Products Announces Support for Microsoft Windows Embedded for Point of Service Software Platform

May 26, 2005

CHICAGO & SKANEATELES FALLS, N.Y.--May 24, 2005 -- Hand Held Products, Inc., a leader in image-based data collection systems for mobile, in-premise and transaction processing applications, announced at the Retail Systems Conference its line-up of image-based scanners will support the new software platform optimized for retail organizations, Microsoft Windows Embedded for Point of Service.

Available today, the retail imagers supported include the IT(TM) 3800, IT4600, IT5600, and IT5620. Exclusive demonstrations of the plug-and-play functionality, using Hand Held Products devices, will take place in the following booths:

-- Microsoft's booth #602
-- 360Commerce's booth #107
-- Dell's booth #123
-- Wincor-Nixdorf's booth #907

As an integral industry partner in Microsoft's early development program, Hand Held Products successfully standardized on the Windows Embedded for Point of Service software platform and completed verification testing before today's launch. Retail customers can take advantage of the joint solution from Hand Held Products and Microsoft immediately.

"One of our primary goals with Windows Embedded for Point of Service, a core technology of Microsoft's Smarter Retailing Initiative, is to enable retailers to easily create next-generation point-of-service systems that connect their stores to consumers," said Jane Gilson, director of marketing for the Mobile and Embedded Devices Division at Microsoft Corp. "With industry partners like Hand Held Products, our mutual customers have a joint solution that delivers greater hardware flexibility through innovative plug-and-play technology."

Windows Embedded for Point of Service lowers lifecycle costs by simplifying the setup, deployment and management of POS systems, resulting in faster development and integration of systems, applications and device peripherals. The software platform is the first to provide plug-and-play functionality for installing and managing retail peripherals, such as scanners, receipt printers, cash drawers, and magnetic stripe readers. Additionally, stronger default security settings and tools increase network protection to help enable a more secure experience on POS systems.

"The current economics of the retail market are driving the need to adapt and provide cost-effective and highly innovative technology platforms to our customer base," said Mark Bunney, Business Development Executive, Hand Held Products. "Our collaborations with the industry's most influential technology providers ultimately benefit our customer base by reducing cost and complexity."