Monthly Archives: March 2012
Reckon Bringing Mobile POS To Your Android (and iDevices)
Reckon Limited, an Australian ASX listed software provider, best known for its Quickbooks range of products, is after more than just the bookkeeping market in Australia.
Shown today, exclusively to N-Droid, at Reckon’s National Accredited Partner Conference in Hobart, was Reckon’s mobile Point of Sale offering. Reckon have produced the desktop version of Point of Sale for some time, however a mobile solution was always the vision of Business Division CEO Gavin Dixon.
Until now, the technology required to run such a solution was not in the price point of the majority of Reckon’s customers and did not fit the vision, of being on any device, not just multi thousand dollar clunky PDA’s.
In speaking with Reckon, Senior Business Analyst Simon Hutchinson commented, “this is going to change retail, from your tradesmen looking for a simple solution to send an invoice from their van, to the coffee cart at kid’s soccer matches, to the more traditional bricks and mortar, we can now provide them all with a cost effective mobile solution”. Gavin Dixon then commented, “and best of all, our customer’s don’t need any new hardware, they can run POS on their iPhone, HTC, Samsung Galaxy or Blackberry device”.
We tested the mobile POS Solution on our own Samsung Galaxy Note, and it was as if the product was made for the 5.3″ screen size.
The above screen shot demonstrates us processing a sale on the POS Terminal. We could also make use of the S-Pen which made the perfect tool for selecting products from the POS item list.
“Custom templates are our next project” relayed Hutchison, “I want to design templates to suit various device screen sizes, from iPod Touch, to Galaxy S II, to Note and the 7″ and 10″ tablets.”
And not only is the Terminal going to the mobile platform, but also the Administrator back end, which allows for Management to monitor various terminal sales, close and open terminals, and transfer data to and from their QuickBooks accounting software.
The shot above demonstrating the sales each terminal is making.
“Traditionally another highly requested feature of POS users, was multiple location. Logistically this was previously a challenge due to the nature of the relationship between POS and Quickbooks, well not anymore, as we have hosted and link POS to Quickbooks on our Cloud Platform”, added Dixon.
So in terms of monitoring your terminals, these terminals could be anywhere in the World, being monitored from your Android device.
All you have to do is relax!
Reckon will be releasing the mobile POS solution sometime in Q2 2012.
Be sure to follow as this product nears its release cycle.
Telstra Release Samsung Galaxy S II 4G – It’s FAAAST!
Telstra are certainly building on their goals of setting themselves up as both the Android and Speed Kings of Australian Mobile Providers.
For today Telstra have announced the release of Australia’s second 4G handset, the Samsung Galaxy S II 4G!
The 4G variant of the undoubted top selling Android phone worldwide (the Galaxy S II), is certainly living up to everything it would expected to be.
Offering a 4.5 inch Super Amoled screen and a blazing dual core 1.5 GHz CPU (and did we mention that LTE Antenna!), this is one serious Samsung in the speedstakes.
Andrew Volard, Director, Telstra Mobile, said the nation’s second 4G smartphone would make it possible for even more Australians to enjoy ultra-fast 4G web speeds from the palms of their hands.
“The Samsung Galaxy SII 4G takes the design elements that have made Samsung Galaxy SII one of Australia’s most popular smartphones and adds 2012’s must-have phone feature – ultra-fast 4G web connectivity. Customers in 4G coverage areas are going to love being able to load web pages up to five times faster than on 3G handsets. They’ll be able to send, stream and surf at speeds that will blow them away,” Mr Volard said.
Certainly some of the biggest news though, is that this speeding mobile comes packed with NFC, so it won’t be left behind with other NFC models joining the fray this year.
Multimedia functions include an 8 megapixel camera and 1080p full HD video recording. The phone also has a large battery capacity (1850mAh), Wi-Fi a/b/g/n support, and Bluetooth 3.0+HS. There’s HD Voice support built in too which enables crisper, clearer calls when chatting to other people with HD Voice compatible handsets on the Telstra Mobile Network.
So how do you get it?
Well great news, available around the Country today from all Telstra stores and online at www.telstra.com.au/galaxysii4g
The Galaxy S II 4G is currently shipping with Android 2.3.6, however Ice Cream Sandwich shouldn’t be too far away.
*A note from Telstra regarding coverage and 4G speeds.
4G LTE speeds + Australia’s fastest 3G speeds in selected areas
Customers using the Samsung GALAXY S II 4G in 4G coverage areas (capital city CBDs, associated airports and more than 80 regional and metropolitan locations) can access typical download speeds ranging from 2Mbps to 40Mbps and typical upload speeds from 1Mbps to 10Mbps. When outside 4G coverage areas the Samsung GALAXY S II 4G uses HSPA+ Dual Channel technology to serve up Australia’s fastest 3G speeds so customers can enjoy super-fast 3G download speeds ranging from 1.1Mbps-20Mbps in all capital CBDs and much of the associated metropolitan areas and many regional locations. Outside of these areas the device transitions to Telstra’s fastest available 3G speeds.
Angry Birds Space Is Here! Free Download!
Fans of the amazingly successful Angry Birds franchise can now further extend their love of the cranky little feathery creatures, with the latest instalment – Angry Birds Space.
After much success and a great marketing campaign involving the Galaxy Note, us non Note owners can now partake in the gravity free extravaganza for ourselves.
Available for free form the Google Play Store , you can now get cracking on any Android device.
Having a couple of hours on the game last night on our in house Asus Transformer Pad, I have to say it is quite different to previous earth based games. It does take some time to master the gravity free environments. Your birds don’t come back if you send them out of orbit!
The graphics are solid and smooth and looked fantastic on both our Tablet and Galaxy S II handset.
