The unique Bluebird BIP-1300 is an all-in-one handheld mobile device which incorporates a barcode scanner, magnetic stripe reader, thermal printer, CMOS camera and IC card reader into a single tool.  The device is perfect for Field Sales & Service, Retail, Logistics, Hospitality & Entertainment or any other mobile point of sale application.  It works great in the field thanks to full radio capabilities (CDMA-1X or EVDO, GSM-EDGE), Wifi (802.11b/g), Linear Imager, 2M pixels CMOS Camera, and Windows Mobile 5.0 or Win CE 5.0 operating system. 

We were excited to hear that this device was recently PTCRB certified which means it’s approved to be on the RACO Wireless network.  Any device that has a cellular modem in them have to have PTCRB certification as one of the requirements to use it on any carrier’s network.  With the help of RACO Wireless, we can get you a Bluebird and activate service for this impressive all-in-one device.  Just contact a RACO product specialist at 1-800-446-1991.

March is National Frozen Food Month and we’d like to celebrate by highlighting some of the products and services available to those that brave the cold storage units all year round.  LXE has a number of computers, scanners, and handheld data capture devices that can withstand frigid temperatures down to -22 degrees.  Heated screens, conformal coated internal electronics, specialized batteries, allow these devices to go where others can’t.

LXE’s robust freezer-rated line-up includes wearable, handheld, and vehicle-mounted products that are built from the ground up to handle freezing conditions.  For more information about LXE’s line of freezer-rated devices, contact RACO Industries at 1-800-446-1991 or visit us at www.racoindustries.com.

Any business that takes credit cards for payment of goods and services needs to install and maintain a firewall configuration as one of the twelve requirements to be compliant to the Payment Security Card Data Security Standard*. Whether you have a wireless network or not, any business that handles sensitive information, like credit card numbers, needs to protect itself from hackers who could physically compromise your network. 

Protection from hackers is not just bad for business, it is can open you up to legal issues if you manage other sensitive data like healthcare information and patient records. Kari Breseman from Motorola recently stopped by RACO to talk about AirDefense, a security, compliance, and troubleshooting system.  The vendor-agnostic wireless intrusion prevention system monitors your network and lets you know if there’s a rogue device that is transmitting your secure information.  AirDefense provides wireless device inventory, threat index analysis, location tracking, advanced rogue management and automated protection.

With this tool, administrators can perform wireless assessments, security audits, locate and manage rogue access points.  To see if you need AirDefense to protect your business from costly security breaches, contact a RACO product specialist at 1-800-446-1991. RACO’s Advanced Solutions Group can configure, install, and support AirDefense and has the expertise to assist your company with any wireless network project.

 * The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of requirements designed to ensure that ALL companies that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment.

For more information, visit RACO’s PCI Compliance Definition and FAQ page.

Sometimes you find out the hard way you may have underestimated what kind of tool you should get for a job.  You do research to try to match what’s out there with your needs and, more importantly, your budget.  Occasionally, sacrifices are made because there’s just not enough money to get every perk you’d like.  We recently had an email from just such a customer who underestimated their needs and paid dearly for it. 

This particular customer made a large order (from a competitor) of consumer grade equipment.  He soon discovered his mobile employees were a lot rougher on the equipment than he anticipated.  About 35% of the non-ruggedized devices broke in the first 6 months.  The batteries drained too quickly and the workers had difficulty managing two separate devices instead of simply having a scanner with phone capabilities.  The software was confusing to his employees and connecting the Bluetooth scanner was problematic.  It was rapidly becoming apparent that the large order he placed was not right.  Unfortunately, he was now stuck with incompatible and broken equipment that wasn’t getting the job done.

Once the customer came to us, we were able to ensure he had exactly what he needed to meet all of the challenges.  We hooked him up with Intermec products since he was familiar with that quality brand and the Intermec CN50 could handle all aspects of the work.  We also ensured that the devices worked well inside of their pre-existing network and that the mobile workers could easily navigate the software.  Since he switched away from the consumer devices, the customer’s been pleased to report not one unit has broken. 

You’re not saving money if you have to go back and pay more money to fix what you bought the first time.  To make sure you’ve considered every angle before you pull the trigger on your next big order, contact a RACO product specialist at 1-800-446-1991.

The CBA250 Cellular Broadband Adapter from Cradlepoint is the ideal solution for connecting Ethernet devices directly to a cellular network or providing 3G failover and redundancy for an existing Internet connection.  Designed to work “out of the box,” setup typically consists of simply plugging in a compatible 3G USB Modem or ExpressCard, connecting the device’s Ethernet port to a personal or corporate switch or hub  and powering up the device.  Once the CBA250 is powered up and initialized the device will route outbound network traffic through the 3G modem or ExpressCard, allowing you to connect to the Internet Services provided by your Wireless Internet Service Provider. 

You can also utilize the CBA250 for Internet Connectivity Failover by connecting the device’s Ethernet port to a multi WAN router.  If the primary ISP experiences an outage, the CBA250 can automatically provide service without interruption. 

In addition to featuring a quick and easy setup process, the CBA250 is also very easy to manage using Cradlepoint’s powerful web based management wizard.  The management application allows administrators to configure wireless modem settings, check wireless connectivity details and status, manage LAN settings, and troubleshoot problems.

Cradlepoint's Web Based Management Wizard

The Cradlepoint CBA250 features compatibility with a multitude of HSPA or EVDO USB modems and ExpressCard devices, handy LED indicators showing the power, Ethernet LAN status , USB Modem and ExpressCard Signal Strength and internal flash memory for feature rich firmware upgrades.  The adapter can be used to provide Cellular Broadband connectivity for an existing PC or Mac based network or for M2M applications that operate in ATM machines, vending machine or coin op monitors, outdoor credit card terminals or asset tracking devices.  

