AsReader, Inc. specializes in AutoID, including mobile Barcode Scanners and RFID Readers/Writers, and all aspects of Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC). Headed by COO Paul Whitney, AsReader is an Oregon Corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Asterisk, Inc. of Japan. Founded in 2006 by charismatic CEO Noriyuki Suzuki, Asterisk is headquartered in Osaka with additional offices in Tokyo, Kyoto/Shiga, and Nagoya in Japan, Dalian and Shenzhen in China, and Portland, Oregon in the U.S. The company went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2021 (TSE:6522). Major clients include a household-name beverage and snack logistics/transportation company in North America using over 25,000 AsReaders, manufacturers Toyota and Kawasaki, retailers Tokyu Hands and Aoyama, with a popular Drug Store chain using over 10,000 AsReaders, over 350 hospitals worldwide, and a well-known package delivery company in Japan using 30,000 AsReaders.

At MODEX, AsReader will be showing a number of devices and showcasing the company’s latest innovation, the ASR-M30S SLIM-Type RFID Reader/Writer, designed to deliver comfort, power, and performance in a sleeker form factor.

By eliminating a built-in battery, Japanese designers made the new reader lighter, more compact, and easier to handle throughout the workday. Compared to the standard ASR-030D model, the SLIM-Type is 14% lighter, weighing just 69 grams, while achieving a reading distance of over two meters (more than seven feet)—double the range of the ASR-030D. The US model of the ASR-M30S can read over 5 meters (≥16ft) with Impinj Gen2X tags, while the EU/UK model can read over 3 meters (≥10ft). The unit charges directly through the smartphone via a magnetic terminal or a pass-through USB-C port, so there’s no need to remove the device or smartphone from its case.