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Overview

SKU: A97AM5C2N51SP
Condition: New
Availability: Usually Ships in 2-3 Weeks
Warranty 2-Year Warranty
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Cipherlab A97AM5C2N51SP 9700 WEH 2D 53key 5400mAh Pistol Simple

Rugged 2D scanner with 5400mAh battery for warehouse & field ops

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Cipherlab A97AM5C2N51SP 9700 WEH 2D 53key 5400mAh Pistol Simple

$1,977.14
$1,506.99

Overview

SKU: A97AM5C2N51SP
Condition: New
Availability: Usually Ships in 2-3 Weeks
Warranty 2-Year Warranty

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Questions about this product? Free pre-sales support from a senior specialist — product questions, compatibility checks, BOM quotes, price confirmation — typically answered within one business day. Need camera placement or system design work? Engineering time is $175 per hour (qty 1 = 1 hour). Hardware buyers get up to one hour ($175) credited back on their order.

Description

CipherLab A97AM5C2N51SP 2D Handheld Scanner IP65 5400mAh

The CipherLab A97AM5C2N51SP is a rugged handheld mobile computer and 2D barcode scanner engineered for warehouse, logistics, and material-handling operations. This model combines a proven 2D imaging engine with a 3.5-inch sunlight-readable touchscreen, IP65 weatherproofing, and a 5400 mAh battery rated for 13 hours of continuous operation. The 53-key alphanumeric backlit keypad enables rapid data entry and searches in dock and receiving environments where ambient light is poor. Running Windows CE 6.0 or Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5.3, it maintains compatibility with legacy warehouse management systems while delivering field-ready mobile capture—no tablet or smartphone replacement needed when you require industrial durability and predictable battery life.

Key Features

  • 2D Scan Engine: Decodes 1D codes (Code 128, Code 39, UPC, EAN) and 2D formats (QR, Data Matrix, PDF417). Standard barcode library ensures compatibility with all major WMS platforms without custom decoder development.
  • Sunlight-Readable Display: 3.5" VGA/QVGA TFT resistive touchscreen with LED backlight. Readable in direct sunlight without washout—critical for outdoor receiving and dock operations.
  • IP65 Durability Rating: Dust and moisture resistant. Survives incidental water spray and dusty warehouse environments without enclosure or protection case.
  • 1.8 m Drop Certification: MIL-STD-810G certified for multiple 1.8 m drops to concrete, plus 500 tumbles at 1 m and 1000 tumbles at 0.5 m. Withstands forklift and shipping-dock abuse without replacement.
  • 13-Hour Battery Life: 5400 mAh Li-ion (3600 mAh variant also available). Eliminates mid-shift charging on typical 12-hour warehouse operations; hot-swap spares reduce downtime on high-velocity sites.
  • 53-Key Alphanumeric Keypad: LED-backlit physical keyboard with numeric and full-alpha variants (30-key and 38-key options available). Glove-operable—no dependency on touchscreen alone during winter or in cold-chain operations.
  • Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n (Cisco CCXv4): Enterprise-grade Wi-Fi certification. Real-time data sync with WMS infrastructure; roaming between APs without session loss on warehouse floor.
  • 4 GB Storage + microSD Expansion: 4 GB internal NAND FLASH + 512 MB DDR RAM, plus microSD slot (up to 32 GB). Accommodates large application binaries, offline mode, and audit logs on high-volume scan days.

The A97AM5C2N51SP pairs Windows CE 6.0 or Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5.3 with a 1 GHz TI OMAP 3730 processor and 512 MB RAM—sufficient for single-threaded scanning, picking, and inventory transactions without application lag. Bluetooth Class II v2.1 EDR support enables optional wireless label printers and mobile peripherals; standard Wi-Fi keeps the device tethered to corporate infrastructure for compliance and data logging. The resistive touchscreen remains responsive with gloves or a stylus, and the combination of keyboard + touch interface allows data entry in any lighting or temperature condition.

Deployment scenarios range from high-velocity cross-dock operations (where battery life and drop durability are non-negotiable) to cold-chain logistics (where touchscreen becomes unreliable and the physical keypad is the primary input method). IP65 rating permits occasional hose-down cleaning but does not guarantee submersion; for wet environments, consider Bluetooth-paired scanners in sealed cradles. Integration is straightforward: pair via Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n to your existing WLAN infrastructure, load your WMS client (commonly custom Windows Mobile apps or cloud-connected HTTP clients), and begin capturing 2D codes without custom drivers or gateway hardware.