The game really was a pleasure though on the tablet, especially given the dual speakers on the Asus Pad.
If you haven’t yet, get into the Play Store and grab it or hit the QR code up right here!
And don’t miss the full story on Angry Birds Space below.
Is This The Galaxy S III? Photos And Specs Inside.
Certainly one of the most leaked and rumoured phone releases this side of the iPhone 4, has got to be the Samsung Galaxy S III.
A myriad of bogus claims, spy shots and other material has been plaguing the internet for at least the last six months, moreso in recent times.
However, Youmobile are claiming this to be the final iteration, and we have some live pics for you to decide. Is this the real deal?
The unit shown certainly has the Galaxy lines and is Samsung branded. It is also showing Nexus style capacitive buttons rather than the previously flaunted hardware buttons.
The screen is said to be the reported size of 4.7″ with resolution of 1280×720, and is Super Amoled which is great news.
We can also see from the above shot, that the version numbering is also in line with its Galaxy forebears. This time around showing GT-I9300.
One thing we are not so sure about is that reports have previously suggested the Galaxy S III might don the GT-I9500 monicker.
Potentially Samsung may still have the real Galaxy S III under wraps as the GT-I9500 and this GT-I9300 may be a slightly different product with some lower specs.
Or will there be different model designations for different world markets?
Only time will if this IS the REAL Galaxy S III.
For now, here is the apparent full list of specifications.
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
4G Network LTE 700
Expected Release Date: Q3, 2012
Dimensions
131.3 x 64 x 7.9 mm
Weight 125 g
DISPLAY
Type Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.7 inches (~312 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch Yes, with TouchWiz UI v5.0
Protection Corning Gorilla Glass 2
SOUND
Alert types Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker Yes
3.5mm jack Yes
MEMORY
Card slot microSD, up to 32 GB
Internal 16GB/32GB storage, 1 GB RAM
DATA
GPRS Yes
EDGE Yes
Speed 21MB HSDPA, HSUPA
WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot
Bluetooth Yes, v4.0 with A2DP, EDR
NFC Yes
USB Yes, v2.0 microUSB (MHL), USB On-the-go
CAMERA
Primary 12 MP, 4000×3000 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
Features Geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization
Video Yes, 1080p@30fps
Secondary Yes, 1.3 MP, 720p@30fps
FEATURES
OS Android v4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich
Chipset Exynos
CPU Quad-core 1.5 GHz
Sensors Accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer
Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Mail, IM, RSS
Browser HTML, Adobe Flash
Radio Stereo FM radio with RDS
GPS Yes, with A-GPS support and GLONASS
Java Yes, via Java MIDP emulator
COLORS
Black, White
OTHER
- Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic
- TV-out (via MHL A/V link)
- SNS integration
- MP4/DivX/XviD/WMV/H.264/H.263 player
- MP3/WAV/eAAC+/AC3/FLAC player
- S Memo, S Planner, S suggest Apps
- Image/video editor
- Document editor (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF)
- Google Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk, Picasa integration
- Voice memo/dial/commands
- Predictive text input (Swype)
BATTERY
Standard battery, Li-Ion 1850 mAh
Enjoy this video which depicts a roundup of all known rumours so far, and don’t forget to tell us what you think! Fact or fiction?
Fitbit – Now You Can Get Fit With Your Android!
Android health freaks and those looking to shed some Christmas Kilos, can now rejoice. Fitbits have brought their insanely popular Apple app, to Android.
Infact, Fitbit now claim they are one of the only health app providers whom are across both popular Apple and Android platforms.
With this app, you can log your food, activities, weight and water while on the go, as long as you have a wireless connection. Everything syncs to (and from) your Fitbit.com account, and you can view up to two weeks of data for easy access when you’re away from your computer.
Best of all, the app is free from the Play Store which means the only thing holding you back now, is you!
Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 A Steal At Kogan
Samsung are arguably the kings of Android at the moment, with a slew of modern and sexy, light and powerful phones and tablets on the market, there is something for everyone in Samsung’s arsenal.
One of the more recent additions to Samsung’s range, and personally it’s our favourite, is the 7.7″ Galaxy Tab. Perfectly sized to hold and operate with one hand, on the go, or even slip into your handbag! The 7″ Tablet is light, slim, has an incredibly bright and beautiful display and is no slouch thanks to its 1.4Ghz Dual Core Processor. The display is nothing short of amazing as mentioned, as it is the first tablet to sport a full Super Amoled Plus Display, which is at 1280×800 resolution and 197ppi.
This tablet from Samsung really is an object of pure beauty to hold, touch and use.
Weighing in at only 340 grams, you hardly can believe it’s a real product and able to do what it can do.
Matching this, is Kogan’s amazing pricing on this product.
How much? $449.00
Price includes a 12 month Australian warranty so you have full peace of mind with your purchase.
Upon research this is almost a full $100 cheaper than bricks and mortar locations like JB HiFi and Harvey Normal.
Here is a full list of specifications:
CPU: 1.4 GHz Dual Core
RAM: 1GB (RAM), 16/32/64 GB (ROM) + microSD (up to 32GB)
Software: Android 3.2 Honeycomb (expect an ICS update anytime)
Battery: Built-in 5,100mAh battery Stand-by : Up to 1500 hours(2G) / 1200 hours(3G)
Video: Full HD video playback (1080p)@30fps Video codec : MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV, DivX
Audio: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, apt-X(BT codec) Dual speakers
Camera: Back camera : HD(720p) Video recording, 3MPauto-focus camera with LED flash, Front camera : 2MP camera
Best you not waste any time to secure what is certainly the most modern, light, flexible and sexiest tablet on the market today, at the sexiest price in town too!
Tell them N-Droid sent you.
