The NFC mobile device allows task lists to be sent to care workers in real-time, in addition to recording workers’ arrival and departures at the patient’s home.

The phone is available globally and customization is an option, with abilities like remote medication monitoring and billing.

“As the leading mobile workforce management software for care, we partnered with Gentag because of their expertise in the highly specialized field of NFC technology, and their ability to translate the field requirements of our care provider customers into deliverable product,” said Jim Chase, managing director, Advanced Health & Care.

Learn more about this NFC-enabled phone for at-home medical care personnel.

The Omnii XT15f rugged handheld and VH10 vehicle-mount mobile computers are designed specifically to be used in freezer and heavy condensation applications. Together, these devices offer flawless fulfillment in even the most challenging environments.

The Omnii XT15f features:

• Ideal for data capture and traceability applications in cold and humid climates
• Specialized keyboards designed to resist freezing and overcome ice build-up
• Arctic variants with integrated heater
• Available in condensation-resistant and condensation-free models
• Batteries designed specifically for ultra-low temperatures

Psion VH10 and VH10f feature:

• Intended for forklift trucks, straddle cranes and other warehouse vehicles
• Easy to install and remove
• Built to withstand continuous operations in industrial environments
• Rugged keyboard with 12 dedicated and configurable function keys
• Optimized for freezer environments

Learn more about the XT15f and VH10/VH10f.

From animal welfare to gay rights, Buycott allows consumers to use their phones to provide a plethora of information on a limitless number of causes and campaigns. When users scan the barcode a product, Buycott will check its database to determine which brand it is a part of, what company owns that brand and who owns the company. Then, it cross-checks the ownders against companies and brands included in the campaigns and causes the user has chosen to care about. If the scanned product conflicts with one of the users’ causes, the user will be alerted. Essentially, Buycott enables consumers to indirectly support causes they believe in and not support causes that they are against.

26-year-old Ivan Pardo of Los Angeles created the app, stating, “I don’t want to push any single point of view with the app. For me, it was critical to allow users to create campaigns because I don’t think it’s Buycott’s role to tell people what to buy. We simply want to provide a platform that empowers consumers to make well-informed purchasing decisions.”

Do you think scanning product barcodes to find out more about the causes a company supports will take off? Share your thoughts by commenting below, or on our Facebook or twitter pages.

Some highlights include:

• 64% of all affected business took over 90 days to detect a security breach
• 50% of all business users are still using easily guessed passowords, such as Password1
• 60% of business failures are a direct result of internal theft
• 34% of 18-29 year old employees believe its justifiable to steal from their employer

Don’t let your business fall victim to security breaches—use the right retail solutions, such as inventory control to prevent theft.

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However, with BYOD also on the rise, a strict security policy is of the utmost importance. While information must be readily available and easily accessible, it also needs to remain secure. Doctors, nurses and technicians often bring their personal devices to work, and they’d like to be able to use them on their hospital’s network to access patient data. An on-call doctor needs to be access healthcare records from home just as easily and securely as he/she would in the hospital.

In addition to staff needing secure access, visitors often request access to the network, which needs to be taken into consideration when developing your BYOD policy. Ensuring the network is secure will reduce risk and improve user experience, creating a reliable security strategy that supports BYOD for healthcare professionals and visitors alike.

Learn more about enterprise mobility in healthcare.

While this is a parody of foodie culture, Black Restraunt Group saw it as an opportunity. They recently teamed up with Congressional Seafood, one of their main fish suppliers, to launch a traceability program that would allow diners and shoppers to get more information on their food. Customers will even be able to see photos and names of the fisherman, where the fish were harvested, what gear was used and a description on the taste.

In order to achieve this, QR codes will take customers to web pages with all of the fish facts. It took approximately five months to gather all of the information about their fish, farmers and fisherman, collecting photos and videos throughout the process.

Customers don’t want to be tricked into believing something is organic when its not, so information is power. In addition to providing the customer with information, The Safety and Fraud Enforcement (SAFE) for Seafood Act, proposed by congress earlier this year, would require vendors to specify the seafood’s scientific and market names, as well as whether it was previously frozen or treated with any substance. The bill calls for businesses to make clear how, when and where their fish was caught or if it was farm-raised.

If passed, the bill would greatly affect how businesses track their food traceability.

Watch the clip of Portlandia below, and learn more about food traceability.

