Symbol Technologies Debuts Impressive PPT 4600

The advice has been handed down for generations: pick something you’re good at and stick with it. Simple advice, but one that Bohemia, New York-based Symbol Technologies is taking to the bank.

The company is a world leader at bar code data management, around which it has built an impressive family of devices, including pen computers, to help automate the data management process. Recently, the company introduced a new handheld device sporting pen input together with its ubiquitous scanning technology.

Introducing the PPT 4600

The first thing you notice about the PPT 4600 is how comfortably it fits into the palm of your hand. The computer has a highly contoured casing that, together with the flexible hand-strap and the well positioned thumb buttons, demonstrates a new level of attention to ergonomic detail. Unlike many computers, the PPT 4600 was designed to work equally well with right and left handed individuals.

For example, buttons are positioned on both sides of the unit and the leather strap is connected to a mechanism that allows it to swing to either side, fitting snugly with whichever hand is holding the unit. As you would expect, you can rotate the bar code scanner to match the direction the unit is pointing.

Partly because of the strap, which reduces the amount of energy expended to carry and hold the computer, and partly because the device weighs a mere 30 ounces (850 g), the PPT 4600 is a computer that can be carried around for a full shift.

The PPT 4600 is powered by a TI 486 SLC processor, making it compatible with a range of existing DOS and Windows applications. More importantly, the PPT 4600 has an integrated scanning unit that can read and decode Symbol’s PDF417 symbology. PDF417 is a two-dimensional bar code that encodes information vertically as well as horizontally.

Using this system, each bar code is capable of storing about 1.8 KB of information, or more than one hundred times the amount stored on a traditional bar code. In practical terms, this means useful product information can be stored along with the inventory number identifying the product. In the case of people, information encoded on an employee badge can now include details such as a digitized photo, date of birth, height, eye color, and more.

Powerful, Ruggedized Features

In addition to its 486 processor, the device has two PC Card slots and a backlit VGA screen that can display 16-level gray scale. But, the PPT 4600 not only packs a punch, it can also withstand one. The computer is designed to survive repeated two-meter (six feet) drops to concrete and, due to its sealed design, will continue to function normally through extreme temperatures, whipping rain, and dust.

In terms of connectivity, the PPT 4600 can be integrated with either of Symbol’s wireless data networks, such as the Spectrum One or Symbol Spectrum24.

Symbol is targeting the PPT 4600 at its core customer categories which are a set of industries where Symbol has demonstrated particular success. These include transportation, route accounting, parcel and post delivery, utilities, and warehouse and retail environments.

Air Canada Adopts PPT4100

Meanwhile, Symbol scored another success in the package management industry when it announced that it is equipping the national air carrier, Air Canada, with PPT 4100 pen computers connected by means of Symbol’s Spectrum One wireless local area network. Air Canada intends to use the system to track cargo at terminals located across the country.

The PPT 4100 is a DOS-based pen computer featuring a 5.5″ x 3.0″ (14 x 7.6 cm) screen measuring roughly the size of a video cassette and weighing about 20 ounces (567 g). Using at least ten PPT 4100 pen computers at each terminal, Air Canada will monitor the passage of air cargo between flights until it reaches its final destination.

The air carrier will do this by affixing a bar code label containing the air waybill numbers, the quantity of the shipment, and the addressing information, to each package arriving at the terminal. Packages will then be scanned as they pass through the cargo terminals, assigned to new flights, and loaded onto the planes.

Information captured using the pen computers will be communicated back to the cargo computer system using Symbol’s Spectrum One wireless network. At the final destination, each package will be scanned as it is removed from the plane. By maintaining such timely and accurate information, Air Canada hopes to be able to pinpoint the location of any shipment, along with quickly determining when a package has gone astray and needs a bit of redirection to find its way home. ❑

Symbol PPT 4600

• CPU: 3.3 V, Texas Instruments 486 SLC, 20 MHz
• Dimensions: 5.4″ x 9.6″ x 2.5″ at grip, 3.5″ at the battery – 1/2 VGA base model (13 x 24.4 x 6.5 cm at grip, 9 cm at battery) 9.0″ (22.6 cm) – Full VGA model
• Weight: 30-ounces (851 g)
• Screen: Seiko, backlit LCD, with pressure-sensitive membrane in two sizes: 1/2 VGA: 5.6″ diagonal, 320 x 480 pixel, 16-level greyscale, Full VGA: 7.8″ diagonal, 640 x 480 pixel, 16-level greyscale
• Memory: 2-16 MB RAM, 2-4 MB Flash memory
• Storage: One ATA slot accepts Type III ATA hard disk card, or Type II solid-state flash card
• PCMCIA: Two PCMCIA slots, accepts two type I/II PCMCIA cards or one Type III PCMCIA card
• Ports: XT and PS/2-style keyboard, RS-232C serial, Infrared interface, AC power input jack
• Scanners: Optional integrated bar code scanhead, rotates 180 degrees for left and right-handed use
• Battery: Lithium Ion
• Software: MS-DOS 6.22, Optional: Windows for Pen Computing, CIC Handwriter Recognition System
• Cost: Volume purchase pricing ranges from $1,600 to $3,500

Symbol Technologies, Inc.
116 Wilbur Place
Bohemia, NY 11716
(516) 563-2400
Barry Issberner
(516) 244-4969
(516) 244-4164 (fax)
[email protected]