In addition to offering sales and support for the Cradlepoint series of Cellular Broadband Adapters and Routers, RACO Industries also offers 3G wireless data plans that will allow you to get these devices connected right out of the box. 

Instant Messaging(IM) on Windows Mobile(WM) seems like it would be simple to implement with four major IM providers offering solutions.   However, when it comes to WM, not all solutions are created equal. GoogleTalk and Yahoo! only offer web browser based IM.    AIM has an application client which looks and works very well.   However, the overall winner is the Windows Live Messenger (formally known as MSN Messenger) client.  A nice advantage of the Windows Live Messenger is that the application comes embedded into WM and a login is the only setup step required.  Live Messenger sets itself apart further by offering one other feature; let’s call it ‘Push-toTalk’ IM.   Any microphone equipped WM device can record a message with just a single click to record and another click to send.  The voice clips are transmitted nearly as fast as any IM message and can be replayed multiple times or saved.   I was very impressed with the sound quality through such a simple connection.  All IM conversations can be archived and viewed at a later date.

Alternatively there are several 3rd party IM programs such as Fring or Agile for example, which facilitate the use of multiple simultaneous  IM carriers.  www.fring.com    www.agilemobile.com
While researching the Google solution I did find an application that showed much potential - Google Latitude.  With this free and easy to use application you can see the current location of all your contacts.  In the mobile arena or DSD, it is a great way to be able to see the location of all mobile assets. 
And for headquarters there is an iGoogle plug-in that integrates easily and allows for asset tracking.  Tracking is accomplished via assisted GPS and is therefore accurate within 1600 meters.  A GPS enabled device is not required.

T-Mobile's UMA technology 

Make or receive mobile phone calls without utilizing my minutes? Browse the internet or send wireless e-mails without worrying about the amount the data I will use? All of this while receiving near flawless voice reception? Yes, this is all possible and the technology is readily available and easy to begin using today.

It has been over a year since T-Mobile has released its UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) technology for mobile phones and mobile users have yet to truly take advantage of this amazing technology. Very simply, mobile phones with UMA, like the BlackBerry Curve and 8900, allow the user to send and receive phone calls over a WiFi network. Data transactions including e-mail access, WAP and internet browsing can also occur. This gives the user the unique ability to receive near flawless reception while not utilizing minutes or data from their wireless plan. As long as as you have access to a WiFi network, you can begin taking advantage of this technology with a few, easy setting adjustments. This can take place at home, at work or anyplace where you can access a wireless network regardless of the quality of the cellular signal. The mobile device will even remember previous networks and automatically connect your mobile device as long as the settings have not changed.

Unlike wireless SIP, VoIP or Skype smartphone applications - UMA allows a user to seamlessly transition back to the GSM network when talking out of WiFi range.  This allows a user to start a phone conversation at the workplace or home where a 802.11 b/g  network is available and continue the conversation, uninterrupted, when walking or driving out of range.

Want to learn more? Contact a RACO Wireless sales representative to learn about T-Mobile's UMA technology and how it can improve your mobile needs.

Socket Mobile has just made the BlackBerry a notch cooler and more useful than it already is.  Socket now supports their 7 series Bluetooth bar code hand scanners with the BlackBerry Curve, Pearl and Bold.

A few applications that come to mind are:

-Inventory tracking for route sales

-Bookscouting (searching for bargain books to resell)

-Mobile price checking

-Retail market research

You only have to load a small application on the BlackBerry and then pair it with the Socket Bluetooth scanner and you are ready to start scanning.  The BlackBerry will treat the scan as data entered from the keypad; so the scan will input anywhere you have a cursor.

Don’t have a BlackBerry or need an application developed for the BlackBerry?  No problem, contact RACO Industries to speak with a representative about your specific needs.

Wireless Guru,

My company has twelve 802.11b/g wireless access points installed throughout a 185,000 square foot facility.  We recently deployed a large number of WiFi enabled mobile computers running the Windows Mobile 6.0 operating system.  We've encountered issues where devices freeze up regularly and lose their IP address.  Many times, the devices require a restart in order to reconnect to the WLAN.  We've verified that the signal stregnth is adequate throughout the building and all devices are configured correctly, what could be causing this?  Please Help.

Initially here is the problem that I think you are running into with your wireless infrastructure.  Though it may seem like a converged network, the stand alone access points/wireless routers will not communicate together and will therefore never negotiate a handoff or roam from one access point to another.  Each access point is broadcasting the same SSID and quite possiblly the same channel, and know nothing about each other.  Therefore there is a huge disconnect between what the handheld expects and what the multiple networks can deliver.  Bottom line, if a device ever roams correctly it is not by design but by chance and luck.  Whenever a device does have to roam it will have to disconnect from the network and then reconnect again, and that will only work if every access point is setup exactly the same.  And even if they are setup correctly you will still not be able to effectively roam.  In this setup each access point is a completely separate network.       Now you did not mention DHCP, but each of these units could be acting as a DHCP server, however in practice you never want to have more than one DHCP server and one in this scenario, will not work.

The solution to the problem is a converged network, a central controller which then controls all of the access points.  The controller has all of the network configuration and it manages all of the access points.  The controller will also manage all of the roaming and ensure that devices are always connected to the wireless network.    

To avoid the problems you are experiencing, centrally controlled or mesh is the only way to go in a multiple access point environment.  These type of networks are something we do have a lot of experience with, either troubleshooting or design and installation.