Boston.com / News / Nation / Replacing the checkout line: "The rugged Shopping Buddy computers are manufactured by Symbol Technologies Inc. of Holtsville, N.Y. Based on a stripped-down version of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP operating system, the Shopping Buddy crams three different forms of wireless communications into one device. An infrared transmitter sends signals to receivers mounted in the ceiling every few feet. That's how the store's computer network always 'knows' where each Shopping Buddy is located.
The network uses the popular WiFi wireless networking system to transmit sale information to the computer, or to let the shopper order cold cuts or locate hard-to-find items. Each Shopping Buddy carries a holster-mounted hand-held laser scanner equipped with Bluetooth, a wireless networking technology that transmits bar code data to the customer's computer."