The U.S. National Security Agency worked closely with Samsung to create a security enhanced Android. The security system, named Knox, allows employers to keep corporate and military applications and data securely on a smartphone or tablet. If an employee leaves the company or loses his/her device, data can be easily erased remotely, without having to worry about data being lost entirely.

Typically, the military has only trusted BlackBerrys, but now, they are looking to establish a multi-vendor environment that can support a variety of different devices and operating systems. Apple’s iOS 6 is expected to be cleared for military use shortly.

What could this mean for BlackBerry? They’ve already lost a fair amount of consumer-based market share to Apple and Android devices, but have remained strong in high-security businesses. Scott Totzke, senior vice president of security, BlackBerry, said that the new BlackBerry 10 “offers a rich, highly responsive mobile computing experience, along with BlackBerry’s proven and validated security model.” However, I suspect they’ll have to compete even harder to stay relevant in an Apple- and Android-driven world.

Think of going to a small, local shop that you often frequent. There may only be a few store clerks, or just the owner, but if you’re a regular, they remember you. They might ask how your new headphones are working out for you, and may even suggest other items that they think you would like. Now, imagine going to a big-box store, such as Target. Chances are, your shopping experiences are very different. You might walk through the automated door, grab a cart, and head to the aisles with items that you need. You’re not greeted by anyone until you arrive at the point of sale (POS).

Essentially, shopping at large, chain stores has become dehumanized. But, rather than throwing a store greeter into the mix, investing in more technology could actually improve the shopping experience and expand the usage of mobile payment. While we’ve discussed customer experience in the retail industry before, tying it to the mobile payment experience could be a win-win for both.

Once customers are at the POS, its too late—they aren’t going to buy anything else aside from a pack of gum or magazine. By leveraging the smartphone, stores could create apps that greet customers as they enter a store, reward customers for being there, allow customers to create lists and point out the aisles the products are located in, suggest complimentary products and more.

After the customers have been interacting with their mobile device throughout their shopping experience, using it to pay for their goods will become second nature. Creating a new shopping experience, rather than just having a new way to pay for things, will be the ticket to successful mobile payment adoption. Or, as the Fortune article states, “Alone, mobile payment won’t take off with shoppers in a big way, but only as part of something that lifts up the shopping experience radically and fundamentally, then it will be awesome.”

Do you agree that mobile payments need to be part of a greater mobile shopping experience in order to succeed? Share your thoughts by commenting below, or on our Facebook or twitter pages.

Motorola Solutions recently introduced a new suite of indoor- and outdoor-rated 802.11ac access points (APs) that deliver faster speeds, helping enterprise businesses and government access high-bandwidth applications over their Wi-Fi networks.

Motorola’s complete offering includes the AP 8232, AP 8222 and AP 8263, with flexible options on installment. In addition to increasing speed, the next generation 802.11ac APs enable integrated location and security sensing, ideal for mobile commerce applications where shoppers need to be connected. The APs also feature:

• Expandable design to support plug-in applications
• AP 8263 offers tri-radio for ruggedized and outdoor deployments
• Real-time content caching with WiNG 5

“The demands on network bandwidth are on the rise, and our end-to-end solution for the 802.11ac standard, including new APs and WiNG 5.5 upgrade, increase capacity in the Wi-Fi network for both enterprise and government. In addition, the application acceleration engine with content caching helps accelerate application performance without requiring significant increases in WAN bandwidth,” said Imran Akbar, vice president and general manager, Enterprise Networks & Communications, Motorola Solutions.

Learn more about the Motorola Solutions 802.11ac AP.

One of Donq’s Tokyo locations recently implemented a system that uses a smart cash register that can identify baked goods by sight, rather than depending on a cashier or barcode.

Customers didn’t like their high-end baked goods wrapped in cellophane and barcoded—they wanted their baked goods to look fresh and authentic. Without any sort of wrapper or packaging, there is no way to barcode the baked goods.
After years of development, BakeryScan was created. Essentially, a camera sits atop a backlit counter and software compares images of each baked good to pictures of goods in the database. It can even identify a baked good that may be slightly over or under done, affecting the color variation. Once a match is made, the price is displayed. The success rate of BakeryScan is 98 percent.

While BakeryScan is staying in the bakery for now, researchers behind the technology are interested in having their technology used in other industries, such as produce and medicine. They may even be scheming to replace the barcode all together!

Do you think something like BakeryScan could replace the all-mighty barcode? Share your thoughts by commenting below, or on our Facebook or twitter pages.