Desktop or Built-in? Which Kiosk Type is Right for Your Application?

In the interactive public access environment, Elo is the touchmonitor manufacturer of choice. But should that choice of kiosk be a freestanding enclosure or a desktop interactive display? Elo offers solutions for both.

Elo's line of touchmonitors includes CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) displays in a range of sizes and enclosures for desktop or enclosure use.

Desktop Interactive Displays: The New Flexible Kiosk

Desktop interactive displays are perfect for a wide range of applications in which cost, mobility, and flexibility are top criteria. Some typical applications include:

Desktop interactive catalog for e-commerce
Sales tool for staff
Self-service station
Brand-driven multimedia promotions
Frequent shopper/affinity programs
Surveys and market research

Mobility, Security, and Space

A freestanding enclosure is ideal for unsupervised public use, providing all the benefits of the application while ensuring equipment security. Freestanding enclosures are usually fixed and occupy a dedicated amount of floor space. They lack the mobility of the more compact, space-saving desktop interactive displays.

Desktop interactive displays can fit into 25 to 50% of the footprint of a freestanding enclosure and can easily be moved around to meet changes in floor-space layout. They come packaged in different form factors designed to be placed on existing retail display fixtures, such as shelving, countertops, a customer service desk, or aisle end cap displays, or incorporated into other product merchandising displays to expand interactive opportunities.

Desktop interactive displays are limited to areas that are at least semisupervised, while a freestanding kiosk can be left unattended to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week as an information or selling tool.

Branding and Cost

The fixed nature and size of a freestanding enclosure provide the opportunity to use kiosk graphics and design to incorporate and customize product/company branding. Both the freestanding enclosure and the desktop interactive display assist in attracting customers and aiding sales. Depending upon the application, a desktop display can be as little as one-third the cost of its sturdier, more secure, and more resilient counterpart.

Advantages of Freestanding Enclosures

Unattended, secure operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Durable and resistant to abuse
Branding can be reinforced by kiosk design and graphics
Accepts peripherals such as bar code scanner, credit card reader, or telephone

Advantages of Desktop Interactive Displays

Mobile and versatile
One-quarter to one-half the footprint of a freestanding enclosure, frees valuable floor space
Less than one-third of the cost of a freestanding enclosure solution
Can be incorporated into existing product displays or retail fixtures