Greater safety for lone workers

As the new 8-series Identicom is released from Connexion2, Ian Johannessen, MD of Identicom service provider Peoplesafe, assesses the device's achievements: "In reviewing the specification list there are some standout updates," he said.

"Most welcome is the upgrade to the SiRF4 chipset. The reliability of GPS data from the t-series product was an improvement over the non-GPRS iseries version. The 8-series takes the improvement a big leap forward. The ability and speed of the device to acquire GPS should be much improved with the upgrade." He continued: "In a big shift from the current versions the 8-series now offers 2-way voice - a greater convenience when, for example, responding to a man-down alert.

"The third obvious design enhancement comes from the introduction of three speed dial buttons that are available behind the ID-card. The potential uses give the device further much needed flexibility. Future plans for the device, now at last with a 3G chipset, include camera and video options."