Q1 2013 has seen several new product announcements from leading barcode technology vendors. This covers a wide spectrum of product offerings ranging from desktop barcode printers to handheld barcode imagers and camera-based stationary point-of-sale solutions. In part 1 of this blog, we will touch upon some of the newly-released imaging solutions and what they mean for the overall barcode scanning technology landscape. In Part 2, we will highlight product innovations in the barcode printing market.
1. Datalogic: This Company is the largest European manufacturer of CCD and laser-based bar code readers and mobile computers, including both manual readers and fixed industrial scanners for applications such as retail, warehouse management systems, sorting, work-in-progress and OEM. We talked about their 100% digital, camera-based bioptic scanning solution – Magellan 9800i – here. Since that announcement, Datalogic has revealed the PowerScan™ 9500 family of imagers targeted specifically for challenging operations in Manufacturing, Transportation and Logistics industries – featuring high-speed 2D imaging optics, high depth of field and an exclusive aiming and read confirmation system. The company aims to continue investing toward continued product and process innovation – with their annual R&D investment in the coming months especially geared towards Imaging and Vision technologies.
2. Cognex: While one of the leading machine vision solution vendors, Cognex’s ID Products division has turned into a strategic cash cow in recent months, prompting them to expand their presence in the AutoID marketplace with the industrial imaging product line. In order to capitalize on the explosive revenue-generating potential offered by these relatively less complex imaging solutions (when compared to machine vision technology), Cognex has made some strategic announcements over the past few months, including the DataMan® 503. This product features some of the highest read rates in the industry designed for the most challenging barcode scanning applications. With a particular focus on the Transportation & Logistics vertical, Cognex is expanding its portfolio to include image-based solutions that can potentially replace their laser counterparts in these environments.
3. Code: While Datalogic, Honeywell and Motorola account for a significant majority of the overall handheld scanner revenues, there are several vendors looking to take advantage of existing and emerging growth opportunities. Code, with its camera-based imaging products, has made significant inroads, particularly within the Health Care vertical in North America. The Company recently announced plans to integrate Wi-Fi into its existing CR2600 imager – giving enterprises a long-range, cordless scanner option with increased coverage range, unlike traditional Bluetooth-enabled models. Organizations can also utilize existing Wi-Fi network data security protocols to ensure secure real-time communication and that data integrity is not compromised.
How much of an impact these new product introductions and continued R&D investments have on enterprise adoption and vendor performance remains to be seen. We look forward to uncovering answers to such questions in our annual research reports on the Barcode Scanning markets.
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