kiosks4business

To celebrate the launch of the new Nixi Micro Kiosks, Kiosks4business are offering an iPad as a prize for customers who visit their stand at the Retail Business Technology Expo and view a demo of the kiosk.

During March the 13th and 14th Kiosks4Business will be exhibiting their new micro kiosk the Nixi at the Retail Business Technology Expo, at Earls court. To be in with a chance of winning an iPad all you need to do is to come along to the show and visit Kiosks4Business at stand 499 and watch the demonstration of the Nixi and hand us your business card. The lucky winner’s business card will be drawn at random at the on March 23rd.

So why is Kiosks4Business so excited about the Nixi Kiosk?
Nixi is the newest kiosk design for Kiosks4Business and was designed in response to the rising demands for small footprint micro kiosks. Nixi micro kiosks are small-screen but full featured touchscreen kiosks ideal for retail. The kiosks use the latest high reliability rugged computing platforms and can include many options such as RFID, Bar code scanner and much more. Nixi is available as a desk or wall mounted design and transaction versions include thermal printer for wall mount style. Nixi screen sizes start at just 10in with standard sizes of 12in and 15in screens.

We know that Nixi is going to be a big hit because it’s small and beautifully designed and has a quality finish, but not only does it look really good but it is so versatile. Nixi is designed for continuous use or can automatically switch on and off each day to save power. Connectivity options include wired and wireless options. Its compact size means that it will fit almost anywhere, which is why it is perfect for the retail sector.

So whilst you’re visiting the Retail Business Technology Expo, remember to visit Kiosk4Business and ask us about our Nixi kiosk and the iPad prize draw.

Touchscreens have revolutionized how we interface with computers, offering a simple and elegant way to navigate the web and control applications. Touchscreens are gaining much popularity with their simplicity, without a mouse or a keyboard; you can access information with just a tap of your fingers.

Touchscreen systems are ideal to be used in public touchscreen kiosks because they can be used as assistive devices by users who lack skills to use classic computer skills. With touchscreens, use of devices becomes more natural, intuitive, and user-friendly. It is due to their user-friendly nature that touchscreens have subsequently become familiar in everyday life and favoured by councils, the NHS, retail supermarkets and the police to distribute information and to perform simple services.

Over the past decade, touchscreens have become more widespread and their popularity shows no sign of wavering. The widespread adoption of capacitive touchscreens has come as a result of their increased precision in everyday circumstances alongside the gradual commercialization of the technology.

Touchscreens have a bad reputation from early attempts with incompetent technology but they are still evolving and slowly getting better. Touchscreen technology has been improved to make touchscreens more accurate. There are a few touchscreen systems that are very responsive and overall quite enjoyable to use.

The dominant touchscreen technologies are resistive touchscreens, capacitive touchscreens, and acoustic touchscreens. Resistive touchscreens contain two layer of conductive material with a very small gap between them which acts as a resistance. When the resistive touchscreen is touched with finger (or stylus) the two layers meet at the point of touch thus making a circuit at the point of touch.

Until recently, the industry largely relied on resistive touchscreens, which require the force of a finger to activate a button on the screen. Yet, many new high-profile smartphones, for example, now employ capacitive touch technology, which is gaining wide adoption. As devices have become richer and more complex, the demands for sophisticated touchscreen technology have only increased.

There are only two things to keep in mind when creating something for touchscreens: clickable areas shouldn’t be too small because finger input isn't as accurate. And don't rely on the hover state for actual functionality, when your finger is obstructing the screen, its difficult to see any hover over functionality.

Touchscreens can suffer from the problem of fingerprints on the display. This can be mitigated by the use of materials with optical coatings designed to reduce the visible effects of fingerprint oils, or oleophobic coatings as used, which lessen the actual amount of oil residue, or by reducing skin contact by using a stylus.

The best way to choose a touchscreen system is to read hands on reviews and go out and test one for yourself before you buy any product. Very often Kiosk companies will bring a touchscreen kiosk to you so that they can demonstrate the touchscreen kiosks capabilities. If the touch doesn't respond the way you want it to; if the interface doesn't make sense to you or doesn't operate in a way that seems natural to you, perhaps there is a touchscreen system out there better suited to your requirements.

Touchscreen monitors have become more and more commonplace as their price has steadily dropped over the past decade. A touchscreen is just so much easier to use than buttons and switches are, and it’s also a lot more fun to use. That's one of the reasons the touchscreen kiosk is so popular.

A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus. Touchscreens are common in devices such as all-in-one computers, tablet computers, and smartphones and touchscreens are also used in kiosks.

