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Taser changes name to Axon in shift to software services

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SAN FRANCISCO: Taser International Inc , maker of the eponymous device used by police to stun and incapacitate a person temporarily, is changing its name to Axon as it pushes further into the software business.


The Axon name comes from Taser’s unit that sells police body cameras, patrol car cameras and the software for managing the hours of digital footage they generate.


In a gamble that police departments will sign up for paid software subscriptions, the company is offering free body cameras to police officers in addition to a year of free access to Evidence.com, its online software for managing video and other evidence.


Shares of the company closed down 0.5 per cent at $21.90, after rising more than 6 per cent in anticipation of a company announcement.


Taser still gets the bulk of its revenue from its weapons, which use electrical current to immobilise targets. Last year, $202.6 million of its $268.2 million in revenue came from its weapons segment, mostly in the form of replacement cartridges.


But Chief Executive Officer Rick Smith said the Taser brand name can be “polarising” because of its association with the company’s weapons.


Taser will continue to use the Taser brand for its weapons products. The Axon brand will let the company market its cameras and records management software to police departments without the controversy the Taser brand can generate, Smith said. — Reuters


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