Zebra Technologies Brings Mobile Printing Applications To Smart Phones

Zebra Technologies Corporation, a global leader in specialty printing and automatic identification solutions, announces the release of its ZebraLink Multiplatform Software Development Kit (SDK) and Smart Phone utility. Particularly important for the mobile workforce, this Smart Phone printing capability will allow end users to experience printing from BlackBerry smartphones directly to Zebra printers for on-demand printing of field service records, tracking tags, point-of-sale receipts, healthcare specimen labels and more.

The new Smart Phone print capability eliminates the need for bulky and more expensive hand-held terminals and addresses the growing trend of workforce mobility. According to a research article from AMR, "CIOs consistently rate mobility as one of the most important technologies in the industry." Zebra's Smart Phone capability enters the market at an important juncture where any investment in mobile applications must have rapid, visible ROI. With an increased demand for field workers to be connected and responsive, mobile devices have become critical to corporate competitiveness.

"There has been a gradual but noticeable shift to broader adoption of Smart Phones in mobility applications in order to lower acquisition costs and streamline processes," said Victor Salmons, Applications Technologies Director, Zebra Technologies. "This will have a significant impact on mobile workers in applications such as field sales, field service, route accounting and others as workers will be able to function with smart phones from virtually anywhere."

Reducing cost and improving efficiency and worker productivity will be key drivers to the adoption of mobile printing applications. According to a 2009 report from ABI Research, the total cost of ownership of a Smart Phone based mobile field force solution is up to 85 percent less expensive than alternative rugged device solutions. These cost savings illustrate that BlackBerry smartphones and other Smart Phone options provide the best cost for improved access to real-time data.

The ZebraLink Multiplatform SDK enables developers to provide support across more than 15 of Zebra's current printer lines expanding the breadth and depth of its offerings within the mobile workforce market. Available through a simple download from www.zebra.com/SDK, software developers can access Zebra's software libraries and source code examples for use in their development environments. Zebra's Smart Phone Utility is also available from the same site.

The ZebraLink Smart Phone SDK is available for use in creating applications on a variety for Blackberry devices on the following Zebra printers:

• MZ220, 320
• QL 220 Plus, 320 Plus, 420 Plus
• RW 220, RW 420
• G-Series
• LT/TLP 2844 Plus
• HC100
• 105SL
• S4M
• ZM-series
• XiIII Plus and Xi4
• PAX4 Series
• RXi, R110PAX4, RZ400/RZ600

About Zebra Technologies
Zebra Technologies Corporation improves customers' business performance through products and solutions that identify, track and manage assets, transactions and people. In more than 100 countries around the world, more than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies use innovative and reliable Zebra printers, supplies, RFID products and software to increase productivity, improve quality, lower costs, and deliver better customer service. For more information, visit: www.zebra.com.

SOURCE: Zebra Technologies Corporation