Product Review: Axicon Android Verifier
The name is a bit of a misnomer. This is not a verifier per se, it is a portable display for an Axicon 1D verifier. But it is a brilliant option. Its functionality will impress, and you will love the price.
The Axicon “classic” range verifiers, blue color, are USB tethered devices. They have no on-board batteries, which solves the chronic problem of batteries leaking or exploding and destroying an expensive verifier. The USB cable provides power and communications to the host PC. Clever.
Better than the PV1000
For portable operation, the optional PV 1000 has been a long-standing solution. It is a handheld computer from an era before handheld computers, so it is expensive. It is also limited. Although it can display an entire verification report, you do a lot of scanning on its two-line LCD display. Awkward.
Then, along came Google and their Android O/S; it has virtually taken over the world of mobile computing. Even Microsoft has departed from mobile computing. Amazing. Today we all walk around with powerful, hand-held computers in our hands, or pockets or purses. Why not use the considerable computing power of a smartphone to host a barcode verifier? That is exactly what Axicon has done, and it is a marvel or capability and convenience.
Unlike the venerable PV1000, the Android verifier is a full screen, color-coded report. It closely resembles the report on a PC display. Everything you need to know about the barcode is there; you can diagnose a problem with one glance. Like the PC-based software, the Android verifier can be set to do multiple scan averaging. You can save or email scans, and you can transfer them seamlessly to a PC. You can print directly from your smartphone to your WIFI-network printer. Convenient.
Makes all Axicon 1D verifiers portable
The S-range verifiers, the green high-speed cousins of the classic range, were incompatible with the PV1000. They work perfectly with the Android verifier. It cannot support the continuous scanning functionality, but for spot-checking it is a winner.
There is one limitation. The Android verifier is only for 1D verifiers. A smartphone is a powerful little computer but not powerful enough for the Axicon 15XXX range of camera-based verifiers. They require more processing capability and more battery capacity—but they work very well with a Microsoft Surface tablet.
The amazing price (drum-roll….)
Here is the big reveal. The price. Axicon’s Android verifier software is….wait for it.…free. Yes free. I use my smartphone but if you want a larger platform, Android tablets are readily available for around $100. You will also need a convertor plug or cable to connect the male USB A from the verifier to the mini-USB or USB C on your Android device. Your total outlay will not exceed $110. Impressive compared to the $1000+ price of a PV1000.
If you are planning to attend Pack Expo in Las Vegas, come over to N-114 and see the Android verifier at the Axicon exhibit.
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John helps companies resolve current barcode problems and avoid future barcode problems to stabilize and secure their supply chain and strengthen their trading partner relationships.
