Small Barcode Scanners – Choosing between the Opticon OPN 2001 and OPN 2002

11 02 2011

As we’re covering our top bluetooth barcode scanners this week, I thought i’d do a quick tech post on the main differences on the OPN 2001 and OPN2002 small barcode scanners.

Asides from the obvious, that the OPN2002 is the Bluetooth barcode scanner version of the OPN 2001 which is simply a batch scanner, there are still a fair few other key differences that you get for the extra £50 or so for the OPN 2002.

The Opticon OPN 2002 (shown left) has some clear differences to the OPN 2001 on the outside

The Opticon OPN 2002 (shown left) has some clear differences to the OPN 2001 on the outside as well as on the inside

General Spec

You get a general spec improvement, listed here:

  • Connectivity adds bluetooth
  • Flash ROM is doubled from 512KB to 1MB meaning an extra 10,000 barcodes can be stored oin the device.
  • RAM is increased from 64K to 1MB, this will help the Opticon OPN 2002 perform better but if anything we feel the OPN 2001 performs better.  Why is this, well the OPN 2002′s Bluetooth chip will require a lot of processing power which is what this is largely for.
  • Battery size is up to 240mAh from 150mAh, of course this also needs to drive the Bluetooth radio but in pur batch mode the OPN 2002 will last longer.

External dimensions

Thery are actually slightly different, with the OPN 2002 having a small bump on the top, clearly housing the extra bluetooth chip, which also adds a massive 1g of weight too!!  It might be small but on a device this small these differences can often be obvious.

USB Port Cover

It’s official, we confirmed this with Opticon themselves.  The OPN 2002 comes with the USB port cover, the OPN 2001 does not.  It’s a price thing and you can;t buy the covers separately.  I would add that the cover comes off and gets lost rather easilyso look after it if you have an OPN 2002.

Tether anchor point

There is a slight difference in where the tether anchor point is on both models as seen in the phot above.  The OPN 2001 sits far more naturally on its lanyard, whereas the OPN 2002 is a little bit awkward.

Opticon OPN 2002 (on right), OPN 2001 (left)

Opticon OPN 2002 (on right), OPN 2001 (left)

Charge station compatable

The reason the tether points are different are because the OPN 2002 houses an extra charge and sync connector, also seen above.  This allows you to use the 10 station cradles (CRD2000-U10 & CRD2000-RU10) which not only charge but can sync the data from all 10 devices to a PC or server.  The OPN 2001 is not compatible with this charge station

Function Key Vs Delete Key

Lastly the small little square key underneath the main larger scan button works differently on the Opticon OPN 2002.  On the OPN 2001 it’s a handy delete key but on the OPN 2002 it offers far more functionality, incuding Bluetooth discoverable modes.  You need to read the manual to see what else!

Don’t forget if you’re after an iphone or android Bluetooth Barcode scanner then its the OPN 2002 you need.

www.ruggedandmobile.com


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Categories : Data Capture, Top Tips

Bluetooth Barcode Scanner Opticon OPN 2002

9 02 2011
Options OPN 2002 - Smallest Bluetooth Barcode Scanner

Options OPN 2002 - Smallest Bluetooth Barcode Scanner

So this week we’re looking at bluetooth barcode scanners and in particular taking a look at our current leader, the Opticon OPN2002.

Bluetooth has become a lot more stable in the past couple of years and we’re seeing viable solutions for line of business applications in all but the most aggressive barcode scanning solutions.  Personally I think small Bluetooth Barcode Scanners acceptance has been fuelled by 3 things.  1) The emergence of the tablet and using this for more and more EPOS and data capture reporting, instead of the usual web back end, 2) The requirement for Android and iPhone solutions, which in turn has forced people from the classic rugged PDA, 3) RFID is proving, certainly to us here, that where Bluetooth accessories are the only option, it is proving itself as a viable option.  In fact we’re seeing most queries form customers looking for iphone bluetooth barcode scanners than anything esle right now.

So lets look a little more closely at the OPN 2002.

Models

There are actually 2 models.  The OPN 2001 which has no bluetooth and the OPN 2002 which does.  They look pretty much identical and can both scan live using USB.  The 2002 also has greater RAM (1MB Vs 64KB) and greater ROM for storage (1MB Vs 512KB).  This is enough for at least 10,000 or 20,000 barcode scans.

