Wireless Barcode Reader

Searching for a wireless barcode reader?  Gone are the days where you need to deal with a barcode reader that is tethered to the POS device, with the advent of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology, there is now the wireless barcode reader which can be used instead.

A wireless barcode reader will not only allow the person using it not to become encumbered by the cord and have a much easier time scanning barcodes, but it will also allow the user to take it out and about and scan inventory which is not at the desk but rather all around the store, warehouse, or wherever it is that it’s being used.

This kind of technology has made way for some interesting advancements as of late too as there are now mobile POS systems being developed.  These are POS’ carried by a cashier who can check a customer out at any place in the store simply by carrying this device around.

Now back to the wireless barcode reader.  If you’re looking to pick one up, you should realize that they’re going to cost significantly more than their wired counterparts.  For a simple wired USB barcode scanner, you can go as low as $60-$150, however if you want a wireless barcode reader, be prepared to pay upwards of $300 or even more for each one.

Now one of these barcode readers has been created by Wasp and it’s called the Informatics Wasp Wasp WWS800 Freedom Wireless Scanner Kit.  This device seems to have gotten both positive and negative feedback (as most items do).  But here are both sides of the story on this device.

First of all the device retails for around $400 and is a black hand held device with yellow trigger as well as a Yellow label on the top of the device.  It’s designed to give you the freedom to move about wherever you please while remaining connected to the network via Bluetooth, this allows you to move the scanner to the inventory you want to scan rather than vice versa. 

You can transmit data wirelessly from up to 160 feet, however there is a Batch Memory Mode which will let you work outside of that range. 

You can also scan barcodes between 1-12 inches away with this device’s CCD scan engine and the device comes with a battery life of 30 hours which equates to 20,000 scans.

This device also comes with a rechargeable base and it is suggested to be used in warehouse, factory floor, field service and retail environments.  This scanner supports Windows, MT, DOS as well as Macintosh applications.

Now that we have the overview, some people find this a very useful scanner that performs well under challenging wet, hot, humid and dirty environments whereas others say the drawback with it is it doesn’t come with enough software support.

Whether you pickup this wireless barcode reader or another, be sure to do your homework, there are plenty of them to choose from.