Amazon Kindle ebook

As ebooks, iPads, iPhones and netbooks start to dominate and change how we read, the question of whether printed books will still be around is a question that many of us are debating.

Many major book publishers are jumping ship to the technology savvy world with publishing giants Penguin Books recently making some bold experimental bets.

Using the iPad, Penguin Books recreated a ‘book’ incorporating interactive learning experiences. The new ebooks allow people to chat between other readers and explore other areas as though they are actually inside the book.

“The iPad represents the first real opportunity to create a paid distribution model that will be attractive to consumers,” said an excited John Makinson, CEO of Penguins Books, at FT’s Digital Media and Broadcasting Conference in May 2010. “The psychology of payment tablets is different to the psychology of a PC.”

However, Penguin are looking to go bigger than just the one device, with Makinson believing that ebooks will hit 10 per cent of book sales next year.

“We will be embedding audio, video and streaming into everything we do. The .epub format, which is the standard for ebooks at the present, is designed to support traditional narrative text, but not this cool stuff that we are now talking about.

“So for the time being at least we will be creating a lot of our content as applications, for sale on app stores and HTML, rather than in ebooks. The definition of the book itself is up for grabs.

iPad ebook from Apple

“We don’t know whether a video introduction will be valuable to a consumer. We will only find answers to these questions by trail and error.”

The team at Penguin Books have already met with key players in the industry (Apple, Amazon and Google) over the last few months to discuss plans and future developments for touch screen ebooks and whether Penguin would give a large percentage of sales to Apple. When asked whether they would give away 30 per cent of Penguin sales, Makinson responded by saying that this was better than the equivalent print agency model, in which publishers let retailers keep 50 per cent.

Many record labels are not enjoying the control Apple has over their industry, however Penguin sees it as a positive and exciting change and that it’s ”the opportunity to test and access consumer data.”

However, there is still the notion that Makinson would take more from Apple. “There is an argument for saying Apple needs the content, that they should be paying us for our content,” he said. However; the argument hasn’t worked.

Famous novel, Pride and Prejudice may come with the inclusion of videos of Keira Knightly and Colin Firth but, “We need to understand how much the consumer will pay for that, we need to engage in dynamic pricing.”

A device giving the Apple a run for its money is the Amazon Kindle first released in 2007. The device is used primarily for the rendering and displaying of ebooks and other digital media. It has been a huge success in the US allowing people to access a wide collection of books and journals to read while they are out and about.

A report in the Science Christian Monitor, said, “Many argue that, despite software that allows ebooks to be read on Smartphones, the Kindle retains an advantage. Its E-Ink display is so easy on batteries that it can go without a charge for two weeks, and it is easier on the eyes than the LCDs found on Blackberrys, iPhones, and other Smartphones.”

The first version of the Kindle sold out in 2007 (280,000) and since then the company has brought out three more versions with the latest version ‘Kindle 3′ launched in July 2010. With Amazon looking to expand its reach it has already recreated a Kindle version of the successful Amazon.co.uk in a bid to get more people downloading ebooks.

One of the bonuses coming out of the ebook and Kindle’s is that it is an innovative way for students to carry all of their textbooks and notes in one device. Instead of trailing all their books to and from the library, students can carry the electronic reading device much more easily.

However the concept of ebooks many not actually make books obsolete, well at least for a very long time. There are still a lot of things that need to be done and in order to make downloading books and texts a day to day task. For now libraries are still in business and books stores will still stock their shelves with printed copies of our favourite and new books each and every week.

Paul Denimarck, who handles strategic marketing for the self checkout division at Honeywell Scanning and Mobility, the data connections and wireless communications solutions company has suggested that self service systems can be divided into one of two types; stationary and portable.

“Stationary self checkout platforms are located at the front of the store,” he said. “A customer using a stationary self checkout platform brings their merchandise to the lane, identifies the items they are purchasing with the scanners and tenders payment at the same location.

“Portable self checkout platforms disperse the transaction process at different points – the customer identifies individual items using a bar code scanner at the point of selection, and then the customer takes the items to a separate location to tender payment.”

