4p Mobile Data

Rugged handhelds built around payments and printing

4P Mobile Data Processing, trading as 4p Mobile Data, has designed and manufactured rugged handheld computers since 1989. Its head office is in Padova, in north-east Italy. The company builds all-in-one devices that combine a computer, a scanner, a printer and a payment terminal in one unit, so field staff can sell, collect or record things on the spot without carrying separate equipment. Its products were often developed jointly with key customers, and the company says it can customize devices even for small production runs.

Current models for field work

The FDA800 pairs a full Android smartphone with a rugged body and an embedded electronic payment (EFTPOS) terminal for card transactions. The FDA700 is an Android rugged handheld with a built-in printer, used where a receipt or fiscal document must be produced at once. The FDA350 is an ultra-rugged Android device with barcode scanning, RFID and a swappable battery with long autonomy, aimed at workers who must keep going through long shifts in harsh conditions. Each model is positioned as a point of sale in the palm of the hand for mobile trades.

Customers and the work they do with the devices

Its main customers, the company says, are large multinational firms spread across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. Applications include home delivery in retail, sales on board aircraft, route accounting, armoured cash handling, meter reading for utilities and ticketing on public transport. The common thread is work away from a fixed counter, where a device must record transactions, survive rough handling and work reliably with payment cards.

Four decades of product history

The first product, the DAT300 from 1989, had a removable secure memory module that let utilities exchange meter data easily in the field. The company says the model was widely used for utility meter reading in Italy and South America. In 1994 it introduced an all-in-one handheld design with a built-in impact printer for fanfold paper, which was adopted by companies in parcel delivery and door-to-door sales, and later a model with an RFID interface for contactless transport cards. The DAT500 from 1998 was used on board airlines for in-flight duty-free sales, and some North American airlines kept using it for more than fifteen years.

The FDA600 and FDA300 renewed the range in the 2000s with certified card payment, and the company says the first intrinsically safe handheld for hazardous areas also came from this line. In 2014 the FDA600-F became, by the company's account, the first palmtop fiscal cash register with embedded EFTPOS certified in Italy for mobile sales, such as food and drink sold on trains.

Engineering, support and service

The company presents its main strength as flexibility combined with technical know-how. It says it can respond quickly to market demands and customize products even for small quantities. Beyond hardware, it supports customers through system design, bespoke software analysis and development, installation, training, maintenance and ongoing system auditing.