Patent ID: 8281993

Claim:
A data collection device comprising: a hand held housing; an imaging assembly supported by said hand held housing; a central processing unit; a memory; a display disposed in said housing; a user interface including at least one of a touch screen and a keyboard; a wireless communication interface; a location detecting unit including a radio transceiver, said location detecting unit incorporated into said hand held housing, said location detecting unit configured to output, based on radio signals received by said radio transceiver from at least three orbiting satellites, location data comprising a current location of said data collection device; wherein said data collection device is configured to perform at least one of: receiving a network-based location information from a wireless network; determining a network-based location information based on a network identifier received from a wireless network; wherein said data collection device is further configured to initiate communications with said at least three orbiting satellites based on said network-based location information; wherein said data collection device is configured, responsive to a user interface action, to acquire an image, decode a bar code symbol represented in said image producing a decoded message, and associate said decoded message and said location data outputted by said location detecting unit; and wherein said data collection device is further configured to transmit to a remote server said decoded message associated with said location data.