Weighing in at 7.1 ounces and measuring 4.9 inches long, 2.7 inches wide, and 1.15 inches deep, the rugged Wi-Fi, GPRS and Bluetooth-equipped Optimum M4100 Blade offers fast, highly secure and economical mobile payment and authentication capabilities to restaurants, delivery services and other businesses and organizations worldwide.

The high-performance, feature-rich and low-cost battery-operated terminal is a fraction of the size of competitive models. It incorporates a top-of-the-line high-contrast color touch screen, accepts magnetic stripe and smart cards, and offers an optional contactless reader, clip-on printer and docking station.

Key features include:

• Palm-sized, lightweight form factor for true easy-use, anytime, anywhere.
• Industry-leading transaction speeds, based on a 200Mhz 32-bit Intel XScale processor.
• High-contrast 64K color 2 1/4" VGA signature capture touch screen with 240 x 320 pixel viewing area providing exceptional viewing indoors or outdoors.
• Full support for all payment types, including cash, magnetic stripe, chip and contactless cards.
• Large illuminated color-coded keypad with clear, concise and simplified layout for fast data entry/key strokes and compliance with ADA and British Disability Act.
• Wi-Fi, GPRS and Bluetooth communications options to deliver maximum flexibility in meeting the needs of a wide range of merchants and other businesses.
• Stringent security that meets EMV and PCI security requirements, Triple DES and SSL encryption, and durable, secure, tamper-proof and water-resistant casing.
• Optional clip-on printer with speeds of 12 lines per second (lps), delivering 100 two-receipt transactions per reloadable packet.
• Easy recharging and dial back-up by simply plugging into any wall socket or optional docking station with optional communication modules for downloads and transaction back-up via V.90 modem or Ethernet.
• Long-life Li-ion rechargeable batteries, supporting more than 250 transactions per charge for both the terminal and printer.
• Full-featured development environment enabling custom applications beyond the standard payment associated with credit/debit terminals.

"With the M4100 Blade, we harness the power and flexibility of true wireless payments for retailers and other businesses who until now had to lug around countertop-sized devices or quasi-mobile units that lack full functionality and easy use," said Neil Hudd, senior vice president, Global Product Development and Marketing, Hypercom Corp. "This new terminal opens the door to new businesses and markets that previously could not use point-of-sale terminals either because of the mobile nature of their business or the limitations and costs of wired communications."

"The M4100 Blade succeeds in integrating a truly portable design with the functionality, security and ruggedness required by a broad range of vertical markets," said Michael Friedman, director of Mercator Advisory Group's Emerging Technologies Practice.

"Card payment technology for today's competitive mobile business environment must deliver nothing less than high-speed precision instruments packed with power, performance, high security and flexibility. The M4100 Blade fits the bill on all counts," said Peter J. Quadagno, president, Quadagno & Associates. "The technology behind this device brings an entirely new smart, fast, easy-use and highly intelligent dimension to electronic payments at the point-of-transaction."

Separately, Catuity Inc. (NasdaqSC:CTTY); (Australia:CAT.AX), (Australia:CATN.AX), a loyalty and gift card processor, today announced that it has integrated to Hypercom Corporation's (NYSE:HYC) Optimum T4100, a leading multi-application terminal.

Catuity said that it expects to broaden its commitment to Hypercom's product line by also integrating to Hypercom's popular T7Plus and selectively to POS hardware manufactured for the chain retailer market.

"Our integration to Hypercom's terminal platform is an important strategic step which broadens the market that Catuity is ready to serve," said John Racine, President and CEO of Catuity. "The T4100 gets strong reviews for reliability and scalability and our investment in the relationship with Hypercom will reduce the cost and risk of doing business with Catuity for our retailer clients."

Hypercom's Optimum T4100 is one of the top-selling multi-application terminals used by merchants and chain retailers alike who want to leverage value-added applications, such as loyalty and gift card.

"The T4100's multi-application architecture protects everyone's hardware investment by providing sufficient power, memory and flexibility to support the industry's ever changing application requirements, and the merchants' desire to use one device to support their payment needs including products like Catuity's loyalty and gift card products," said Neil Hudd, Senior Vice President of Global Product Development and Marketing, Hypercom Corporation. "Processors, VARs and retailers realize the versatility of this 32-bit hardware solution."

The T4100 features a powerful 32-bit, Intel® XScale® processor and 24 megabytes of memory to deliver intelligently integrated multi-application performance and the industry's fastest transaction speeds for both IP/SSL and dial applications. The unit can perform 250 MIPS (millions of instructions per second) compared to 1.6 MIPS for similar devices and has at least 18 more megabytes of memory, enabling support for more value-added applications than any other terminal on the market. It also features an integrated PIN pad; an integrated 2" or 3" printer that handles text and graphics such as barcodes at an industry-leading 18 lines per second (lps) compared to the standard 12.5 lps without graphics; a wizard-style user interface that significantly reduces deployment time by minimizing the number of keystrokes required; and an industry first IP diagnostic application that expedites installation and simplifies troubleshooting of Ethernet connectivity problems in a customer's network.

"Our strategy continues to be to integrate to the best-selling terminal platforms which give us access to our targeted vertical markets in chain retailing," said Racine. "One of the strengths of integrating to Hypercom's SPOS 32 operating system on the T4100 is that it makes it quick, inexpensive and low risk for us to support retailers who choose Hypercom's terminals to complement their stores' electronic cash register."

Catuity now supports the four leading multi-application terminal providers in the U.S. market. Racine said the company will also integrate to Hypercom's popular, the T7Plus, with integration availability expected in the third quarter.

"Our terminal integration strategy has been validated by recent signings," said Racine. "So far this year, Catuity has signed clients with the potential to deploy to more than 1,000 locations."