Hi Jeff,

Thank you for the info!

> The scanner runs on two AAA batteries.

Their literature cites that as an advantage ("no downtime for recharging") vs. the internal rechargeable batteries of some of the other scanners.  For use by library staff, I'm inclined to lean toward rechargeable.  How much scanner use do you get before having to replace batteries?

> The CipherLab 1660 has a button that will bring the on-screen
> keyboard back up -- this way, you don't need to un-pair the
> scanner to type.

That would definitely be an advantage.

> If you're interacting with another portion of the page in between
> scans, you'll likely need to tap to focus again before scanning the
> next item.

We intend to create an iPad-optimized version of a previously developed app [1].  Version 1 was for pre-iPhone-era PDAs, version 2 was for iPhone/Android devices.  Version 3, currently under development will be for tablets in general, the iPad in particular.  It requires input of a beginning and ending barcode (for generating a shelf list) plus additional form input selections.

> Repeated scanning of barcodes into a web page in mobile Safari will
> benefit from using AJAX to post the form.

Thanks for the tip.  I'm simultaneously trying to get up to speed on AJAX and jQuery, so hope to incorporate that into this new version.

> We're working on making a lot of workflows mobile and getting away
> from the "laptop on a cart in the stacks" model.

That's pretty much our goal too.  I may be talking with you some more!  Again, thanks for the info.

-- Michael

[1] ShelfLister
    http://rocky.uta.edu/doran/shelflister/iphone.html    

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jeff Godin [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, November 10, 2011 11:40 AM
> To: Doran, Michael D
> Cc: Code for Libraries
> Subject: Re: iPad-compatible Bluetooth barcode scanner
> 
> On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 12:25 PM, Doran, Michael D <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > We would like to use an iPad-compatible Bluetooth barcode scanner to scan
> Codabar barcodes into form inputs of a web app.  Does anybody have any
> experience doing something like that?
> 
> 
> I've had good luck with the CipherLab 1660 BlueTooth barcode scanner.
> I've used it with an iPad but have been most recently paired with an
> iPod Touch. Worked with iOS 4 and works with iOS 5.
> 
> The scanner runs on two AAA batteries. CCD based scanner. Reasonable
> performance. I've used it with codabar and code 128. It supports other
> symbologies.
> 
> Pairing with an iOS device requires scanning some programming barcodes
> -- you will want to keep those handy.
> 
> Pairing a bluetooth keyboard with an iOS device disables the on-screen
> keyboard. The CipherLab 1660 has a button that will bring the
> on-screen keyboard back up -- this way, you don't need to un-pair the
> scanner to type.
> 
> There is currently no programmatic means to give an input field focus
> in mobile Safari. As far as I can tell, Safari intentionally ignores
> all attempts to do such a thing. In most cases, this is a win in terms
> of user experience.
> 
> Repeated scanning of barcodes into a web page in mobile Safari will
> benefit from using AJAX to post the form. You'll need to tap once in
> the field to accept input, then as long as the field does not lose
> focus, you can keep scanning without needing to tap each time.
> 
> If you're interacting with another portion of the page in between
> scans, you'll likely need to tap to focus again before scanning the
> next item.
> 
> All in all, it works relatively well. We're working on making a lot of
> workflows mobile and getting away from the "laptop on a cart in the
> stacks" model.
> 
> -jeff