July/Aug 2004

Although most new handheld terminals boasting colour displays these days seem to run under some variant of Windows CE, by no means all do. Datalogic has just come up with a compact wireless model called the Formula Color which features full IEEE 802.11b Wi-Fi wireless connectivity, yet runs under VT100/200 and IBM5250 terminal emulation.

The company says this immediately makes it compatible with most warehouse management systems. It is also suitable for a range of other applications such as goods shipping/receiving, inventory, picking, shelf replenishment and shelf price verification, and its high-contrast 128 by 144 pixel screen is said to make it equally effective in indoor and outdoor applications.

Other technical features include a 486 32-bit processor, 8MB of RAM memory, 8MB of Flash RAM and a 30-key alphanumeric keyboard. The unit uses Datalogic's own proprietary BIOS, along with Datalight DOS 7.0 in ROM.

Formula Color is compatible with a variety of Datalogic software tools such as DL Mobile Configurator, DL Keep Connecting, DL Web-Link and MCL Collection Suite for programming, monitoring and configuration operations.

 

It has a scan rate of 50 scans per second, a depth of field of 3 to 70cm, and the ability to read a wide range of barcodes. It is built to IP 64 dust and water resistance standard. It is said have been tested with multiple drops from 1.5 metres on to a concrete surface.