DALLAS, May 19, 2006 / FW/ ---If during your latest trip to the grocery store you found checking yourself out with the self-service registers, expect to do the same at restaurants and the hospitality industry soon.

According to a January 2006 study from Venture Development Corporation, "Kiosks for Self-Service and Interactive Applications: Technical and Vertical Market Analysis," North American shipments of self-service and interactive kiosk systems are expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate of nearly 20 percent from 2004 through 2007.

Within the segment, self-service ordering ranked highest in the study based on scoring criteria that included fast return on investment (ROI); high market growth rates; and high consumer adoption rates.

Responding to the needs of the market, Frisco, TX-based Fujitsu just introduced the U-Serv™ family of self-ordering solutions for the food services, grocery and hospitality industries.

These new self-ordering systems combine newly designed Fujitsu hardware with self-service applications from a software partner, NextChoice™ Systems, to offer consumers increased ordering, payment and personalization options.

The units are fully upgradeable and available in several installation configurations to accommodate various restaurant, grocery and hospitality formats.

Two Fujitsu self-ordering units are now available -- U-Serv 100 and U-Serv 200. The solutions complement and easily integrate into existing point-of-sale (POS) systems, helping companies improve service and lower costs by alleviating peak time traffic and redeploying labor to more productive activities.

Fujitsu's U-Serv 100 accepts credit and loyalty cards, can dispense gift cards, and lets customers place orders from a large touch screen display in a small stand-alone kiosk that occupies the same floor space as a typical promotional display.

The U-Serv 200 model offers additional flexibility by accepting debit cards and has the ability to print event tickets.

"Consumers have demonstrated the demand for and acceptance of self-service options to expand their choices when ordering and paying for products and services," said Austen Mulinder, president and CEO, Fujitsu Transaction Solutions, Inc.

"Once a novelty for ATMs, pay-at-the-pump and airline ticketing, self-service technology now handles the majority of these transactions. The restaurant, grocery and hospitality industries are primed for the next evolution in self-service technology. NextChoice's proven self-service software solution is a perfect fit for our new kiosks. Our combined partnership delivers a best-in-class solution that will enable both companies to lead the next generation of pervasive self-service solutions," he added.

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