Accessories and in the Box

You have everything you need in the box, including a USB A to mini USB cable which will charge and sync the device and a lanyard to keep the small bluetooth scanner.  There are also a fair few accessories including case, different lanyards/straps and reels, PDA attachments and a 10 device charge station.  Not bad when most other scanners in this class have nothing!

Size

The OPN 2002 is the smallest Bluetooth Barcode Scanner on the market.  In fact it’s tiny at 32x62x16mm and only 29g in weight.  In fact as you will see in the photo’s here, we stick these onto the bottom of PDA’s when using them for 1 handed PDA operation and they are so light and small this works really well.

Opticon OPN 2002 Accessories and Size

Opticon OPN 2002 Accessories and Size

Scanner Performance

We’ll cover this off in a video test later this week showing you the scan in various conditions but one of the reasons it’s our currrent leader in this class is due to it’s scan performance.  At 100 scans per minute, it not only reads fast, but it scans with ease barcodes that other devices find awkward.  Add to this it feels very “retail-like” in the way it scans.  No delays, you press the button, it scans and its immediately ready for the next barcode.  It’s very easy to live with.

Battery Performance

The battery on the 2002 is a 240mmAh (150mAh on the 2001) and is a Li-Ion built in affair, the benefits of this are that its light, you have no worries about missing batteries and 240mAh is a pretty good size for a small scanner.  Its good for about 7 hours of scanning but we’ve actually got more out of it when not using the bluetooth radio.  Some scanners prefer to use AA batteries because this gives you the abiolity to change the batteires without a charge however the OPN 2002 is too small to house AAA let alone AA!

Software, Configuration and programmability

To round the OPN 2002 off it comes with a decent set of applications that give you just enough options to configure the barcdoe scanner aswell as the file structure it generates and there’s a pretty good Complier kit for those of you with C programming skills. 

 

Now you see it, now you don't. What happened to the OPN 2002 USB Port Cover?

Now you see it, now you don't. What happened to the OPN 2002 USB Port Cover?

The Cons of the OPN 2002

Everything has a downside and the OPN’s is Opticon.  They’re just not up to speed on serving and supporting their customers like other manufacturers are for us with a dire distribution channel for the UK but with scanners we cover this off here no problems.

Also the OPN 2002′s design is clearly aimed at the PDA or “Shiny” market with its chrome and black finish.  We’ve found that this finish doesn’t last, so whilst the scanner keeps working the case looks worn quite quickly if used in anything like a rugged environment. 

Lastly there’s no longer a USB port cover for the device so the USB port is left open to the elements.  It’s not a massive problem but on a £150 barcode scanner maybe it would have been nice to know your USB port is being protected whilst in use.  They suddenly started to be supplied with no warning like this which isn’t great (Refer to sentence above!).

Other than this there’s not much to fault and with its scan performance, size, functionality and price its easy to see why its our current class leader.

Tomorrow we’ll have a play and get some videos up for you showing the OPN 2002 in action.

www.ruggedandmobile.com


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Categories : Data Capture, News & Communication

Top 5 Bluetooth Barcode Scanners for iPads

7 02 2011
 
 
 

  
Our Current Top 5 Bluetooth Barcode Scanners
Our Current Top 5 Bluetooth Barcode Scanners

 

 

Bluetooth barcode scanners are becoming more and more popular here.  We’re not talking about the £400+ rugged retail style barcode scanners, but the HID compatable little batch style scanners that will connect up to a multitude of standard Bluetooth enabled devices.

 7 Million iPads were sold over christmas in the UK according to official statsistics.  Thats on top of what they already sold and with the normal Apple Spring refresh already being widely talked about it’s clear that 2011 will be “the year of the Tablet” that everyone else is talking about.  Bluetooth Scanners For iPads are going to come next!

We get about 1 query now every 2 weeks about iPad, iPhone or some kind of Android tablet EPOS system and so what we thought we’d do is look at a few barcode scanners that work with any smartphone or tablet.

In fact when it comes to the iPad there’s not that much difference to any other BT device so as long as the bluetooth scanner is HID compliant it’ll work.

Here’s our top 5 list of best Bluetooth scanners:

5. Baracode DFly and RoadRunners- from £250-£350

Baracoda make innovative, unique barcode scanning products specifically designed for the rugged market.  The DFly is a non rugged variant but the Roadrunners is a rugged version of this scanner.  Barcode scan performance is OK, its not on a par with the Cipherlab, Motorola, Opticon or Pidion scanners here.  However where they score is in their innovative approach and SDK’s.  Really nice to work with and would pip the Motorola if they were cheaper.

