Which Tablet POS System Is The Best?
By The Business Solutions Network
As I hope you know by now, we added product reviews to our editorial lineup this year. So far, the feedback has been amazing. (Check out the all-in-one POS review if you missed it)
Late last year we came up with a schedule of products to review in 2013. Since then, we've learned a lot about how to make our reviews more valuable to you, and also which products we originally chose that might not yield the best reviews. At the same time, with the continuing evolution of technology, there are products we'd like to review that weren't on our original schedule.
For that reason, we're planning a late addition to this year's testing -- tablet-based POS systems. The problem I face today is not knowing all the players in the market. As you probably know, there have been a host of new apps flooding the industry and it's difficult to keep up. I know of many, but I need your help in determining which to review and what you'd find valuable in a review.
UPDATE March 31, 2014: The Retail Tablet POS Comparison is now available! We collected relevant information on 10 different products so you can, at a glance, learn which products have the right features for you.
Some decisions I need to make:
1.) With everything we could review, how valuable would this be to POS dealers?
2.) Since we cater to value-added resellers, I don't think it makes sense to review products that bypass a dealer channel and are sold direct. Therefore, "must be sold by VARs" is a knockout question. Agree? Disagree?
3.) The test should include both the startups and the traditional POS packages with tablet offerings.
4.) Who should we test? We probably need to limit to 10 products. Which are the major players?
5.) Who can do the testing? For our tests in the past, we've relied on trusted readers to perform the testing at their offices. We can probably lean on those readers again, but if you're interested in being a tester, let me know.
6.) Testing methodology -- compare features, pricing, support, general specs, and how much dealers make on a sale. What else?
Contact me or use the comment section below to share your thoughts and ideas on this review. Help us shape this into a valuable unique article.
UPDATE Nov. 1, 2013: We're about to reach out to nearly 30 vendors to gather information on their products. The goal will be to build a one-of-a-kind resource that compares the most important specs for both tablet-based retail and restaurant software. Check back at the end of November for the results!
UPDATE Dec. 11, 2013: The Restaurant / Hospitality Tablet POS Comparison is now available! We collected relevant information on 13 different products so you can, at a glance, learn which products have the right features for you.