It’s always interesting to see something new that just a few years ago would have been considered futuristic. The Motorola Sparrow concept for a mobile point of sale device may be the latest trip to the future. The vision, created by design consultancy Aruliden, is retail stores where the cash register will be on a string around your salesperson’s neck.
Mobile POS systems are not entirely new. Apple stores use a mobile system and the UPS drivers’ computer signature pad is another example. What makes the Sparrow unique is all the functionality built into this one sleek, compact gadget. With the Sparrow, your salesperson can pull up your preferences based on past purchases, check inventory, show you product information and check you out all while standing on the sales floor.
For the shopper this means, no more waiting for a salesperson to check the stock room or waiting in long lines. For the retailer this means connecting more with your customers, eliminating the cash wrap and freeing more valuable floor space for product displays.
Designed by Aruliden, the Motorola Sparrow won a 2008 International Design Excellence Award for Communication Tools and was featured in the Museum of Modern Art’s “Design and the Elastic Mind” exhibition.