4. Motorola cs3000 £155

Motorola’s new cs3000 has a great scan engine, but in this company only comes in at number 4.  Why, because it has some flaws including not working live in tethered or charging mode, having no batch facility in BT mode and it is slightly larger than our top 3 scanners too.  A good effort but misses the mark.

3. Pidion BI300 – £130

Growing in popularity is Pidions Bluetooth BI300 scanner offering.  Its powerful with a Linux OS and the Arm9 CPU found in older smartphones, has a great battery, tried and tested scanner and it’s number 3 here only pipped by cipherlab due to the better service you’ll get from them after the sale.

2. Cipherlab 1660 – £140

We love this scanner here.  Cipherlab are a great manufacturer, they’re a scanning business and the Ciperlab 1660 is no exception to being a great product.  It uses AA batteries that can be eaily replaced, has a decent 30M BT range and Ciperlabs products just do not go wrong, but when they do they’re fixed in the UK very quickly.

1. Opticon OPN2002 – £165

This tiny bluetooth scanner is the one to beat at the moment.  It works in USB mode, has a great battery life and is so light you’ll hardly notice it round your neck.  The OPN 2002 barcode scanner is excellent, the best here and it sells in the 1000′s.  The icing on the top of the cake are the accessories, like a 10 bay charger option and lanyards/USB cable in the box so you hit the ground running.  We also like the config tool which has just the right balance of complexity in an easy to learn piece of software.

My iPad with the Opticon OPN2002 Bluetooth Barcode Scanner

My iPad with the Opticon OPN2002 Bluetooth Barcode Scanner

 

It’s also silver and black for all you iPad lovers out there as you can see in the photo below!

We’ll take a closer look at some of these scanners very soon, but in the meantime if you have any questions then just come and talk to us here.

www.ruggedandmobile.com


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Categories : Data Capture, Reviews

New Small Rugged PDA – The Gen2Wave RP1000

3 02 2011
Gen2Wave RP1000

Gen2Wave RP1000, one of 2 PDA form factor small rugged PDA's (Dart also shown here)

The small rugged pda market is a growing one, driven hard at the moment by field sales and field engineering solutions requiring a more usable, barcode driven rugged pda but in a smaller form factor.

Semi-rugged devices hold the fort here to a degree but none of them have built in barcode or RFID scanners and any camera based scanning solution is seriously not any good for anything but checking adhoc prices in Tesco!

I met the sole UK distributors of the Gen2Wave RP1000 small rugged PDA for the first time yesterday and I have to admit that on the way down I wasn’t expecting too much with the same old feeling of meeting another eastern manufactured device letting me down again!  However i’m far from dissapointed, in fact suitably impressed with what I saw of the Rugged PDA.

We’ll look at the specs and the device in more detail next week when we put it on test here but until then I can tell you it has a very decent up to date spec, it’s missing nothing, has a good barcode scanner, an RFID option and felt like a quality piece of kit in the hand.  It remoinded of of the Pidion BIP-6000 with its soft but tough casing.  The service will be maintained right here in the UK with penalty driven SLA’s.  Can’t ask for more than that!

We’re now starting to see more and more devices in the category of small rugged pda.  Intermec’s cs40 is probably the best known, but Ganedata’s GX8010 and GSmart devices are excellent as is the only other PDA from factor rugged PDA in this class, the Skeye Dart.

We’ll blog more here when we know more.

dave www.ruggedandmobile.com


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Categories : New products and First Looks

Migrating Motorola MC55 to Motorola MC65 Key Questions

1 02 2011
The new Motorola MC65 - A tough act to follow

The new Motorola MC65 - A tough act to follow

Motorola Rugged PDA’s, in particular the Motorola MC55 are stalwart devices in the rugged market.  They’re the BMW 3 series if you like and with the MC55 now nearing the end of it’s life, the Motorola MC65 is now stepping out of the wings to take on the tough task of being the leading lightweight Rugged PDA.  I thought i’d cover of some of the most popular questions here, whether you’re migrating, mid-project implementation or looking to buy now.

Whats the difference between the Motorola MC55 and MC65?