Using the touchscreen kiosk is a very refreshing experience. The touchscreen really revolutionizes the way you navigate around your device and makes the experience not only faster, but much more fun. Browsing through information is a smooth experience. Touch screen is very responsive, as it is capacitive instead of resistive. Scrolling is very fast and navigation is very easy. The touchscreen lets you have more control over the experience with the swipe gestures.

By supporting multi-touch technology, a touchscreen kiosk opens up a new world of possibilities. Some multi-touch gestures mimic ones you’re already familiar with. A double click, for example, becomes a double tap on the screen. And with more and more people owning personal touchscreens such as the Ipad and the Blackberry Playbook, we are all learning to use and interact with touchscreens without even realizing it.

But the whole point of a touchscreen is that touchscreen kiosks are a device by which we give inputs and take outputs as information without using any other external device; or in laymen’s terms - Instead of using a keyboard, mouse or tracker ball. This is of course advantageous because when you design a machine for the public to use, the fewer moving parts it has, they less damage can be done to it.

Touchscreens are popular in heavy industry and in other situations, such as museum displays or room automation, where keyboard and mouse systems do not allow a satisfactory, intuitive, rapid, or accurate interaction by the user with the display's content.

Someday, the touchscreen interface will replace buttons on all electronic devices. Devices with buttons are limited in their ability to be adapted to specific applications. Devices with touch screens have applications that are able to be programmed to perform in many different configurations.

The touchscreen kiosk is more than just a control panel and preview screen. It’s also a creative tool and business solution that can help your office run more smoothly, to display information more effectively and to increase sales whilst maintaining at high level of customer service.

It does seem like the computer kiosk is taking over all aspects of customer service as more and more kiosks find their way into our everyday lives. Retail kiosks, check-in kiosks, order entry kiosks, bill payment kiosks, financial kiosks, HR kiosks, photo kiosks, gaming kiosks and many more. Each of these kiosks are characterized by a process automation routine, that saves cost due to elimination of overhead staff, enhanced revenue due to better customer satisfaction and various cross sale opportunities. Kiosk solutions have proven themselves to be successful across businesses of all shapes and sizes.

An electronic kiosk (or computer kiosk or interactive kiosk) houses a computer terminal that often employs custom kiosk software designed to function flawlessly while preventing users from accessing system functions.

With a kiosk, you can create an efficient kiosk terminal capable of handling multiple functions. Most kiosks tend to be multi-fictional kiosks, and why not? If a kiosk can provide a service, quickly, easily and cheaply – why wouldn’t you have the kiosk performing more than one task?

Retail Kiosk Units accomplish the task of attracting customers in retail locations with a high traffic. Fashionable styling of a kiosk, along with practical features, proves to be an effective crowd puller. Retail kiosks are designed to highlight your merchandise for maximum visibility, offer advice and cross sell. Retail kiosk can also complete sales if they are installed with a transaction facility.

Kiosk software is developing fast and a hotel can now double up the effectiveness of their lobby by utilising roaming mobile technology as part of their overal guest satisfaction strategy. Kiosk check-in software can be replicated on an Apple iPad, Apple iPhone, Smartphone or other forms of mobile technology. The same screens can also supply guests with important and up to date information. This gives great power to your concierge to satisfy a customer's needs in an efficient and timely manner.

Every kiosk can be customized in its appearance. It can integrate fully with an existing site or stand alone as an intranet or public access kiosk. When customizing a kiosk, you might want to think about the colour of the metalwork of the kiosk, the branding and your logo on the kiosk, as well as the on-screen colouring and branding.

'Kiosks' can refer to self-service computing terminals as well as free-standing pavilions in retail environments. This dual meaning is not really that surprising, given that both definitions describe a self-contained system for accessing information and completing transactions.

Computerized kiosks are becoming ubiquitous in the everyday landscape. Because every business now relies so heavily on computers, all-in-one systems, which enable businesses to communicate with customers, partners and employees, kiosks have a presence in every industry. Kiosks can be used in any setting, and are especially well suited for installation in public areas such as lobbies, retail stores, warehouses, entertainment venues, trade shows, museums and colleges.

Today's kiosk brings together high-tech communications and complex robotic and mechanical internals. Such interactive kiosks can include self-checkout lanes, e-ticketing, information, virtual reception and wayfinding, and surveys.

Some kiosks even serve multiple purposes, e.g. a product catalogue for customers and a job application centre for potential employees. If a Kiosk is multifunctional it can take on more chores and free up other workers for more complicated tasks.