There are a variety of different types of self service kiosks available and all work for different types of stores.

Modular Kiosk: Most commonly seen in a supermarket store. They are stand alone units most often deployed next to a few more kiosks at a fixed station.

Carousel Kiosk: Often a lay-aside area for scanned items and a larger bagging area, which is usually situated on a rotating carousel which makes the bagging process easier.

Cashier Optional: This option allows the retailer to change from a self service option to a manned kiosk instantly.

Countertop/In counter: Ideal for retailers with a single cash counter, such as convenience stores, deli’s and food areas.

Kiosk/Mobile checkout: This are versatile units that can be placed anywhere in a store. Smaller than self checkout terminals and are ideal for grab and go services and products.

Although it may only seem that the touch screen interface has been around and about for the past few years, research suggests otherwise. Dating back to the 80s the touch screen was a new and exciting technological device that has been developed and improved over the years to mix into our every day world; and that development has proven to be a huge success with mobile phones, kiosk systems, computers and many more technology products adopting a touch screen interface.

So to give you an idea of the world of touch screen and how it all began, here are a few touch screen gadgets from years gone by.

The BBC’s Tomorrow’s World programme in 1982 featured a very early touch screen computer. Unfortunately the exact model is unknown.








In 1983 Hewlett Packard’s HP-150 was the first commercially available touch screen PC. The screen was fitted with a grid of infrared beams which were in place to detect finger movements across the screen; however the IR sensors often became clogged up with dust and dirt and required regular cleaning.






In 1993, Apple was still leading the way in handheld devices with its Newton PDA. With handwriting recognition it was years ahead of its time and even now the device is commonly found being sold on Internet auction sites for large prices.

The first ever Smartphone was launched in 1993 with the IBM’s Simon. It featured a calender, note pad and fax function. Users could put their phone numbers using the touch screen interface.

In 1996 the Palm took over the touch screen market for over ten years with its Pilot series. The company then expanded its products to Smartphone technology getting rid of its operating system in favour of Windows Mobile.

The year 2000 saw the launch of Microsoft handheld ‘tablet’ devices. Bill Gates, founder, saw the potential of the touch screen device and launched the product with the Windows XP Tablet edition in 2002. Not many people bought the tablet PC’s due to the high costs.

2004 saw the introduction or touch screen Smartphones which have grown in popularity over the years. Handsets such as Nokia’s Symbian handsets, Windows Mobile as well as the Sony Ericsson’s UIQ phones have all driven the touch screen technology forward.

The launch of the Apple iPhone in 2007 hit the touch screen industry by storm. There was a lot of work that needed to be done to the device for it to meet to people’s expectations however the sleek and sophisticated design proved to be an overall winner which left many other mobile phone manufacturers struggling to play catch up.

2008 saw the touch screen industry move for a more commercial than home use. The new Microsoft touch screen controlled table was launched prices at a whopping £8,500. The new interactive system adopted a multi touch surface which allowed many users to interact at the same time.

And as we arrive into 2010 the iPad landed on our doorstep. The new multi-functional facility has received massive interest worldwide with 1 million units sold within a month of its launch.

And as kiosk deployment has become just as common as having a television in the home, more and more people are jumping on the bandwagon to try and con consumers and business owners about their dodgy kiosk systems.

Just last week, the city of Washington DC reached an settlement with a kiosk leasing firm that agreed to stop harassing five African American churches for payment after they latched onto a deal that proved too good to be true.

Although this is the first case the city has filed against three equipment leasing firms and two kiosk salesmen and their companies, it is alleged to be involved in a complicated and incriminating  deal combining kiosks, con men and black churches. The con has spread from coast to coast with a number of churches hit by the scam including ones in California and Michigan, as well as the nations capital.

Kiosk Con Artist Michael J Morris

Press reports showed that Morris and Perkins embarked on their criminal business around ten years ago. Their plan was to visit African American churches around the country as executives of Urban Interfaith Network and Television Broadcasting Online (TVBO), companies based either in Washington or suburban Maryland. Morris and Perkins lived in suburban Maryland.

