PDA Ground: PDA Applications for Windows Mobile & Pocket PC

Handspring Based ID Scanner Bar Code Reader

Its a Handspring Visor PDA running the Palm OS 3.5 with a magnetic card reader. The handspring line of PDA was created by Jeff Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky. Jeff was a founder of Palm.

1992: Jeff Hawkins founds Palm Computing Inc.
1998: Jeff Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky found Handspring Inc.
1999: Company ships Visor and the first Springboard modules.
2001: First third-generation Visor is shipped.
2002: Company ships the first Treo, a combination mobile phone and PDA.
And states they will eventually stop making Visors. So after convincing dozens of developers to make products for the Handspring Springboard expansion slot, they left the market!!

Below is the ID scanner in a bar code reader cradle

Bar Id Scanner

Bar Code ID Scanner

This PDA had all the peripherals wrapped around it.

ID Scanner uses PDA for main computer

Here is an interesting example of an application of a PDA. This company TokenWorks had integrated a Palm Z22 PDA into their ID Scanner – (see www.idscanner.com) I’m guessing they decided it was much more cost effective to use off the shelf computer technology instead of making their own computer processing unit. Before the advent of the PDA, companies used to develop their own computer system, typically an embedded processor or single board system using a processor like 80186 or 8051. With the advent of the Palm PDA, this sort of effort became mute. It appears these ID Scanners are used at bars and night clubs to check IDs and ensure patrons are old enough to purchase alcohol or tobacco. Pretty nifty.