For Las Vegas this week -- The Enterprise Mobility business of Motorola, announced the new Motorola XR450, an industrial-class fixed radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader featuring both bi- and mono-static antenna ports on one platform to protect RFID investments and decrease deployment complexities. This new two-in-one solution provides an ideal high-performance RFID reader for both item-level tracking and more demanding supply chain applications.

The XR450 is Motorola’s latest version of its best-selling XR family of RFID fixed reader products and includes new management software and enhanced security features like SSH and SSL support to protect information as it moves across external network interfaces. Additionally, custom applications can be built and hosted on the device, offering the flexibility customers need to accurately read RFID tags in varying environments. The XR family of fixed RFID readers currently supports deployments around the world, including in many countries throughout the European Union, North and South America and Asia. With the release of the XR450, Motorola now adds certification and country support for both China and South Korea.

"From the retail store to airline baggage carousels and within closed-loop warehouse environments, Motorola’s versatile XR450 fixed RFID reader is an ideal platform to gain inventory visibility and recognize business process efficiencies across the entire supply chain,” said Joe White, vice president of business development and marketing for RFID, Motorola Enterprise Mobility business. “This advanced platform showcases Motorola’s long-standing heritage in the radio industry and its commitment to serving customers with the latest technological advancements to help them extend business intelligence to the edge of their enterprise.” 

The uniquely designed XR450 RFID reader offers customers the ability to select between using four bi-static ports that require dual antennas or four mono-static ports that require only one antenna for transmitting or receiving tag data. Mono-static ports are ideal for real-time item-level tracking, application processing and management, such as in postal tracking or reading pallets of goods at retail stores. Businesses can use the bi-static ports for the highest possible performance in the most challenging RF environments. The inclusion of both mono- and bi-static ports in a single platform allows customers to purchase one reader with the opportunity to utilize either port option - providing greater flexibility to adapt the reader to the intended application and environmental needs.

“The introduction of the XR450 adds depth to the Motorola RFID product suite which is already the most diverse in the industry,” said Michael Lowry, president of Lowry Computer Products. “With a mono-static RFID reader option, the total cost of ownership for enterprise RFID applications for our customers has drastically decreased, opening the market to a new class of end-users.”

The XR450 RFID reader is certified to run on both Microsoft Biz Talk Server 2006 R2 and IBM Premises Websphere 6.0 and 6.1. It also supports Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 2.0 for hosting customer applications directly on the reader.

“By using Biz Talk Server in conjunction with the Motorola XR450 fixed RFID reader, it will be easier than ever for customers to connect real-time business processes that include RFID data,” said Steve Sloan, lead product manager, Microsoft Corp. “Together, these products will play a key role in enabling the continued growth and broad adoption of RFID solutions.”

The new Motorola XR450 fixed RFID reader is expected to ship beginning in July 2008.