Mike Cox, Michigan attorney general, stated that both Morris and Perkins offered churches free kiosks that would be placed on site to provide outreach, education as well as Internet services to parishioners. In return, the kiosks would carry a advertising from a national sponsor that sought to reach the parishioners.

As an added inducement, Morris and Perkins told some of the churches that they would earn revenue of their own from the sponsor’s advertising. Churches were told that no contract was needed and all the legality stuff was simply a formality that didn’t need to be addressed but insisted that it still needed to be signed. So as pen went to paper church parishioners signed their contract without realising they had agreed to pay the full price for the kiosk.

Kiosk Con Artist Number 2 William T.Perkins

From the contracts, Morris and Perkins contacted equipment leasing firms and asked for loans to purchase the kiosks, using the church contracts as collateral. Once they received the loans – valued at as much as $27,000 per kiosk – the pair used money to get bare bones equipment from the churches and further made initial monthly leasing payments to the equipment  providers.

Peter Nickles, the city’s attorney general said, “The churches either did not get the equipment, or if they did, it wasn’t working, and if it was, the sponsorship deals never materialised.”

On another side of town, the leasing firms were led to believe they would be seeing monthly checks from the churches for the kiosk systems. There was usually little money to pay the lease fee already, and there was no sponsor for the kiosk advertising.

The deals continued to come in and leasing firms billed the churches for the kiosks with some of the contracts having full access to the churches finances.

“The firm could draw down from the bank account of the church. They charged the lease payments. In one case the firm took $60,000,” said Nickles.

After a while the churches contacted the authorities and Michigan arraigned Perkins and Morris in October 2009. Michigan plan to begin its case against them in Detroit’s 3rd Circuit Court at the end of September, a spokesperson for AG Cox said.

Perkin’s and Morris’s attorney, LaRene & Kriger of Detroit, didn’t return calls.

The case caught the attention of Nickles and California attorney general Edmund G. Brown Jr who found that after the churches learnt of the alleged scam, there was still a continual attack on the parishes by equipment leasers enforcing the terms of the leases, filing lawsuits against the churches to collect payment, interest and late fees.

These equipment leasers in April 2009 were charged with defrauding the churches. One of the companies – Balboa Capital Corp settled their case in Washington just last week, agreeing to stop collecting on the leases with several of the churches and to pay two of the churches $4,000 in total. Balboa wrote in their legal filings that it was “not complicity in the alleged scheme” and agreed to the settlement to avoid litigation costs.

Nickles said he will continue to pursue the other two lessors and as the cases go on, the churches have worthless equipment situated in their parishes that have completely gone to waste.

Airports and airlines are continually searching for new ways to improve their customer service to ensure that their passengers have a safe, enjoyable and stress-free trip.

The introduction of self service kiosks over the years has increasingly helped improve efficiency, reduce costs and simplifyed a customers journey as well as improving passenger satisfaction and loyalty.

For passengers, their primary goal is a quick and hassle-free journey avoiding crowded check-in areas and long check-in queues – not to mention slow security screening and inefficient boarding processes. Passenger satisfaction at this stage purely relies on how quickly and easily they can get their boarding passes, how simple it is to check their baggage and how much control they have had over the process.

An empowered passenger is a happy passenger and letting them take control of their whole travelling experience will truly benefit you as an airport or airline.

If you have deployed a kiosk system into your airport don’t just expect that it will work miracles. It is all about where it should be installed, how many you need to install and how the kiosk connects to the airport infrastructure.

With a kiosk system you can expect to see;

For Airports

• Reduced costs per passenger,
• Less airport congestion,
• Increased passenger flow without the need to invest in new buildings,
• New service opportunities – for example, shared or managed infrastructure,
• The chance to help passengers better manage disruptions,
• An opportunity to measure the landside/airside space needs and create a customer-friendly landside dwell area, delivering new revenue opportunities,
• The potential to delay capital expansion.