Now the differences at first glance don’t seem too abundant but there are definitely some well received changes under the skin.  They’re all right here

  • Firstly it is a very sympathetic upgrade, you’re not going to really get into any issues with a dual implementation, other than if you’re using WM6.1 on the MC55′s (See blog about WM6.5.1 Vs WM6.5.3 here).
  • WM6.5.3 is the standard OS.
  • The CPU is upgraded to the new Qualcomm MSM7627 running at 600MHz in dual core guise.
  • RAM is doubled to 256MB, ROM to 1GB
  • Wlan a/b/g is now standard on the MC65, even the phone enabled version.
  • The biggest upgrade in my view is the HSUPA (3.75G) data chip.
  • BT is 2.1 EDR, the GPS is upgraded and the host is USB 2.0
  • The LCD is also VGA although the same 3.5″ size. Its supposed to be super bright which is certainly something people do report as a benefit on the ES400.
  • It also has new sensor technology including accerometer, compass, ambient lighting sensors, and dual phone microphones which will hopefully mean using the phone will be bearable and believe it ir not this is the first time we see a vibrate function on this device!
  • The scanner now uses the SE4500 Blockbuster 2D Imager as standard.  Gone is the 1D Laser scanner option.  I think the 1D scanner will be missed but the SE4500 is a far better scanner than the old Pico.
  • The camera is still optional but upgraded to 3.2MP camera.
  • The Motorola UI is standard giving you a Moto user experience for the device (Turn it off if you want the pure WM6.5 one).
  • The PDA keyboard is gone, did anyone actually ever buy one those anyway!!?
  • Its more rugged with better drop specs and a better, if not slightly unique,  IP64 rating.
  • It has software configurable

Whats the same?

  • Well the case for a start, its almost idential to the MC55 and has the exact same dimensions and design.
  • The Battery is still the trusty 3600mAh extended affair.
  • It can use existing MC55 accessories.
  • The Numeric and Qwerty keyboards are identical to those on the MC55.
  • The service and support models are all the same.

Will the Qualcomm processor cause an issue with MC55′s using the XScale PXA270?

The MC65 has the Qulacomm MSM7627 CPU, which works really well on android devices like the Defy, however its the same CPU in the ES400 and i’m not that impressed with it in this device.  There are also well documented issues with XScale applications not porting from Qualcomm so I really think this is introducing a potential risk into your environment.  The XScale PXA320 would have been the natural choice for me.

When is the MC65 released?

It’s available to order now but its not officially here until about July, although unofficially it has been brought forward.  If you’re a new buyer then there’s a little way yet to go but its becoming hard to decide whether to wait now.

Are there any price changes?

No, other than a recent general RRP rise, config for config, the MC65 maintains the same pricing as the MC55.  Looking at the RRP’s it seems that there will be a real price hike for those who wanted the most popular 1D+Camera configuration in my view.

Will the Motorola MC55 be available much longer?

Officially the distribution stops June 2011 but my guess is that there will be the odd reseller who buys a bunch up and probably charges the earth for them!  However talking to various Moto Account Managers it seems that officially if you want to complete your platform with MC55′s I would definitely get your final orders in mid-April.

Why would I want to stick with the Motorola MC55?

Well if you have an MC55 platform already and it’s doing fine for you then why risk having a dual device platform.  They’re very similiar but if you’re mid-rollout of post MC55 rollout looking for more, I would always recommend sticking with what you have already.  As you know in the Mission critical world its often not best to have the latest and greatest and anything different should make even the biggest risk takling Platform Manager paranoid!

Is the MC55 still supported?

Absolutely and for 5 more years, guarenteed if you have a service contract.

What configurations will the MC65 have?

Well for starters the configs will be drastcially reduced and this is how Motorola have probably kept the pricing low.  Bank on 4 configs with the qwerty/numeric keyboard and camera being the only options.  Pricing is the same for all models.

 What about the MC5590, what replaces this?

Well lest be clear, the Motorola MC65 replaces only the MC5574, or the phone and data “field version” of the old MC55.  The MC5590 will be replaced the same device but it will be known as the MC55A0 and yes there will be an HC version for Lab and hospital environments.

Anything else to report?

New accessories are rumoured like trigger handles and new cases among others and it certainly looks like Motorola are looking to the MC65 to broaden it’s market appeal.  Adding the better ruggedness and this could percievably become a pretty flexible warehouse option now.

www.ruggedandmobile.com


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