Multifunctional kiosks are reducing costs whilst delivering patients a better service. For example at a Hospital kiosk a patient can check in for an appointment, schedule their next appointment or find a directory to help navigate them through the medical centre. Obviously, these will reduce costs for administrative and overhead, cut back on wait times and offer a further way to store data.

In the case of retail kiosks, retail applications and benefits include being able to list a wider range of products without having to add shelf space. Kiosks let customers find information on products and make comparisons. They can provide gift registries and credit applications as well as speed up customer service and help sales associates close a sale.

Interactive kiosks used for sales presentations are a fun and exciting way to engage prospects while delivering a wealth of information to their fingertips in an easy to use multimedia touch display. You can now captivate and inspire prospect and buyer imagination while creating a home buying experience unequalled in your market.

Kiosks need not be stationary devices; they can be designed to be mobile kiosks. Mobile kiosks are particularly helpful in a Hospital environment, where the machine is required to move from one user to another.

Kiosks provide the same rich, personalized experience to customers at a fraction of the cost, no wonder why kiosks are becoming more and more commonplace in today’s society.

 Touchscreens are everywhere we look these days, but they've actually been around for a lot longer than you might think. Touchscreens first gained some visibility with the invention of the computer-assisted learning terminal, which came out in 1975 as part of the PLATO project. Touchscreens have subsequently become familiar in everyday life. Companies use touchscreens for kiosk systems in retail and tourist settings, point of sale systems, ATM s, and PDAs.

Touchscreen are idea to be used on kiosks because you can secure all other system hardware in the main body of the kiosk which is protected, and only the touscreen is visible, which doesn’t have any moving parts and is less lightly to get damaged or vandalised by public use, than say a keyboard.

Touchscreens provide fast access to any and all types of digital media, with no text-bound interface getting in the way. It takes time for the user to grab a mouse or use a keyboard or trackball and coordinate it with what needs to be activated on the display. It come naturally to people to point to what they want, we learn this as babies, so people usually instinctively know how to use a touchscreen.

Users feel that onscreen buttons press and release similar to mechanical buttons. In addition, tactile effects can be synchronized with sound and graphical images, creating a more engaging and multisensory experience.

All this leads to swifter and smoother usage by users of the touchscreen. Faster input can mean better customer service in restaurants, hotels, movie theatres, and retail stores, which results in increased customer loyalty.

Touchscreens are monitors that usually have a textured coating across the glass face. This coating is sensitive to pressure and registers the location of the user's finger when it touches the screen. The touchscreen has four wires (one from each corner) that connect to the mouse port on the PC. By touching the glass front, some of the natural electric charge that you hold is passed to the four wires. The driver software then works out (from the different charges on the different wires) where you touched the screen and tells the computer that you have "left clicked" there.

Other touchscreens use invisible beams of infrared light that criss-cross the front of the monitor to calculate where a finger was pressed. Pressing twice on the screen in quick succession simulates the double-click action of a mouse.

Touchscreen Kiosks are now ubiquitous, showing up in banks, casinos, restaurants, hotels, airports, hospitals, you name it. Once considered expensive and finicky, Touchscreen technology has matured, and become more reliable, more flexible, making touchscreens the idea solution for use in kiosks.

The technology of touch screens has been available since the 1970s. However, it is only in these last few years that this technology has gained such wide popularity. LCD touch screen is a LCD panel that comprises images, texts and moving pictures with sensors, a touchscreen kiosk uses a touch screen to enable users to navigate that way around the information contained on the kiosk.

Interactive Kiosk is a typical touch-screen integrated with computer and customized software that is securely enclosed and displayed in public places, hence enabling consumers to electronically access to information, products and services instantly. Kiosk is unique from a standard PC as it is created for a specific user and specific purpose and is owned, controlled and operated by the deployer.

Interactive touchscreen kiosk solutions are typically designed to educate or generate revenue with little or no interaction with a customer service representative. Therefore how effective your interactive kiosk is would be directly related to how self sufficient it can be.

To maximise a kiosks self sufficiency, kiosks can be supplied with telephone handsets for VOIP telephony and most have options for rugged keyboards, card readers, RFID, Webcam, Scanners and other peripherals. Thermal ticket printing can be included in most designs. Furthermore, kiosks can be connected to the Internet, or left offline depending on what suits the functionality of the kiosk.

Kiosks should be 'eye-catching', non-corporate, sited in very busy places, and fun to use. People should be curious as to what it does.

