Not just for the birds: Motorola Sparrow eases the check-out experience

A new mobile point-of-sale device is set to improve the retail experience for both consumers and retailers. The Motorola Sparrow decentralises the check-out point by allowing customers to avoid queues at the check-out counter and pay for a product wherever a Sparrow-equipped sales assistant may be in the store. Stores, in turn, are able to increase their check-out capability without having to build additional counters.

Promising to respond to consumers’ increased service demands, the Motorola Sparrow gives sales assistants the ability to function as both information stations and mobile check-out clerks, as the product combines a mobile point-of-service device, a credit card reader, a scanner, a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader and a mobile phone. New York-based design firm Aruliden Studio has created a handsome product suitable for front-end retail environments: the device is equipped with easy-to-navigate touch-sensitive areas that can store product information, customer history, and check-out and phone capabilities.