According to the company, the new Socket SoMo 650 is built to address the market that exists between consumer-oriented PDAs and heavy duty industrial devices. The sleek, durable device uses a touch screen and is based on the Windows Mobile 5.0 operating system to ensure the highest level of mobile application compatibility and gives workers a familiar computing environment. The SoMo 650 handheld computer's flexible design enables ease of customization and integration with Socket and third party peripherals and information systems -- extending the lifecycle of the product and reducing total cost of ownership. The company will launch a new extended, multi-year service warranty on the device as well as on many of its higher-end peripheral products.
"Mobile computing systems available today do not meet the mobility needs of small- to medium-sized companies or many business units within larger enterprises," said Kevin Mills, president and chief executive officer of Socket Mobile. "Currently companies need to choose between devices that are often too costly and over featured or inexpensive and under featured, which results in mobility solutions being overly difficult to justify and deploy. The SoMo 650 is designed to change all of that, since it's designed and developed for the currently underserved business mobility market."
Socket Mobile plans to leverage more than 100 value added reseller partners to target current and prospective customers seeking cost effective mobile computing solutions to deliver applications for inventory control, sales force automation, patient tracking, asset management and merchandising. The company's primary focus will be on the healthcare, automotive, life sciences and retail markets in which workers have a need for efficient data collection, real-time information management and applications in the field.
"The business mobility market represents approximately 10.9 million organizations and 69 million mobile workers. However, with penetration of mobility solutions at only 25 percent, most organizations still rely on manual, paper-based systems that contribute to greater error frequency and highly inefficient processes," said David Krebs, director of the mobile & wireless practice, Venture Development Corporation.
