12 June 2, 2012 - ObserverXtra
12 June 2, 2012 - ObserverXtra
12 June 2, 2012 - ObserverXtra
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THE OBSERVER | SATURDAY, JUNE 2, 20<strong>12</strong><br />
VENTURE<br />
NEW BUSINESS / TABLET TECHNOLOGY<br />
Making a tablet best-of-show<br />
Armodilo tablet kiosk, a hit at Vegas<br />
tradeshow, has become a booming<br />
business for Elmira man<br />
JAMES JACKSON<br />
Tablet computers<br />
such as the iPad and<br />
Playbook have revolutionized<br />
the way we access<br />
information, and a local<br />
Elmira company is looking<br />
to corner the market<br />
on how that information<br />
is made available to the<br />
public.<br />
The Armodilo tablet display<br />
stand has been called<br />
the world’s most versatile<br />
tablet kiosk system, and<br />
was designed specifically<br />
for the tradeshow and exhibit<br />
industry.<br />
Launched in March<br />
after eight months of<br />
design, it has already garnered<br />
international attention<br />
as it captured the<br />
Buyers Choice Award for<br />
best new product at the<br />
EXHIBITOR20<strong>12</strong> conference<br />
and exhibition held<br />
in Las Vegas.<br />
“Tablet kiosks are still<br />
fairly new, so to get not<br />
only the wonderful feedback<br />
but to win an award<br />
on top of that was really<br />
cool,” said Armodilo<br />
founder and CEO Iles Guran,<br />
who moved to Elmira<br />
from Waterloo with his<br />
wife last May.<br />
The Armodilo is an<br />
aluminum stand that can<br />
safely house a range of<br />
tablets, including the iPad<br />
1,2 or 3, the Blackberry<br />
Playbook, Motorola Xoom<br />
and Samsung Tab. Their<br />
patent pending threein-one<br />
design allows exhibitors<br />
to easily adjust<br />
the configuration to suit<br />
their requirements, easily<br />
transforming from a floor<br />
to a desktop or to a semi-<br />
NOW ACCEPTING<br />
NEW PATIENTS<br />
Dr. Adam Keech<br />
Optometrist<br />
Dr. V. Hinch<br />
Optometrist<br />
PHONE:<br />
519-669-00<strong>12</strong><br />
Evening appointments<br />
Available<br />
permanent wall mount<br />
configuration.<br />
The tablets can then be<br />
used to provide product<br />
information, sales data,<br />
slideshows, videos, or run<br />
whatever apps the user<br />
chooses.<br />
It is available in two<br />
designs; the Armodilo(ex),<br />
which features the threein-one<br />
capabilities along<br />
with a carrying case and<br />
retails for $1,049. The total<br />
package also weighs less<br />
than 15 kilograms, making<br />
transportation to and<br />
from tradeshows easy.<br />
Their second line is<br />
called the Armodilo(rt)<br />
which offers consumers<br />
the choice of either<br />
the wall, floor or tablemounted<br />
version, and<br />
no carrying case. Prices<br />
range from $349 for the<br />
wall-mount to $549 for the<br />
free-standing model.<br />
The units are also customized<br />
with a keyboard<br />
tray, graphic panels, a<br />
rotating head, and, in the<br />
near future, a card reader.<br />
For Guran, who has 15<br />
years of design and marketing<br />
experience, what<br />
initially started out as a<br />
side project for one of his<br />
clients has morphed into<br />
a business that now draws<br />
some 90 per cent of his<br />
time and energy.<br />
“It was supposed to be<br />
ARMODILO | 18<br />
VENTURE<br />
PROFILE<br />
BUSINESS: Armadilo<br />
LOCATION: 27 Coral Gables, Elmira<br />
PHONE: 1 (800) 975-5946<br />
OWNER: Iles Guran<br />
PHONE:<br />
519-669-0879<br />
63 ARTHUR STREET S., ELMIRA<br />
Iles Guran is the founder and CEO of Armodilo, an Elmira-based company that designs and builds tablet computer kiosk systems for the<br />
tradeshow and business community. [JAMES JACKSON / THE OBSERVER]<br />
Rebecca<br />
CannonB.A., N.D.<br />
DOCTOR OF NATROPATHIC MEDICINE<br />
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• Hair Analysis<br />
• Hormone Testing<br />
• Allergy Testing<br />
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VENTURE | 17<br />
FOOD FOR THOUGHT/<br />
OWEN ROBERTS<br />
Breaking<br />
up slot<br />
machines’<br />
hypnotic<br />
lure<br />
FIELD<br />
NOTES<br />
To say the horse racing<br />
industry is up in arms<br />
about the planned removal<br />
of thousands of slot<br />
machines from race tracks<br />
is an understatement.<br />
It marks a huge change<br />
to the industry. For more<br />
than a decade, the provincial<br />
government, raceways<br />
and horse owners have<br />
shared revenue from slots<br />
at race tracks. That revenue<br />
now stands at $1 billion<br />
a year.<br />
But in March, the<br />
Ontario government announced<br />
the arrangement<br />
would end. The slots are to<br />
be removed next year, and<br />
the sharing will be over.<br />
According to the province,<br />
slot machine proceeds being<br />
shared with the racing<br />
sector are instead needed<br />
for schools and hospitals.<br />
That’s a major blow to<br />
the sector. It’s predicting<br />
significant job losses,<br />
anywhere from 30,000 to<br />
60,000 jobs. Online petitions<br />
are imploring MPPs<br />
to reconsider. The cover<br />
story in the latest issue of<br />
Better Farming magazine<br />
calls the decision “a catastrophe<br />
in the making.” It<br />
impacts our region – the<br />
slots at Elora are among<br />
those on the chopping<br />
ROBERTS | 18<br />
OUR POLICY — YOUR PROTECTION<br />
LEE CLEMENS<br />
Registered Insurance Broker<br />
HOME | AUTO | FARM | LIABILITY | COMMERCIAL<br />
Elmira Insurance Brokers Limited<br />
45 Arthur St. S., Elmira | 519.669.5484<br />
lee.elmirains@bellnet.ca
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