Hoeft & Wessel now offers the Android operating system on its mobile terminals for the very first time. The skeye.dart model in convenient PDA format is now also available with the Android version 2.3.6 (Gingerbread). This makes the company the first in the industry to combine a mobile data capture device for the special requirements of wholesale and retail with the Android operating system. In the German retail sector Hoeft & Wessel is the market leader for mobile terminals deployed in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
This provides the sector in question with clear benefits. By using Android as the world´s leading Smartphone operating system on its professional data capture devices in branch outlets and in warehouses the wholesale and retail segment is provided with a consistent system platform for customers and employees alike.
Using the Android mobile data capture device, employees are given unlimited access to information of relevance to processes, e.g. from the ERP system. At the same time, customers can receive further selected product information online in the shop and immediately via their mobile or smart phones. What is also conceivable, for instance, is the availability of merchandise or a suitable recommendation of other goods. This enhances the shopping experience for the customer.
Moreover, the skeye.dart is now also available in a high-end version with roughly one third enhanced computing power, RAM twice as high and faster UMTS/HSPA mobile telephony connection. Optionally equipped with a numeric keypad or only a few input keys, the mobile data capture device with its 89 mm (3.5") VGA touch screen provides a future-proof platform even for the most demanding applications.
"With its first Android handheld, Hoeft & Wessel once again delivers proof of its core expertise, namely Customising. We offer various operating systems on our mobile terminals, depending on our customers´ requirements," explains Dr Andreas Mueller, Head of Development for mobile solutions at Hoeft & Wessel. The specialist for mobile terminals, ticketing and parking systems has already carried out a first live installation of the Android operating system: the Dutch navy deploys the Hoeft & Wessel terminal skeye.dart as a wireless communications system. With the freely programmable operating system, especially secure communication on the ships is possible both via voice and data transmission via a single handheld.
The benefits of Android are quite obvious: it has developed into a leading Smartphone operating system with a correspondingly high level of acceptance and familiarity amongst developers, offering manifold applications and excellent, intuitive touch screen operation. An open-source system reduces the dependency on market players, gives software developers various programming options and it provides a high degree of security.
Hoeft & Wessel AG assumes that the significance of the Android operating system will also increase in the field of the professional, particularly robust mobile terminals. Mueller: "We already are well prepared for the future requirements at this stage, thus underscoring our claim and sophistication as a technology leader."
