Review of Fingerprint NIDEKA NU-2312

This noon my 'pseudo' Boss (nearly become my Boss) ask me to try a new Fingerprint Attendance that she (yes, he is she) bought from Jakarta yesterday.

Here the specification of the hardware, NIDEKA NU-2312:

Display	2.8" TFT True Color LCD 320x240 Pixels
Communication Port	USB Link, SD Card
Authentication Method	Fingerprint, Password
Identification Speed	less or equal 1.2s
Dimension	124 x 44 x 184 mm (WxHxL)
Other	Max Fingerprint Records 1.000   Max Management Records 10.000   Max Attendance Records : 100.000   Fingerprint Sensor Area 16 x 14 (mm)

This hardware really have a nice GUI, but it has so many drawback. First, the software for this hardware is only an addons for Microsoft Excel not as stand alone program. It is not a problem if you have a Microsoft Office Excel product in your Windows Operating System, but if you don't have any Excel in your Windows it become a major drawback because you will need to expense your money to buy Microsoft Office Excel program. Second, there is no SDK include in its software. There is no way to extend its capability or feature if you want to develop your own software with this hardware. So, this hardware is no place for application developer. Third, it only provide you with 2 communication port, USB Link and SD Card, there is no TCP/IP connection. So, you'll end collecting data via an SD Card if you place the hardware far from the computer where you've installed its software.

As conclusion, this hardware is really not suitable for tracking attendance in company with more than one division or with more than 1 floor building or wide area building. It only suit for really small company with small employee.