Nov/Dec 2004

A cordless barcode scanner using Bluetooth wireless technology to link to a handheld or vehicle-mounted unit has been launched by Intermec Technologies.

The company says the SF51 compact is particularly effective for intensive hands-free applications - which perhaps makes it more appropriate in a warehouse or production environment than on the road. It is just 15 cm long and weighs only 260 grams, and clips quickly into and out of a holster by means of a unique fast-action magnetic attach and release mechanism.

The unit's linear scan engine is said to be able to complete 200 scans per second, and to be able to read poor-quality and damaged bar codes from up to 500mm away. A ten-hour battery life is said to deliver more than 5,000 scans, and it only needs a one-hour recharge to reach 70 per cent battery life.