Ignores Interference; Gets More 100% Reads; Recommended Price $1995

Las Vegas, May 1, 2006 -- ThingMagic, Inc. (www.thingmagic.com), a leading developer of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, today unveiled the Mercury5, ThingMagic’s fifth generation RFID reader, at the RFID Journal LIVE Conference. The Mercury5 achieves more 100 percent RFID tag read rates by ignoring interference that can impair RFID performance – interference from sources such as other RFID readers, legacy wireless networks, fluorescent lighting and wireless phones.

Despite this high performance, cost reductions in design and components allow for a low Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $1,995 for the Mercury5, with volume discounts available. In addition to more 100 percent reads because of interference rejection, Mercury5 has all the multi-protocol and network capability of its predecessor Mercury4, with which it is fully backwards compatible. Cost reductions also impact the price of Mercury4 reader which now has an MSRP of $995. Both readers read all EPC Generation 1 Class 0 and 1, ISO 18000-6B, and EPC Generation 2 tags, and can be remotely upgraded to read other and future protocols through software alone.

Dense Reader Mode (DRM), part of EPCglobal’s Generation 2 tag specification, only helps manage interference from other DRM-compliant readers. In some real-world applications, including distribution center dock doors and high-speed conveyors, other interference sources obstruct overall RFID performance and read rates. Mercury5 not only supports DRM, but goes beyond this requirement to ignore other interference, giving more 100 percent read rates in challenging large-scale deployments.

“Mercury5 provides more 100 percent read rates than ever before for a wider variety of RFID tags and deployment scenarios – tags can’t hide from this reader,” said Kevin Ashton, vice president, Marketing, for ThingMagic. “In recent end user comparisons, no other reader performed as well in RFID environments with a mix of tags, weak tags and numerous interference sources. Mercury4 readers remain a great choice in more controlled and smaller enterprise environments -- fewer interference sources mean Generation 2’s DRM alone is enough.”

Mercury5 is fully compatible with Mercury4 interfaces and deployments, giving users a high degree of network functionality and exceptional cost of ownership and overall return on investment. RFID solutions using ThingMagic Mercury readers are only available from ThingMagic-authorized resellers including AbeTech, Accu-Sort, Acsis, BuyRFID, CIT, Conectag, Creek Systems, Fujitsu, IconNicholson, M/A-COM, Markem, Omron, Quest Solutions, RFID Global Solutions, Rush Tracking, SONTEC, Ubi-Tech, Verisign, Venture Research and Zebra.