While Starbucks has partnered with mobile payment service Square to make cash register interactions (reputedly) quick and easy in the United States, most coffee places in Paris still require a minimum for credit cards, if they accept them at all. But at Ten Belles, a small café off Canal St. Martin, card transactions are accepted through Tactill, a French iPad app. “It’s good for us,” Ten Belles barista Chris Nielson told TabAdapt. “It’s easy to work, easy function. I’m not sure it’d be good for a big hotel or anything, but it works for us.”
TacTill puts the emphasis on “child-like simplicity” and speed, with a color-coded product menu and two-touch check out process. This especially delights old-school French shopkeepers who avoid technology because it’s just “too complicated.” In addition, like Square’s “Business in a Box” offer, TacTill provides a “pack de démarrage” (launch kit) including an iPad stand, receipt printer, and cash drawer.
As the Paris’ coffee scene grows, tablet registers provide the convenience to attract an international crowd on both sides of the counter. Ten Belles plays host to baristas from England, France, and Australia, while their customer base reaches far wider. For a small business serving a diverse audience, their iPad register is sufficiently agile and easy to use. Paris in 2013 is proof that an old city can still learn new tricks.
Last week, we told you about CACI’s efforts to make iPads a secure, user-friendly tool for government officials. Mobile devices are increasingly integrated in work environments and everyone from General Motors to Giorgio Armani wants to ensure their technology is secure. And when employees are transitioning their tablets from work to home and back again, it is challenging to find a flexible, reliable support system.
Thankfully, solutions are starting to emerge. As “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) becomes a feasible IT convenience, security companies will make it their specialty. As evidence, we present a few options that will allow your office to welcome BYOD devices:
MDM Support First on the table is Mobile Device Management (MDM), an application that runs on servers and devices and is managed by a central administrator who can enforce security. Though MDM doesn’t safeguard against all the risks of BYOD, ZDnet columnist Ken Hess admits, “A good application or device management suite does protect your network from jailbroken devices, from thousands of known malware programs and from standard risks via encrypted connections/communications back to the mother ship (the corporate network).” Companies like Apptix are jumping at the chance to help businesses protect their delicate networks.
Secure Browsing for iPad MDM Specialist MobileIron recently took their service a step further, providing a secure browser that will enforce corporate policies and manage mobile data while allowing users to go about their daily web work. The service is currently only available for iOS, but if it helps curtail security breaches while giving employees the web access they need, no doubt we’ll see this offering expand.
Wave Windows 8 Perhaps the solution to rule them all, Wave Systems Corp eliminates device passwords, bypasses the overhead cost and training required for most Mobile Device Management, and offers secure web connection for participating devices. Wave will be embedded into the latest generation of tablets running Windows 8. “The launch of Windows 8 tablets will redefine what mobile means to the enterprise. Now there’s a group of devices that resemble an iPad but operate like a PC,” Richard Stiennon, Chief Analyst for IT Harvest, commented in a Dark Reading summary. Basically, Windows 8 + Wave sounds like a savior for BYOD businesses. 62 percent of companies will allow BYOD by the end of the year; those devices need reliable, dynamic defense.
The clipboard may become another casualty of the tablet. Kids on field trips? They’re using iPads. Sports coaches? They’ve got tablets for the whole team. The PR person standing at the entrance of a fundraiser party? Thanks to a new partnership between online fundraising software provider DoJiggy LLC and Check In Easy App, he or she is consulting an iPad.
Check In Easy helps fête organizers keep track of guests and then check them in at the door. With boarding pass technology, hosts can elect to send partygoers a unique barcode that will be scanned at the door. Organizers can get alerts when VIPs arrive, adjust the guest list while the event’s going on, and easily create party reports after an event. The Guggenheim already uses Check In Easy, so while you cannot host your event in a snail-shaped building, you can welcome people like the stylish curators do.
When DoJiggy says they are partnering with Check In Easy, that means the check-in app becomes one of the online fundraiser’s offerings. DoJiggy already helps nonprofits plan events and collect online pledges. Now, charities that elect to work with DoJiggy will also end up working with Check In Easy, making their guest list management that much easier.
While we are throwing away clipboards, let’s also rejoice at the increasingly obsolete nature of paper. Companies that take advantage of DoJiggy’s new partnership will end up saving money and time on printer costs in addition to sparing their PR people frustration when they get an un-updated copy of the guest list.
Tablet guest lists will become more and more common, especially with the launch of the iPad Mini. Would you make the leap for your next event?
Standing in line for a cup of non-Starbucks coffee immediately becomes a sad situation when you read the words “Cash Only.” Small, local businesses often eschew credit card machines due to processing fees and varied credit card charges. However, credit card readers like Square and PayPal’s upcoming swipe service “PayPal Here” enable more businesses to accept cards—thus getting more business.