For Airlines

• A reduced and flexible cost structure,
• Competitiveness in commodity factors,
• Improved customer service,
• New service opportunities – e.g mobile check-in

For Passengers

• Empowerment,
• Reduced stress levels,
• Hassle free journey,
• Less queueing
• Better value for money.

For more information on how a kiosk system can benefit your business visit Protouch today, the leading distributor and manufacturer of touch screen equipment.

The Protouch, Xn Leisure and Aberdeen Sports Village leisure centre joint entry is shortlisted for its innovative ‘Virtual Receptionist’ kiosk solution that has provided Aberdeen Sports Village with an automated booking, ticketing and payment system.

The ‘Virtual Receptionist’ has propelled Aberdeen Sports Village to the forefront of the technological, self service arena within the Leisure industry with 80 per cent of Aberdeen Sports Village members now using it as opposed to the reception desk. 

Protouch Xn Leisure Kiosk

Not only has it leveraged Aberdeen Sports Village resources by turning receptionist staff into Customer Service Ambassadors, it has allowed staff to offer more quality time with their customers as well as greatly enhancing customer experience by increasing the speed of transactions and efficiency. Customers can now check in for activities, collect tickets and make future booking enquiries quickly and efficiently, eliminating the need to queue. 

The Xen X4 wall mounted kiosk offers a 19″ touch screen, RFID smart Card Reader, receipt and ticket printer and branding while running a booking and on screen payment application that provides fast track entry and a secure monitoring system using membership cards linked to turnstiles, barriers or doors.

We look forward to the awards ceremony due to take place at the prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel London on 28 October 2010 where the winners will be announced.

About Xn Leisure

The leader in Leisure Management Solutions for over 28 years, Xn Leisure serves over 5,000 users and is the technology partner of choice for the Leisure Industry. Offering a wealth of industry knowledge and expertise Xn Leisure is engaged in a programme of continuous strategic investment in people, systems and processes. 

We are pleased to announce the release of our brand new company video.

In our motivating and highly informative 9-minute video, you will see the capability that Protouch has in developing a kiosk that meets with your business needs. We tell the story of our highly popular Xen Kiosk Range, highlighting its key design features as well as the benefits that a kiosk system can bring to your business.

Meet our staff members who talk you through the vital stages of producing the right kiosk solution for you; from the design and creation of a reliably engineered and versatile kiosk solution, to the final stages of kiosk deployment and aftercare.

The innovative promotional video features our award winning kiosk deployment for Kiddicare and explores its success. Speaking to staff at Kiddicare, the video highlights how valuable customer service is to your business and how successful your company can be if you consider deploying a kiosk system.

See our impressive portfolio of clients that also includes Cineworld and its nationwide rollout of kiosks, plus our awards and the accredited bodies that we are affiliated with – proving why we’re the UK’s no.1 supplier for touch screen and kiosk solutions.

Click here to check out the video on YouTube as well as all our other videos about our kiosk collection and how they can benefit your business.

Protouch Kiddicare Kiosk Collection

Well maybe not 1000 but it can sure seem that way if a kiosk is deployed professionally. There are a great many ways in which you can deploy a kiosk system you just have to ensure you have the correct equipment and software as well as a company that you can trust to help you along the way.

To give you an idea of the different ways in which a kiosk can work for you, here are a few different ways a kiosk can be deployed and beneficial towards your needs and requirements.

Payment System

If your kiosk is deployed in strategic locations such as shopping stores, entrances to shops, supermarkets as well as train stations and air port terminals then you can provide your customers with a convenient, instant access bill payment system. 

Internet Kiosk

An Internet kiosk is an ideal way to entice customers into your store. If they can receive free access to the Internet the more likely they are to come in and further browse in your store. 

Information Kiosk

If you are providing information, help or advice through your kiosk, such as a way finder then you need to make sure it is positioned in the right places which is of use to the user. For example, if you have developed a kiosk system which allows users to learn about a product then there is really no point having the kiosk on the other side of the store away from where the product is being sold. A successful kiosk is always placed in a prime position for the customer.

