About Socket Mobile

Press Releases

Socket Mobile and Plasco ID Partner to Automate Processes for Schools

Combining the Socket Mobile SoMo™ 650 with Plasco ID’s PlascoTrac™ enables faster, more efficient student tracking and disciplinary procedures

Newark, Calif. ?nbsp;3/31/2008  

Socket Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCKT), dba Socket Mobile, Inc., an innovative provider of mobile productivity solutions, and Plasco ID, the leading provider of plastic card personalization solutions, today announced that they are partnering to offer a mobile tracking and data retrieval solution for the education industry. The solution combines the mobile computing power and scalability of the Socket Mobile SoMo 650 handheld computer with the tracking, data analysis and reporting functionalities of Plasco ID’s PlascoTrac software platform. Sold as a complete solution through Plasco ID’s sales channel, the new combined solution offers administrators a mobile, cost effective and highly efficient solution for tracking tardiness, assigning detentions and managing other data-centric discipline-tracking tasks.

Administrators at the middle and high school levels have historically relied on paper-based methods for tracking student tardiness and similar discipline issues. Not only is this process difficult to manage and time consuming, but it makes reporting and analysis virtually impossible. Furthermore, forcing tardy students to wait in a slow moving line for a hand-written pass causes a tremendous amount of front office traffic and disturbs the learning process as students can wait up to 20 minutes for a tardy slip - a significant waste of valuable teaching time in the classroom. The PlascoTrac Mobile tracking and data-retrieval solutions alleviate these challenges.

Currently installed in more than 200 schools nationwide, the PlascoTrac platform works by creating an automated database for tracking student infractions and activities. For example, when a student is tardy, the infraction is logged by scanning the barcode on their Student ID card or keying the student’s ID number. Instantaneously a tardy pass is printed, a discipline action such as a detention may be issued, and the student is ready to return to class. Before the relationship with Socket Mobile, most of Plasco ID’s customers had all tracking functions confined to one central location. The joint Socket Mobile and Plasco ID solution mobilizes a school’s workforce and offers greater flexibility to administrators.

The new PlascoTrac Mobile solution enables school administrators to use PlascoTrac to track student infractions and activities outside the confines of the administrative main offices. With the same powerful features of the desktop version of the PlascoTrac software, the new Socket Mobile device may be used to track student activity in school hallways, parking lots and at school functions such as dances and sporting events. Instead of requiring students to report to the main office when violations occur, an administrator may use PlascoTrac Mobile to log an infraction, print out a hall pass or issue a disciplinary action on the spot. Ultimately, PlascoTrac Mobile may also be used to track compliance of discipline actions simply by scanning students as they report to the detention room or serve their Saturday school hours.

“Education is one of the most under-served verticals because the available solutions could not scale to meet their changing needs and were priced above their entry point,” said Bob Zink, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing at Socket Mobile. “The Socket Mobile and Plasco ID partnership will alleviate many of these challenges, freeing administrators from cumbersome, paper-based processes and enabling quick, usable data retrieval for reporting and other analysis. This partnership is a testament to our position that the SoMo 650 is truly accessible and viable for any organization that needs cost effective, scalable data capture and transfer.”

“Education administrators are typically not categorized as business mobility professionals, yet they face many of the same challenges that a business does yet with a fraction of the resources,” said Alan Mendelson, President of Plasco ID. “Mobilizing PlascoTrac has greatly increased the effectiveness of our solution and is a direct response to customer demand. We selected the SoMo 650 over competing solutions because it had the most robust technology at the best price. The early response from our customers has been fantastic and we’re confident that having an economical mobile solution will allow us to penetrate new markets, both locally and abroad.”

Socket Mobile and Plasco ID will be demonstrating the PlascoTrac and SoMo 650 at the National School Board Association’s annual conference at the Orlando Convention Center, March 29-31, in Orlando, FL.

About Plasco ID
Plasco Inc. (dba Plasco ID) is a privately held company founded in 1983 and headquartered in Miami, Florida. Plasco ID is a leader in the plastic card personalization industry and specializes in the integration of Digital Photo Identification Solutions. Using the latest card technologies available, Plasco ID has a proven track record of providing card-based solutions for cashless vending, mobile access control and time and attendance tracking for schools, government agencies, corporations and amusement parks. Visit www.PlascoID.com for more information on the company or call 305-625-4222.

About Socket Mobile
Socket Mobile makes mobility computing and productivity work. The company is a one-stop supplier of mobile computing hardware systems, offering a handheld mobile computer specifically designed for business mobility use and an extensive portfolio of essential mobile data collection and networking peripherals that enable mobile automation and productivity increases. The company also offers OEM solutions. Socket Mobile is headquartered in Newark, Calif. and can be reached at 510-933-3000 or www.socketmobile.com.

Socket and SoMo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Socket Communications, Inc., dba Socket Mobile, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names contained herein may be those of their respective owners. © 2008, Socket Communications, Inc., dba Socket Mobile, Inc. All rights reserved.