Motorola introduces new business line of RFID readers

Motorola’s RFID reader is built on a new platform that supports Gen 2 technology and is capable of hosting third-party, customer-driven embedded applications to meet the growing requirements of enterprises.

The FX7400 can be installed under point-of-sale counters, behind walls or on ceilings – providing an ideal solution for item-level tracking, retail inventory management, file tracking and asset management applications in environments where performance and a small footprint are critical. For retailers, this new reader will help improve employee productivity, reduce cycle count times and decrease out-of-stock items in order to improve operations and increase sales. The FX7400 series complements Motorola’s existing portfolio of industrial solutions and opens a new window of opportunity for retailers and businesses to implement RFID. Motorola intends to broaden this business-class portfolio with additional reader options in the future.

"The introduction of the FX series of business-class readers draws on Motorola’s decades of design excellence, typifying its innovation prowess and commitment to collaborate with customers to create new and differentiated technologies that meet the specific needs of RFID customers across varying markets," said Mike Poldino, vice president of RFID, Motorola Enterprise Mobility Solutions. "With the FX7400 series, Motorola is making it even easier for our business-class customers to deploy, use, and manage RFID. For our retail customers in particular, we designed the FX7400 to support the increased employee and operational efficiencies necessary for an enhanced in-store customer experience."

In conjunction with the introduction of the FX7400, Motorola is also introducing a new reader interface and set of APIs in .NET, C and Java, enhancing the user experience and making it easier for application development. Motorola is also releasing ShowCase II, a new set of software tools to enable a broad range of applications, including benchmarking, field testing, and firmware and seamless reader configuration upgrades.

The Motorola FX7400 fixed RFID reader will be available through Motorola PartnerSelect members and Motorola sales. It is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe in the third quarter of 2009 and globally by the end of the year.