Checking In/Update of Information

These types of kiosks are great for doctors surgeries or hospitals whereby the patient can update their information or check in for their appointment. This type of kiosk frees up staff members time and allows you to reduce the administration costs which can be time consuming and more costly than what they need to be.

IKEA kiosk by Protouch.

More and more business are moving into the self service industry to reduce staff costs, expand their revenue and improve their customer service. They may set companies back a little bit of money when it comes to the manufacturing and deployment, but once this has been organised and the budgets have been set, kiosk systems are sure to improve the way your business is run.

To give you an idea of why kiosk deployment is successful, here are a few tips in how to go about deploying the kiosk and what you need to do to ensure that it is successful.

When deploying a kiosk it should cover these seven steps to ensure it is a successful business move.

Engage

The first stage is to grab the customers attention. Use digital signage, kiosk enclosures, banners and staff to help promote the kiosk. Large screens in stores directly grab the customers attention and engage passengers to look to see what services or products they are offering. Make sure the kiosk cover is designed to your branding and stands out in store. Don’t just put it in the corner, make sure it is in a prime postion for everyone to see.

Inform

Consumers will only be interested in information if it is to the point, clear and concise. Reams of writing and no illustration will instantly deter them away from your kiosk. A kiosk is meant to speed things up so make sure that you get to the point so customers can get on with their day and feel happy with the customer service they have received.

Xen X5 kiosk from Protouch for Kiddicare stores.

Interact

Interact with your customer throughout the process. Make sure that they can follow a step by step guide and don’t feel stuck along the way. It is highly important that you make sure the whole process is simple and that your customers feel engaged with the whole process and not left to feel confused by how the system works.

Transact

If your kiosk allows customers to purchase products and services, then a good technique is to provide related services and products that they may be interested in when it comes to purchasing their items. This is a great way of selling without harassing the customer.

Fulfill

The fulfillment of the order needs to quick and precise. Don’t leave the customer hanging around for their receipt. They have made their purchase and wish to leave as soon as possible. Once the transaction is processed don’t make them click through thousands of pages to sign off. The quicker the service is the more likely they are to use it again.

Maintain

Don’t just leave your kiosk to rot away. Make sure you update it regularly and keep it in tip top shape. Add additional products and services and make sure that it is always running smoothly and keep the software updated.

Customers

The customer knows best so make sure that you listen to their feed back about the kiosk and whether you need to make changes to suit their needs and requirements. They are are the end user at the end of the day so you need to make sure it is directed to the type of information and services they want.

The new site will promote our top kiosks and touch screen equipment in a bid to expand our already reputable brand across Germany and other European countries.

As the UK’s leading supplier of touch screen and kiosk systems, we are keen to broaden our presence in the industry to show how our services can create a faster, better and more economical way to do business around the globe.

The new German website focuses on our Geode touch screen monitors and award winning Xen kiosk series while replicating the innovative sales tools used on our current English website.

These include interactive videos that demonstrate the key functions, features and benefits of the highly successful Xen kiosks. Plus the kiosk configuration tool created to allow visitors to personally customise and design their own kiosks online to suit their needs.

Once customers know what they’re looking for our in-house design department is also able to create bespoke laminate designs for customers’ kiosks as well as providing a 3D rendered kiosk image to provide the best possible insight on how the kiosk will work.

Thomas Borck, the leading sales figure who is heading the German and European leads from the new site, said, “The launch of the new German Protouch website is very exciting and will be a great support in expanding business across Germany and Europe. Our sales tools and support are invaluable in establishing successful customer relationships and in supporting our reseller network.”

Thomas has worked as an International Sales Manager of Kiosks and Digital Signage Systems for more than 6 years. During this time he has spotted and worked with companies that want to expand their product range with new products in order to fulfil customer requests and offer a more competitive portfolio.

To view our new site visit www.protouch-kiosks.de or alternatively visit our English website on www.protouch.co.uk for all the information you need about installing a kiosk system into your business.