HP Point Of Sale System Ensures Optimal Flexibility For Retailers

HP recently announced its second-generation HP rp5700 Point of Sale (POS) solution, providing retailers with the latest, industry-standard technology for ultimate flexibility, scalability and security. The rp5700's scalability makes it suitable for an extensive range of retailers – from the locally-owned corner store to a national franchise with thousands of disparate locations. The versatile POS solution can also be used from the front of the store to the back office, offering a unique design and extensive features that give customers the flexibility to designate the system as a POS solution for processing customer transactions or as a manager's workstation.

"As a supermarket retailer, HP has offered the innovation and dependability needed to meet the diverse requirements of our business," said Glenn Gibson, vice president and chief information officer, Magruder's Grocery Stores. "As a current rp5000 customer, we are excited about the enhanced features and technology available with the HP rp5700."

The systems' retail-hardened design and five-year lifecycle provide a consistently reliable and high-quality product that can withstand the rigor and wear inflicted in the retail environment. HP's partnerships with Intel and Microsoft ensure that best-in-class technology is integrated throughout the systems. The advanced industry standard technology available on the systems – such as the latest Windows and Intel technology, RAID, SATA drives – provide customers with the latest PC technology that easily integrates with back-office infrastructure.

"The new rp5700 delivers a worry-free solution with the power and retail-hardened design of a POS device, combined with the flexibility and cost-efficiencies of a standardsbased PC," said John Snaider, vice president of Personal Systems Group – Americas, HP. "Having sold more than 300,000 of our award-winning HP rp5000 POS systems since entering the market just three years ago, we have created a second-generation POS solution that is uniquely tailored to meet the complex requirements of retailers of all sizes."

To meet the heavy, transactional demands of the retail environment, the new HP rp5700 has been updated with more flexible features, such as two half-height slots for PCI-E and optional dual monitor capability, two full-height PCI slots, and RAID support for dual SATA hard drives with up to 250GB. The system also supports up to 10 USB ports, with two front and four back USB ports standard, and customers can add up to four powered USB ports. In addition, two serial ports are standard, with the option to add two additional serial ports, and all four can be powered. The rp5700 will also be introduced with an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.13 GHz processor, with additional processor options available in June.

The new system also supports Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows Embedded for Point of Service (WEPOS) and Windows XP Professional and features a network card that is ten times faster than the previous card offered in the HP rp5000. By leveraging its long-term computing expertise, HP gives customers the benefit of the most advanced and relevant technology to optimize their POS systems.

In addition, the HP retail POS solution has a best-in-class five-year lifecycle that minimizes the complexity of roll-outs by allowing multiple phases for extensive long-term installations, while their design and technical features enable customers to standardize on the same hardware and image with all machines.

HP extensive services and software provide always-there expertise HP's value-added services and software address security, manageability, privacy and disaster recovery for customers, while strategic relationships with suppliers and partners translate to ease of set-up, customization and implementation of PCs through rapid deployment assistance.

The HP ProtectTools security suite reduces business risk by protecting and defending against security vulnerabilities through multi-layered protection at all levels - physical, data, application and network. A single interface for managing and deploying software simplifies client management. Additional security provided with user authentication and Single Sign-on Technology (SSO) limits access to authorized users, and local recovery capabilities with RAID-1 configurations and HP Backup and Recovery Manager software protect valuable data in the event of a disaster or outage.

HP Client Management Solutions enable customers to leverage a range of client management capabilities – from proactively tracking hardware and managing BIOS changes to deploying software images and managing security patches. A single infrastructure and integrated console increase IT efficiency by streamlining the set-up and maintenance of inventory, health and security information.

Pricing and availability
The HP rp5700 POS system will be available from local and online resellers or direct from HP beginning April 16 in North America, at a starting price of $999. Additional information on HP's retail POS systems is available at www.hp.com/go/rp5700.

For product information, visit the rp5700 product page.

About HP
HP focuses on simplifying technology experiences for all of its customers – from individual consumers to the largest businesses. With a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure, HP is among the world's largest IT companies, with revenue totaling $94.1 billion for the four fiscal quarters ended Jan. 31, 2007. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.

Source: Hewlett Packard