As a Psion Teklogix top partner, Ryzex was part of the beta program for the new Omnii. I personally had a chance to manage our testing and feedback efforts for the device. I was impressed by a number of things. Battery life was excellent. I think we all realize that getting a “real” 8 hour shift out of a 2200 or 1950 battery is unlikely. Standardizing on a high capacity battery like the 5000 mAh model a good move. Our model had one of the Hi Visibility displays, and it was that feature that turned me on to a whole new reason to upgrade – visibility.
We beta tested the Omnii in our own warehouse, where we collect data with the same terminal-based, white text on black background kind of application that a lot of our clients are using. The Omnii could run this app with only a small fraction of the power in the cool OMAP3 processor. When I configured the device with TekTerm and handed it off to one of our warehouse staff I was thinking “This is nice, but we don’t NEED one of these for our warehouse.” Once she started using it though, she could not stop talking about how much easier it was to read everything and how much faster she could work with it.
The process for refining a good design leveraged Psion’s Ingenuity Working collaborative web environment. We were able and encouraged to post our thoughts on the beta device to forums that were read by the staff working on the device design. We noted a few things, most of them more about usability than being any sort of major design flaw. They were just the little things that you notice after spending years with handhelds – the difference between good and great. I love online collaboration as much as the next guy, but what I liked even more was seeing the final device.
The problems we’d noted had been taken seriously and fixed. The final plastics were really nice too. With the modular nature of the device, and all the testing, the plan is to provide a device that you can upgrade when technology changes rather than replacing the device. I’m looking forward to working with the Omnii for a long time.
Reviewed By:
Eric Kennedy
Director of Professional Services – Ryzex
Filed under: barcode scanners, Product Reviews, Warehouse
