Showcasing a Sampling of New Products, A to Z

Fresh Faces for Needing Places

    The holiday shopping season may have passed, but for members of the industry still holding on to a wish list, it is time to indulge. Today’s technology and innovation, coupled with the ever-increasing great state of affairs in the hospitality industry, not only has afforded bar and club operators more leeway in what they can add to their respective environments, but also product manufacturers seem to be creating everything under the sun. Check out this sampling of products from various categories and suppliers, literally from A to Z, which are new on the market and represent possibilities for added revenue. 

One by One
   Admit One Products is the world’s largest online ticket company. Specializing in stock and custom online ordering automation for raffle tickets, wristbands, roll tickets, coat checks, event tickets, credentials and passes, e-tickets and fulfillment and more. Operators also can create custom tickets, see the proof instantly and have tickets printed in a single day. Admit One has have a huge variety of wristbands with various new exciting designs in several different packs — 100, 500 and 1,000 — with prices starting at just $5.99.

Write-On, Right On
    ASI, manufacturer of the revolutionary Write-On Handheld, announces unprecedented advancements to the wireless order-taking point-of-sale system. The latest release of the Write-On brings superior managerial and server functions to the Windows Mobile units being used in hundreds of on-premise establishments worldwide. By implementing the Write-On Handheld, managers can stay on top of their operations in real-time. They are capable of checking the status of any open tab or table, customizing alerts for important events and more.
   

    Servers are benefiting from the order-taking system, as well. Now, they are able to accommodate split check, split item and split payment — tableside, bar side — even on the dance floor. Additionally, servers are able to process all forms of payment and print a receipt wherever the customer might be. Payment types include cash, check, credit card, gift card, guest account and even room charge for hotel guests.

Drinking Solutions
    The 2006 line-up of CoolerGadget.com’s Drinking Solutions now is on the company’s Web site and available as ideal promotional or merchandise products for a bar or nightclub, or they can be purchased as gifts or for personal use.

    The CoolerGadget.com collection features a selection of innovative gadgets that provide refreshing convenience. Whether someone is looking for a cool new way to promote a bar or looking for new products that can be branded and resold, CoolerGadget.com offers a wide array of innovative products that fit the bill. CoolerGadgets.com also has announced its latest innovative gadgets for the bar and nightclub industry, featuring the OpenerHat, a baseball hat with built-in bottle opener; the Magnetic Opener, which applies to any metal surface (side of fridge); the Ring Bottle Opener, soon-to-be every bartender’s best friend; the MagicOpener, which opens bottles by simply pressing down effortlessly; the BottleTool, which not only opens but reseals bottles (think no-drip, lime-flip for Corona); and the line of BevNeck beverage insulators, designed to provide hands-free refreshment or the new Hipster versions that clip to the hip. Look for CoolerGadget.com at “The Show,” when it will be unveiling its latest innovations to the bar and nightclub industry.

Diamond in the Back   
    Entertaining guests and increasing repeat business is what Diamond Visuals Inc. is all about, and so the company has introduced the DV-VC100 Sapphire visualizer appliance, a revolutionary new video entertainment system. Plug the unit into a venue’s sound system, and it generates high-energy 2D and 3D animated visuals to the beat of the music mixed with operators’ own custom advertisements. Advertise bar specials, theme nights and special events. The visuals keep customers engaged, and the ads keep them coming back.

    The Sapphire unit can mix cable television in with the visuals, as well as the output from video players or up to 16 cameras placed throughout a venue. Diamond Visuals provides camera kits and video distribution kits; send the generated visuals to any number of televisions or projectors throughout a space. Diamond Visuals also sends registered users free periodic upgrade CD-ROMs that add new features to existing units to keep its satisfied users up-to-date. 

Billboards and More    
    Millennium Visual Systems (MVS) introduces new Ultra Bright LED Window Displays, fully programmable message centers specifically designed with ultra bright outdoor LEDs for easy viewing in direct sunlight and through tinted glass. Ultra Bright LED Window Displays command attention from distances up to 500 feet, making them perfect for specialized restaurant/bar usage. Easy-to-use software enables compelling text messages, animated graphics and exciting transitions to announce events.

    MVS’ LED Window Displays hold 95 messages and are available in two-, three- and four-line models. Multiple lines can be combined to create characters as large as 12 inches.   

    Also, captivate attention in any sales environment with Millennium Visual Systems’ exciting new PowerSmart LED badges that function as personal billboards. Perfect for restaurants, bars and clubs, corporate meetings and special events, personal billboards wow audiences, draw attention to promotional messages and command  attention.

Interactive Messaging Unlimited 
    Text messaging is picking up in clubs, and now club owners can display multiple streams of SMS/text messages using Interactive Messaging Unlimited (IMU) through Pangolin SMS from Pangolin Inc.  

    IMU takes incoming SMS text messages from cell phones, processes them and then displays them in public — on video projectors, television chat channels and even using laser lighting. Version 3.50 of IMU now adds output to a Web page, too, so the display can be seen worldwide on the Internet. There are no limits on the number of simultaneous chat sessions, voting sessions and incoming message sources.

        IMU was designed specifically for public interactive SMS display. It runs on a standard PC connected to one or more cellular modems or other message sources. Users quickly can create professional-looking video backgrounds on which the various video, SMS chat, SMS voting and other elements appear.

Kill the Spill  
    The all-new Z-Tray is designed to stop spilled drinks, bottles, plates, platters and bowls and help prevent broken glass. The standard Z-Tray is 16 inches in diameter with 10, 2.75-inch holes in 2-inch cross link foam on a ridged plastic tray with a non-slip rubber mat on the bottom. The Z-Tray also comes in two different size oval trays for the food industry. All hole sizes on all trays can be ordered to fit the customer’s needs. It’s only $31.95 for the standard tray, and avoiding one spill will pay for it.