Aldelo POS Pro Manual
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On April 5th 2015 Microsoft is set to release the [new Surface 3 tablet][2]. The big change with the Surface 3 vs. the two previous versions of the Surface tablet is the operating system. The Surface 3 runs full Windows 8.1 (w/ Windows 10 upgrade when available) NOT the RT operating system that required app store purchases instead of full Windows programs. So, as long as your software supports the specs on the Surface 3, you could potentially use it as your point of sale station.
Is that a good idea?
In a word, yes! The Surface 3 has a few things going for it that most Windows tablets don't.
These features include:
**- Full Size USB 3.0 Port
- 1920 x 1280 screen resolution
- Full Windows 8.1
- Keyboard**
The problem with using most tablets for a point of sale system is the lack of ports. While they almost all have bluetooth that lets the tablet to pair directly with a [bluetooth barcode scanner][3] for doing barcode entry, there are not quite the same options when it comes to adding additional point of sale peripherals such as a [receipt printer][4] and [cash drawer][5]. Having a full size USB port gives you the ability to plug in a USB Hub allowing you to run a much lower cost USB Barcode Scanner, a thermal receipt printer, and a traditional printer driven cash drawer that are all connected to your tablet at the same time. Another option is to go without the hub and run a manual cash drawer, a USB printer and a bluetooth barcode scanner. In any case the full USB port is a welcomed addition.
The screen resolution is also very promising, but it does have some limitations. With the 1920 x 1280 height and width it will fit the point of sale program without any fear of the bottom being cut off. However, the buttons and menus may be a little small considering that many POS Programs are still written with the expectation that they would be running on an [All-In-One-PC][6] that has a 4:3 screen resolution. This means that the program will be stretched when in full screen, in a window smaller then the screen, or you will have to play with the scaling features in windows to make it all fit. While the screen may not be optimal for a lot of [point of sale programs][7] it will be usable.