And this week, Square doubled its retail distribution, making the device available in 20,000 stores in the US including Walgreens, FedEx Office, and Staples. By plugging Square into an iPad, business owners and individuals make credit card transactions simple and quick. The device and corresponding app are free, and receipts can be emailed. With Square, anyone can accept money via credit card with no start-up cost, whether they work as a local coffee seller, craft fair extraordinaire, babysitter, or personal driver.
Brick-and-mortar businesses can also benefit from Square’s tablet-enabled technology via Square Register. In a Wired article on the launch, CEO of Square Jack Dorsey said, “Money is a concept that’s been with us for 5,000 years, and it’s never been designed to be anything but a burden.” He imagined a future with dependable fees, lower fraud risk and easy set-up. Square Register essentially turns an iPad into a sexy cash register, with added transaction analytics and the ability for customers to pay by saying their names.
Credit cards are a fact of financial life, especially in the US. But for the food trucks, small vendors and individuals who lose business because of high cost and difficult register set-up, systems like Square are a sleek, simple answer. Enabled by tablets, they make more transactions possible. In the future, your wallet full of cards will never again prevent you from getting your caffeine fix.
Do you think cash registers are endangered? Let us know what you think in the comment box.
How do you secure a large number of tablets for a school or business? The answer is not so simple and institutional security for tablets is still an emerging market (one of the reasons we started this blog). Today, the three leading providers of iPad security carts and trays are Bretford, Ergotron and Datamation Systems.
But how do each of these company’s products hold up head-to-head? Regardless of price, which security product is most secure? YouTube user Prodtest51 equipped himself with a hammer, screwdriver and crowbar and decided to find out. Though we were not able to confirm the accuracy of these videos, the videos do not seem doctored and he seems to be sweating a lot. Here is Prodtest51′s explanation for destroying the three expensive pieces of equipment: ”Prior to recommending iPad security cabinets and carts for a technology roll-out, we tested several to see if they were effective in resisting attack with common tools and at common points of vulnerability.”
Watch these short videos to find out who can be called iPad security cart king.
This month, Miami Heat star Lebron James launched a boutique clothing and shoes store with a techie twist. The Miami store Unknwn opened with 45 iPad kiosk displays on their shoe wall which showcase product features, interactive high-resolution photos and HD videos.
The wall-mounting comes courtesy of iPad Enclosures, a Utah based company that specializes in tablet kiosks and mounts for business and retail environments. In an interview with Tab Adapt, Ipad Enclosures’ Nick Ames says “The iPad kiosk display provides this new generation of shoppers with a bridge between the real-life brick-and-mortar experience and the increasingly competitive online shopping experience.” The feedback from customers has been positive. Many customers have posted comments on blogs and social networks praising the presentation and interactive experience. “Since the Unknwn store’s opening, we have received an overwhelming amount of orders for the Evolve iPad kiosk, because it provides a custom branding solution,” Ames says.
Still, the benefits of iPad diplays asdie, how does a retail store like Unknwn handle charging, syncing and management? We asked Ames the tough questions after the break:
How does Unknwn deal with charging? Do they have to remove the iPads every night?
“The store manages charging by hard wiring the iPads with the included Apple 30-pin power cord, which is routed through the Evolve iPad kiosk enclosure and threaded through pre-drilled holes in the wall. On the other side of the wall the store is able to connect all devices to a power source for charging. With this type of installation there is no need to remove the devices for power or data management.”
How does Unknwn deal with syncing and managing content across iPads?
“The most critical tool for managing high volume mobile device deployment, such as the Unknwn project, is in the Mobile Device Management (MDM) software. The Unknwn store is currently looking into MDM software products, such as ArmorActive.com, to remotely sync, update, and monitor all their devices from a single computer.”
While retail stores need to understand these management and security issues, in the case of Unknwn, Ames says the iPad displays “created an instant buzz.”
Last year, Vancouver-based Lift Bar Grill Restaurant purchased 30 iPads to replace traditional paper menus. After a year of testing, the upscale waterfront restaurant officially launched the program in October with plans to purchase 10 more iPads.
Lift is among a group of early adopters utilizing tablet menus, a trend first seen in sushi restaurants in New York, but, according to owner Bob Lindsay, Lift is the first restaurant to adopt the futuristic menus in Vancouver. “This is just the way the industry is going,” Lindsay told Tab Adapt.
Nonetheless, questions remain for restaurant owners: Is it worth the investment? How do I handled security, syncing and storage? Will iPads eventually replace my waiters? Lindsay answered these questions and more about his restaurant’s experience with the new tablet menus.
Note: Quotes have been cleaned up sparingly for clarity.
In an interview with BCLocalNews.com, you said “In five years, you’ll be hard pressed to find a paper menu in any restaurant.” This is a bold claim. Why do you think restaurants will move to tablet menus?
Bob Lindsay: This is just the way the industry is going. It’s so visual and there is so much information there. We’re coming up on a time when Health Canada is going to dictate that you have to list calories and sodium levels of all your dishes. This is a perfect venue to support that.
