Wasp Barcode Technologies: The Barcode Solution People

Symbol Barcode Scanner, Batter Up!

OK, I know what you’re thinking. You’ve seen these videos before. Someone drops a mobile computer off of a building or runs over it with a car and the device not only looks fine, but is fully functional as well. While effective, and probably a little closer to reality than hitting it with a bat, it is not nearly as much fun! Besides, almost every enterprise mobile computer on the market claims to have similar durability. Knowing that our customers prefer the Motorola MC9090, where conditions warrant ruggedness and durability, Paul Bowman (System ID Sales Director) and I were out to see just how rugged this thing was and what we could do to break the device. I started out with a warm up swing, to let the viewers know the bat was in fact real, at a Symbol LS2208 hand held barcode scanner. Wack, it didn’t stand a chance! I shattered it on the first swing; however I was a semi-amateur baseball player back in the day, and still have an amazing swing. Next up, it was time for the main event, the Motorola MC9090. Again, my goal was to break this thing. I took a medium cut at the first pitch and sure enough, it still worked! Wow, this thing is tough!

Finally, I wanted to put some extra power into the next swing. Paul pitched it again and I put everything into it. This time, the device still powered on but I must have hit it square on the scan engine as the scanner would not engage. I can’t help but think with an imager instead of a laser scan engine it probably still would have worked. The funny thing is, I swung so hard and the device is so rugged that it broke the bat in half! Yes, that’s right…in half. Check out the video here.

Needless to say, the MC9090 passed our requirements for durability and we are even more confident today suggesting Motorola mobility devices to customers needing rugged mobile computers. Plus, this got Paul and I (PB&J) thinking of other durability tests we can try. If you like this video, keep checking back. We are always up for suggestions as well. Next up, Mobile Printer discus throws. Go Rangers!