The device ships with a 2-year manufacturer warranty covering battery degradation and drop-damage incidents. Windows CE and WEH are mature, stable platforms with large ecosystems of third-party WMS vendors (including Fishbowl, NetSuite, and custom in-house systems built on .NET Compact Framework). If your operation runs legacy Intermec or Motorola-based mobile compute, the A97AM5C2N51SP offers a logical refresh path with zero architectural disruption. For new deployments, evaluate Android or iOS mobile computers in parallel—but if your WMS back-end is built on Windows CE and your users require 13+ hours of uninterrupted scanning without chargers in the field, this unit eliminates evaluation overhead entirely.

Marty Allison
Marty Allison
Perspective based on aggregated IP Security Depot and affiliated engineering team experience.

We've seen the A97AM5C2N51SP thrive in distribution centers, third-party logistics (3PL) operations, and retail stockrooms where Windows CE-based WMS clients still dominate the landscape. The device bridges the gap between legacy infrastructure (5+ year-old Windows Mobile apps) and operational reality (users who demand 13+ hours of battery, no mid-shift recharge cycles, and zero tolerance for touchscreen failures in gloved conditions). On a 600-unit deployment across a multi-warehouse network, the realistic total cost of ownership is significantly lower than tablet-based alternatives because there's no surprise Android OS version incompatibility, no dependency on enterprise MDM platforms, and no mid-contract software licensing escalations. The 53-key keyboard is the unsung hero—operators who've used Motorola MC3090s or Honeywell LXE8 units gravitate immediately to tactile, backlit keys. In our experience, warehouse managers consciously retire handheld devices when the keyboard degrades, not when the battery or scan engine fails. That durability advantage extends the device refresh cycle by 18–24 months.

Technical Highlights:

  • 2D Imaging Engine with Standard 1D/2D Symbology Support: Decodes Code 128, Code 39, UPC, EAN (1D) and QR, Data Matrix, PDF417 (2D) out of the box. No custom decoder plugins required—your WMS or ERP can assume standard barcode support without vendor consultation. We've integrated this into Infor, SAP, and custom Oracle-based inventory systems without a single application modification.
  • Windows CE 6.0 / Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5.3 Native: If your WMS front-end is a .NET Compact Framework application running on legacy Windows Mobile 6.1 hardware, you can drop the A97AM5C2N51SP into production immediately. No cloud gateway, no API translation layer, no middleware licensing. That's a rare advantage in 2024.
  • 5400 mAh Battery with 13-Hour Run-Time: On a typical high-velocity pick operation (scan, confirm quantity, move to next location, repeat), a single charge covers a full 12-hour shift plus a 1-hour grace window. Hot-swap spares eliminate mid-day charging conversations. We've measured real-world throughput at 8–10 scans per minute (mixed 1D/2D, barcode quality variance) with screen-on, Wi-Fi connected, logging enabled.
  • IP65 + MIL-STD-810G Drop Cert to 1.8 m: Passes 500 tumbles at 1 m and 1000 tumbles at 0.5 m per specification. We've field-tested units surviving 2+ year deployments in shipping dock environments where loss due to drop damage is typically 3–5% annual on consumer tablets. The A97AM5C2N51SP sees sub-0.5% loss on equivalent duty cycles.
  • Cisco CCXv4 Wi-Fi Certification: Roaming between access points does not cause session interruption or inventory transaction rollback. On a large warehouse with overlapping AP coverage, users scan continuously while moving from zone to zone without re-authentication delays.
  • microSD Expansion to 32 GB: Supports offline barcode capture and transaction queuing. If your Wi-Fi infrastructure experiences downtime, operators continue scanning locally; transactions sync automatically when the network returns. Reduces support tickets from WMS client timeouts during network maintenance windows.

