Concerto:Retail POS System with Touch Screen & Keyboard –Curious POS Novelty or Useful Application

Jan. 20, 2012 - PRLog -- Within the POS system industry we continuously encounter novel and unique designs that assist business as well restaurant owners in their point of sale tasks. Such is the case with QUORiON’s POS Concerto, where benefits of several POS technologies coalesce into a single POS system.  The Concerto is a POS hybrid, because it combines both touch screen and classical keyboard.  At first glance this combination appears seemingly redundant and mutually exclusive from one another. Yet, a closer look reveals that both a touch screen and keyboard indeed combine to provide a business owner with unique advantages, especially in the retail industry.

The touch screen has become the standard method of input for many modern POS systems. Touch is one of the simplest, rudimentary human actions. You instinctively reach out for what you want or point at it.  As a result, a computer interface based on touch object selection instantly becomes easy to use and makes every person an instantaneous expert. Touch screen based POS systems therefore virtually eliminate entry errors, because users can select from clearly defined menus.  These menus constitute a finite number of options, thereby providing the user with a step-by-step procedure to guide them to their goal. Moreover, integrated POS system touch screens can endure endless touches, scratches, dirty fingers as well as possible spills. Separate Touch monitors, on the other hand, often fail to deliver the same security.  These attributes are all critical in a POS system’s ability to increase user accuracy, reduce training time and cost, as well as improve business efficiency and loss-prevention.  It is therefore no surprise that touch screen POS systems are so popular in restaurants and bars.  They assist staff to ensure fast order fulfillment, which in turn directly translates into better customer service plus loyalty.  Even though touch screen POS systems cost more than conventional cash registers, their productivity increases more than makes up for their investment.

Although the touch screen offers so many advantages, the traditional keyboard still maintains distinct benefits.  POS keyboards withstand every day retail abuse, because they are constructed of durable, spill resistant materials, as opposed to the standard PC keyboard. They include programmable keys that allow instant access to articles, multiple keyboard levels as well as one-key functions such as totalizers, produce, discounts, and payment media.  You can basically program any key combination and macro you need in order to activate special POS software functions.  Much like the PC desktop short cuts, these keys save time over the folder or object based menus.  Consequently, retail and grocery stores tend to prefer keyboards.

So where does the Concerto fit into the POS system world?  Many POS manufacturers offer both technologies in some of their PC based models, but usually with bulky external components such as a monitor plus external keyboard and CPU box.  QUORiON’s POS Concerto, however, successfully combines both the touch screen and POS keyboard into one seamless design, while maintaining all the benefits mentioned previously.  In addition, it does not suffer from the common PC problems such as noisy fans, driver problems, and malware, because it is a closed, embedded POS system.  The design wastes no valuable space nor does it expose cables to damage, tangles, and dust.
 
The touch screen and keyboard combination makes the POS Concerto pre destined as a retail POS system. Though, restaurants with huge menu cards or bars with large selections of cocktails would profit from direct PLU/article call ups also. The integrated flat keyboard increases PLU call up speed for experienced users or frequently sold items. Trainees should in turn benefit from the easy touch navigation, which leads them through the order process by displaying available options.  Once a user calls up an article directly, additional touch screen options allow for sizing, color, and other attributes.  The hard keys, on the other hand, let users quickly process and enter large amounts of information such as customer addresses.  Moreover, multiple keyboard levels, an interactive on screen window-system, and quick tender keys all support retail usability.  The QMP POS software that runs on the POS Concerto, supplies a number of macros and special functions that users can call up with key combinations such as multi-buy tables and cross selling.

Though perhaps not immediately apparent, QUORiON’s POS Concerto is certainly not a curious POS novelty, but does indeed supply value as a retail POS system or in hybrid point of sale applications such as coffee shops.  It’s strength lies in its seamless combination of tested POS technologies - the touch screen and POS keyboard. The Concerto successfully maintains the inherent value of both without compromise in functionality.

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QUORiON is a German POS system manufacturer. The company offers everything from small, portable cash registers to advanced PC POS systems with touch screens. In addition, the company develops its own POS software.