Interactive kiosks getting interesting, and interactive kiosks are at the sharp edge of the new dynamic marketing revolution. In retail, touchscreen kiosk devices provide the added benefit of interacting with the shopper to strengthen your brand awareness or to promote your product range.

In the leisure industry, customers are able to check-in to hotels via a touchscreen kiosk. It enables them to select their type of room, choose the number of room keys they need and to print hotel maps and instructions.

Touchscreen Kiosk can obtain a customer satisfaction questionnaire or customer satisfaction survey. Survey Kiosks can gather feed back from passers-by. On-screen surveys are easy to use and gather survey information quickly which can be viewed in real time from a PC elsewhere.

Many hospitals today utilize interactive kiosks to allow visitors to find doctor's offices departments and patient rooms. This use of the kiosk alleviates some of the mundane tasks of the hospital staff and allows them to focus on the more important ones. Healthcare facilities can also use the interactive display for all their building needs, such as a building directory, wayfinding, a calendar of events, awards and donor recognition.

Kiosks aimed at children in museums are particularly useful when you have a large exhibit topic to cover ‘The Evolution of Man’ for example. The kiosk can have buttons on the screen, which link to information, images and videos of man at each evolutionary stage.

Interactive Touchscreen Kiosks and Kiosk Software News and Information

The Eidos Free-standing DDA Information kiosk was among the very first information kiosks in the world to utilise an LCD display. A tried and tested robust kiosk design, the Eidos free-standing kiosk can be found in some of the most prestigious locations around the UK including The Science Museum in London, The National Museum of Scotland, Price Waterhouse Cooper, RAF Cosford Museum, shopping centres and many others.

Eidos Free Standing Kiosk
The outstanding design of the Eidos kiosk allows for easy use by children, adults and wheelchair users alike, complying with DDA wheelchair accessibility exceptionally well.

Free Standing Kiosk: Design
The already eye-catching design can be enhanced further with the addition of an LED Illuminated head unit. A truely stylish enhancement. The free standing Eidos kiosk also has speakers fitted if you need sound.

The small footprint helps the Eidos kiosk fit in with any surroundings rather than dominating them.

Free Standing Kiosk - Security
The Eidos kiosk can be bolted to the floor for security. This can be done by our own installation engineers as part of your installation package. The free standing kiosk also features a lockable door behind which the computer board and other components are installed.

Free Standing Kiosk Specifications
15", 17" or 19" standard and widescreen LCD TFT display
5 wire resistive touchscreen - other technologies available
Integrated stereo speakers
Internal Silent Fanless Intel ATOM PC or
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor available
80GB HDD
Robust Rolled steel powder coated construction
Range of optional kiosk peripherals
Free Standing Eidos Kiosk Options

IP65 rugged keyboard and trackerball
LED Illuminated head
Induction hearing loop
Card reader
motion detection
Many more, please call for more details

Free Standing Kiosks - Tell me more..
If you would like more information about the Eidos Free Standing DDA Kiosk then please call us today on 0845 451 2020.

Interactive Touchscreen Kiosks and Kiosk Software News and Information

Touchscreen technology has reached mass market with the introduction of touchscreens on mobile phones, ticketing machines and self-check outs at supermarkets. Customers have accepted this technology as an efficient and easy to use system for purchases and interacting with other services.

Touchscreen kiosk terminals are becoming more widely used in the NHS and can be seen in Hospitals, Doctors Surgeries and other settings for patients to make initial interaction with the service. The touchscreens are used for many applications including way finding, virtual reception, e-triage, provision of health information, check-in and patient feedback surveys.

Historically, patient feedback has been done as a paper based process where a survey is created, printed and then users are asked to fill-out the survey while interacting with the service provider. The survey data, often only partially completed, is then entered manually on a computer such that a report can be produced. This process is time consuming and costly to the trust or other organisation seeking to gain patient feedback. Touchscreen surveys have many advantages of the paper based approach with the main ones being: Lower overall cost of producing, managing, analysing and creating reports from the data; Faster time to produce, publish and get survey responses (almost in real-time) such that new surveys can be tried weekly.

The surveys can also be targeted to specific areas within the hospital or to specific service users e.g. the elderly, carers, staff or young people.
The survey touchscreens are available in numerous physical formats with desk-mounted, free-standing, wall-mounted and portable ‘tablet’ style of product. Desk mount survey touchscreens can be installed on reception desks and in waiting rooms. Small wall mounted touchscreen survey terminals can be fitted on walls in wards, waiting rooms and other areas.

