Motorola Expands Global RFID Footprint

RFID reader performance enhancements and increased global reach validate Motorola’s top ratings in recent independent research

HOLTSVILLE, N.Y. – The Enterprise Mobility business from Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today introduced several new RFID product enhancements and an increase in geographic availability that meets the business needs of customers around the world. Motorola’s collaboration with its global network of partners has helped the company solidify its worldwide market leadership among a wide variety of organizations that cut across multiple industries.

Motorola is at the forefront of advancing RFID implementations beyond the pilot phase, in such areas as item-level inventory tracking in the retail industry, baggage tracking and MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) in aviation, IT asset management in the financial sector and high value asset management in energy. Recent customer implementations across the globe include: YCH Logistics and Yayasan Sabah Group in Asia; Lufthansa Technik in Europe; Anglo American Chile, Liverpool, and Volkswagen Mexico in Latin America; Qatar Post in the Middle East; and American Apparel, CostPlus World Market, and Daimler Trucks LLC in the United States.

According to ABI Research, Motorola leads the industry in year on year performance and growth, demonstrating strong shipments, solid product innovation, and persistent market presence[1]. Motorola received the top ranking in ABI Research’s recent UHF Passive RFID Vendor Matrix with exceptionally high scores for both its product innovation and rate of implementation. Motorola RFID readers also received top ranking in the recent Retail Information System (RIS) News’ Hardware Vendor Scoreboard[2].

“These industry accolades showcase, to both our customers and the larger market, Motorola’s commitment to driving the advancement of RFID technology and the integration of RFID into real world business solutions,” said Joe White, vice president of business development and marketing for RFID, for Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility business. “Motorola recognizes that RFID solutions play an integral role in helping customers gain visibility into their business operations, while also furthering their efforts to streamline and automate processes. We will continue Motorola’s strong tradition of innovation across our RFID portfolio, driving application-specific enhancements to help our customers’ achieve their business goals.”

“Few companies offer the mix of innovative products, deployment experience, and global support needed to successfully deliver on the promise of RFID,” said Michael Scheferhoff, RFID program manager at Lufthansa Technik. “Motorola’s equipment and support have been outstanding and they continue to be a strong and valued partner as we progress our rollout.”

Motorola Strengthens Global RFID Portfolio
Designed with global business needs in mind, Motorola today announced a broadening of its portfolio of solutions to meet the latest regional industry standards, including a new handheld RFID reader for the European market, the certification of its mobile RFID reader in six new countries in Asia, and a global firmware upgrade to increase the flexibility and performance capability of its XR series fixed reader.

Motorola MC9090-G RFID Handheld Reader Meets Newest European Industry Specifications
Rugged, lightweight and ergonomically well-balanced, the new European R1 version of Motorola’s high-performance RFID handheld reader is compliant with current ETSI 302 208 standards required for operation in countries in the European Union. The new R1 version offers integrated RFID reading/writing and barcode scanning and is able to seamlessly switch to multiple channels and transmit 100 percent of the time. The long read ranges produced by the linear antennae make the reader ideal for a variety of retail, manufacturing, transportation and logistics applications including shipping and receiving, work-in-process, item-level in-store inventory management and asset, baggage and cargo tracking.

“There is a strong need for an ergonomic ETSI 302 208-compliant RFID handheld reader in Europe,” said Joseph Owusu, partner and co-founder of Mieloo & Alexander, a leading RFID solutions provider based in the Netherlands. “With a design that maximizes comfort and convenience, coupled with the elimination of previous Duty Cycle and LBT (Listen Before Talk) restrictions, the latest Motorola MC9090-G RFID handheld reader will fit seamlessly into everyday business processes across a variety of industries, ensuring continuous employee productivity.”

The new European version of the MC9090-G RFID handheld reader is expected to be available in mid-September and will be priced at $4,995. It is available with Motorola’s Service from the Start with Comprehensive Coverage.

Motorola XR Fixed Reader Simplifies Large-Scale Reader Deployments
Motorola has also announced a global firmware upgrade that will offer an LLRP (low level reader protocol) interface for increased flexibility to its XR family of fixed RFID readers. By integrating LLRP, Motorola’s XR family of products can “plug and play” into any pre-existing RFID system, allowing for a simpler implementation, improved performance and easier modifications and enhancements to systems already developed. In addition, the reader will also now be compliant with the latest ETSI 302 208 standard, eliminating duty cycle restrictions and increasing frequency agility for users in the European Union. The upgrade will provide extended read/write Gen-2 memory support (with 512 bit max packet size), enabling XR readers to more efficiently process large amount of tag information.

The firmware upgrade will be applicable to XR440, XR450 and XR480 fixed readers and is expected to be widely available in October via a free download on the Motorola website.

Motorola RD5000 Mobile RFID Reader Receives Country Certifications in Asia
Motorola is also announcing that the innovative RD5000 mobile RFID reader is newly certified for use in Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and will be certified for China and Taiwan by the end of this year. This compact, rugged reader with integrated antenna was originally designed for use on forklifts and other vehicles, but can be installed almost anywhere a cabled fixed reader would not be practical. The RD5000 provides proximity and motion sensors to extend battery life, as well as wireless LAN connectivity so assets can easily be tracked using granular real-time information.

Motorola’s RD5000 mobile RFID reader is priced at $4,995 and is available with Motorola’s Service from the Start with Comprehensive Coverage.