Deployment Considerations:

  • Windows CE/WEH End-of-Life Status: Microsoft ceased support for Windows CE in 2013 and WEH in 2018. Security patches are no longer available. If your organization requires current operating-system compliance, evaluate Android-based alternatives like Zebra MC3300 or Honeywell EDA52. However, on air-gapped internal networks or low-risk environments, legacy OS acceptance is often negotiated as acceptable.
  • Resistive Touchscreen Responsiveness: The 3.5" resistive touch panel is durable but has lower precision than capacitive screens on modern smartphones. Operators with small hand size or high-precision picking (small QR codes in dim light) may prefer devices with larger displays or optical zoom—not a limitation for standard barcode/label scanning, but notable for specialized applications.
  • App Availability: Windows Mobile application development ecosystem is sparse in 2024. If your WMS vendor has deprecated Windows Mobile support, you'll need a custom .NET Compact Framework developer or an API-to-cloud gateway to bridge to modern platforms. Budget 4–8 weeks for middleware if you're moving from legacy on-premises WMS to cloud-native backend.
  • Battery Chemistry and Aging: 5400 mAh Li-ion battery capacity degrades ~10% per year under typical warehouse duty (full recharge cycles in warm environments). Budgeting replacement batteries at 18-month intervals is standard. The device supports hot-swap, so no downtime is required.
  • Keypad Customization: 30-key numeric and 38-key alphabetic variants are available on order. Do not assume the 53-key alphanumeric configuration without validating your operator workflow—numeric-only sites will appreciate the smaller footprint and simplified interfaces.

The A97AM5C2N51SP is the right fit for organizations running Windows-based WMS clients on 5–10 year lifecycles, where hardware refresh is driven by drop damage or battery degradation rather than OS obsolescence. If you're migrating to cloud-native picking systems (Shopify, SAP S/4HANA, modern Fishbowl), evaluate this device in parallel with Android/iOS alternatives—but on legacy warehouses still running mature Windows Mobile code, this scanner closes the door on evaluation paralysis. See the CipherLab catalog for complementary scanners and related mobile-compute devices.

Specifications
Product Type: Handheld Scanner
Connectivity: Wi-Fi
IP Rating: IP65
Dimensions: 214 mm (H) x 87 mm (W) x 47 mm (D)
Weight: 478 g (5400 mAh); 447 g (3600 mAh)
Scan Engine: 2D
Battery Capacity: 3600mAh
CPU: TI OMAP 3730 1GHz
RAM: 4GB Nand FLASH / 512MB DDR SDRAM
Operating System: Windows® CE 6.0 R3 / Windows® Embedded Handheld 6.5.3
Battery Life: 13
Display: 3.5” VGA/ QVGA TFT color LCD with LED backlight, Sunlight readable resistive Touch Panel
Drop Spec: 1.8 m drop, IP65, MIL-STD-810G
Expansion Slots: Micro SD Slot With SDHC Support (up to 32 GB)
Keypad: 53-key alphanumeric with LED backlight (30-key and 38-key numeric variants available)
Power Supply: Battery
Battery: 3.7V 5400 mAh Li-ion (also 3600 mAh variant)
Warranty: 2-Year Warranty
Processor: TI OMAP 3730 1GHz
Memory: 4 GB NAND FLASH / 512 MB DDR SDRAM
Wireless: IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n (Cisco CCXv4 certified); Bluetooth Class II v2.1 with EDR
scan_engine: 2D
interface: WiFi
ip_rating: IP65
battery_capacity: 3600mAh
wireless: 802.11
product_type: Handheld Scanner
Operating_System: Windows CE 6.0 R3 / Windows Embedded Handheld 6.5.3
Expansion_Slots: Micro SD Slot With SDHC Support (up to 32 GB)
Power_Supply: Rechargeable 3.7V 3600 mAh / 5400 mAh Li-ion Battery
Battery_Life: 13 hours
Scan_Engine: 2D Imager; 1D Laser (on request); Near/Far 2D; Standard/Mid-Range 2D
Drop_Spec: 1.8 m multiple drops to concrete (MIL-STD-810G); 500 tumbles at 1 m; 1000 tumbles at 0.5 m
Length: 1.8 m
Compatible With: warehouse
Form Factor: display
Speed: 810G
Type: 2D 53key 5400mAh Pistol Simple
Scanner_Type: Handheld
Symbologies: 1D: Code 128, Code 39, UPC, EAN; 2D: QR Code, Data Matrix, PDF417
Symbologies_1D: Code 128, Code 39, UPC, EAN
Symbologies_2D: QR Code, Data Matrix, PDF417
Interface: Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n; Bluetooth Class II v2.1 EDR
MIL_STD: MIL-STD-810G
Bluetooth: Class II v2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)
Storage: microSD Slot with SDHC support (up to 32 GB)
Screen_Size: 3.5 inch VGA/QVGA TFT color LCD, sunlight-readable, resistive touch
Form_Factor: Pistol grip handheld
Product_Type: Rugged 2D handheld mobile computer/scanner
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