We link all our stuff to wine picks, wine by the glass and wine by the bottle. We go into our wine list and suggest meals that go with each of those wines. We’re trying to educate the public and give them a little more choice without relying on the opinion of the waiter or Somalia.
And there is so much more you can do with the iPad 2s. You can hook up to social networking, take a video of your table and invite people down. The possibilities are endless.
Our iPads are capable of translating our menus into any language and, for resort city like Vancouver, that’s hugely valuable. Some of the translation isn’t exact but just the ability to do that is incredible.
Have you seen an increase in sales?
BL: We first experimented with it in the summer of last year and we monitored the sections with iPads and guests’ check averages were up in those sections [BCLocalNews.com reported a 15% increase]. The suggestive selling and visual presentation seems to be working at the moment.
How many iPads did you purchase?
BL: I have 30 at the moment and, in a month, I’ll have 40.
How do you manage charging and syncing?
BL: We sync via a wifi using a cloud-based program. We change our menus and within two minutes all the iPads are updated. Binnj [a mobile enterprise consulting company] can give us reporting and analytics just through customer usage.
How do you manage changes to menus?
BL: We feature a special daily with a high resolution photo and it uploads immediately. It also allows for easy dynamic pricing.
I always say “those ipads never stop working” The waiter might be hungover or in a fight with his girlfriend. He might hate the manager on duty but the iPad never stops working with those visuals and suggestive selling.
I’m not one to say “let’s replace all the waiters.” You need them. The waiters at our place who know what they’re doing are interacting with the guests and the iPad, making the experience even better.
How do you manage security?
BL: We haven’t had a security problem because the type of clients we serve are not there to steal an iPad.
Nonetheless, security is handled through the waiters. The iPads are given out when the guests sit down and when the waiter takes the order he makes sure there are the same number of iPads as guests.
How do you store them?
BL: We have a lockable security cart that also charges them. It holds 38 iPads. It cost about $1500 which is pretty reasonable. [Lindsay did not know the brand but said it was a South Carolina company]
Why iPads over other tablets?
BL: No specific reason. Binnj said their platform is compatible with other tablets but works best with iPads. Plus, I had an iPad.
How often have guests been sharing on social networks from their menus?
BL: In terms of accessing our wifi to share directly from the iPads, there has not been much sharing yet but we are still pretty new to the game.
Have the iPads been integrated with your point of sales system?
BL: We are talking to Squirrel, which does our point of purchase, and we’re going to now use tablets as rolling terminals so we can set it up anyway we need it. They’ll also be a lot more interaction with our present point of sale system. It’s amazing. These things are capable of having the customer assemble his order and the waiter can just come up and bump it with his unit to take the order. Eventually, the iPads will be able to send orders directly to the kitchen but we’ll never use it because it will be an absolute nightmare.
Why would sending orders with iPads to the kitchen be a nightmare?
BL: It’s just a feature I don’t see anyone ever using. There is an ordering procedure in the restaurant. The waiter controls that ordering procedure based on volume. For example, we’ll go to three waiters and say no more order into the kitchen for ten minutes because we’re trying to catch up with some stuff. Maybe you could work that into the iPads but there is a science toward having a great evening. People make mistakes and people change their minds. There are just too many variables that would make that kind of direct-to-the-kitchen system a nightmare for us.
Overall, have you enjoyed the new iPad menus?
BL: They are amazing. There is no limit to what you can do. Our customers can order a wine and, if they want to know more about that wine, we can include a link to the winery’s web page. All of a sudden, this can turn into a 5-hour educational experience.
People are really enjoying them. Occasionally, we get an older guy who says “What the hell is this?” But it doesn’t happen very often. People understand that the possibilities are really endless.
Zoom Room is a dog training and canine social club with eight locations nationwide and three more coming soon to Denver, Santa Monica and San Diego. When a pooch owner signs up, they’re given an ID card and dog collar tag with barcodes. Zoom Room purchased 3G iPads with barcode scanners to replace check-in desks. It’s such an easy process that dog owners can do it themselves. Now, Zoom Room staff can spend less time on check-in and check-out and more time on answering questions, selling products and chatting with dogs.
In an interview with Mashable, Zoom Room COO Mark Van Wye says the benefits of tablet adoption go beyond easier scheduling and point of-sales. “All of our nationwide locations are required to use a 3G-enabled iPad model. In the case of an Internet outage — or even a power outage — we can still run every single aspect of our business from the iPad.” Wye adds, “Thanks to the long battery life, our entire business can run a full day with no hardware and no electricity — just the iPad.”
While Starbucks has partnered with mobile payment service Square to make cash register interactions (reputedly) quick and easy in the United States, most coffee places in Paris still require a minimum for credit cards, if they accept them at all. But at Ten Belles, a small café off Canal St. Martin, card transactions are accepted through Tactill, a French iPad app. “It’s good for us,” Ten Belles barista Chris Nielson told TabAdapt. “It’s easy to work, easy function. I’m not sure it’d be good for a big hotel or anything, but it works for us.”