Touchscreens may also be manufactured with branding so that patients can see that the terminal is for them to use rather than being an item relating to the IT structure of the hospital. Portable touchscreens are a great way to work on a one-to-one basis with patients while they are in a waiting room or other environment. The portable touchscreens are small devices which have a charging station when not in use. Staff can quickly pick up a Surveypoint portable device and run through some questions with patients.

When not being used for a survey the touchscreen survey terminals can enter a digital signage mode where it will display useful video and other images e.g. showing how to clean your hands. The messages can be updated as required and each touchscreen can show the same or different content. Usage reports are available from each individual touchscreen survey point so you can see how they are being used and the relative use between touchscreens located at each area.

The patient surveys can be designed with skip-logic which means that patients only have to see and answer questions relevant to them. Patients can also enter their contact details at the end of the survey so that the organisation can email updates and keep them informed of how processes have changed as a result of their feedback.

Survey touchscreens are an investment as once installed to run patient surveys, they can in the future, be used for numerous other applications.

Interactive Touchscreen Kiosks and Kiosk Software News and Information

In the ever changing world of technology there has never been a better time for the adoption of touchscreen devices for interfacing to Police services. Young people and old alike have become accustomed to using touchscreen based interfaces when interacting with council services, buying tickets and using self-service checkouts at supermarkets. In each case, a touch screen solution has been created as a means of reducing costs, increasing the range of services offered or making a service available 24/7 or to specific groups of people.

Touchscreens are a simple technology which is positioned over the front of a display. Users are familiar with using PDA and mobile phones with touchscreen interfaces and a touchscreen monitor or touchscreen kiosk works in a similar way. Within the field of touchscreens there exist different technology options, the two main ones being resistive and capacitive touchscreens. Capacitive toushcreens enable more visible light to get through the touchscreen element but rely on a user physically touching the screen with their body - a gloved hand does not work with a capacitive touchscreen. Resistive touchscreens will work being touched by finger, nails or any other pointing object. Alternatively projected capacitance can be used where it is necessary to provide a protective vandal resistant glass screen between the display and the user.

How can the Police service benefit from touch screen kiosks?
In the busy reception area and waiting room of modern police stations often there is a limitation on space combined with an influx of people requiring support, advice and assistance. Touchscreen interfaces can be implemented in many areas of the police station to help with processing of the public and other users.

Police Station Virtual Reception Kiosks
Police staff may sometimes have to spend time answering trivial and commonly asked questions. These tasks can be a distraction from more important work and service users which require more detailed attention. The virtual reception kiosk is installed in the reception area of the police station and provides access to a wide range of website based information to support, and advice service users on various issues. A telephone handset can be included (ruggedized) to enable users to make free phone calls to supporting organisations, solicitors and other help. The kiosk would be branded to fit with each location and include pictures of the local community so that it is seen as a community support kiosk. Options including the ability to report a crime using the kiosk, or download useful factsheets can all be including. Additionally, kiosks can be used to help show people directions.

In-Community Police Touch Screen Kiosks
Police point-of-presence touchscreen kiosks can be installed at shopping centres, supermarkets, hospital A&E departments and many other locations with high footfall. Just like the Police virtual reception kiosks they can be used for a growing number of applications including: crime reporting, advertising vacancies and important local messages, providing access to police websites, video and other content. By adding a rugged telephone handset users can also speak to victim support and other agencies.

Police Survey Kiosks
Touchscreen-based surveys can also be implemented to get feedback from service users. This can be done on touch screen kiosks located in the reception area but also in other areas of the station including custody areas.

Interactive Digital Signs
Similar technically to the touch screen kiosks but with larger screens, an interactive digital sign is another platform that the Police service can employ to provide an interactive service to users. Screens sizes from 22in to 50in or more can be implemented running individual or synchronised messages. Smaller touchscreen monitors (from 7in to 19in) can also be used for on-desk signage ro where space is tight. The digital signs can also be linked to RSS/Twitter feeds to provide simple messaging feature for users.

Rugged Design for a Tough Environment
Standard off-the-shelf Personal Computers (PCs) are great for home and office use but when it comes to needing something rugged and built to last it is important to use more industrial designs. Industrial computing boards are designed for long life operation (over 5 years) with continuous availability and stability of design. This ensures maximum uptime for the touch screen system and the ability to easily swap out replacements for many years. The touchscreen kiosks can be supplied with vandal resistant keyboards with steel keys and trackball, these are also resistant to water and other fluids and can be wiped clean (ideal for healthcare and police). Screens can be protected by vandal resistant glass.