Pen-Sized Color Scanner Reviewed 125
moto writes "ThinkComputers has a review up of a cool pen-sized scanner, the Planon RC800 Portable Color Scanner. From the article: 'I've noticed one major constant about most technology, as it changes it gets smaller. Take scanners for instance, I have a few of them, an older one that is pretty big, you could use it for a computer case if need be, if I lined them up in order of age you would find that they get smaller as they get newer. Today for review I have the smallest scanner yet, it's from Planon, and they actually made it into the Guinness Book of World Records.'"
This is old news. (Score:5, Informative)
While a handheld pen-sized scanner may intrigue, it's not very new, not even for this particular device. If you go to the amazon.com review of this device [amazon.com], and look and see the oldest review for this device is in October of 2004!
Additionally, while there are only fifteen reviews, the average is only 3.5/5 stars, enough of an indicator (to me at least) this isn't exciting or very interesting technology (for the record, a running theme at amazon seems to indicate a klunky package with difficult to use software and controls). Also fifteen reviews over a 15 month period would indicate a product that isn't moving. Perhaps this review is a nudge to try and get the product moving?
Re:This is old news. (Score:4, Interesting)
Of course, the idea of having such a tiny scanner is amazing. It would be great to one day have a normal pen that you can just slide along a piece of paper anywhere and it will save the image. Later, you could upload it to your computer wirelessly. I would definitely pay a few hundred dollars for something like that, if not a thousand. It would be great in class to quickly scan in and then throw away every handout, so I don't need to keep them in a folder somewhere collecting dust.
Re:This is old news. (Score:3, Interesting)
or the dozen or so patents haven't expired yet for a community to develop and release an improved version without bugs.
Re:This is old news. (Score:2)
Patents encourage innovation in multiple ways.
1. People develop new things to get that government-granted monopoly.
2. Other people have to find new ways to do things that the people in #1 did so they can make money too.
Lately it seems that the people in the 2nd group have decided it easier to whine and complain about the people in the first group than it is to come up with something new on
Re:This is old news. (Score:2, Funny)
I RTFA. What review? It's pure, unadulterated online ad, exactly the sort of copy I would expect to see at a place that asked me to add it to my cart just to see the sale price.
The "reviewer" needs to wear a Tshirt that says "I'm a ho" on it.
KFG
Re:This is old news. (Score:3, Funny)
That was over the top. Apologise to the hoes now. ;)
Re:This is old news. (Score:2, Interesting)
You're right and I'm sorry. The hoes are professionals.
KFG
Re:This is old news. (Score:1)
Whatever! I'll do what I want!
That's an earler version of the product (Score:3, Informative)
That's not the same unit. (Score:2, Informative)
This is the R800. The R800 is a colour unit with higher resolution. They also claim to have improved the tracking system and software so it isn't so fiddly.
The difference in utility is pretty major. I wouldn't bother with a monochrome pen scanner, but I would love to be able to quickly scan visual reference material out of art books quickly. They tend to be expensive and have low print runs, but photocopying for reference when doing a pain
There's a reason scanners are big (Score:5, Interesting)
If you look carefully at a typical $100 scanner, you'll realize that the electronics contribute very little to its size. Most of the bulk is due to the mechnical stuff that holds the paper in place and moves the sensors across it.
That kind of mechanical engineering has clearly hit its fundamental limits in terms of size. To get a real breakthrough, you'd have to find a way to do without moving the sensor over the image. You can already image a piece of paper with a digital camera — and some digital cameras are very tiny indeed. But they don't include the ability to correct the image for the arbitrary positioning of the camera. Invent that, and you'd have a handheld scanner worth talking about.
Re:There's a reason scanners are big (Score:1)
Re:There's a reason scanners are big (Score:1)
Re:There's a reason scanners are big (Score:2)
Re:There's a reason scanners are big (Score:1)
Re:There's a reason scanners are big (Score:2)
Re:There's a reason scanners are big (Score:2)
Well, I started using my Canon Digital Rebel XT for "scanning" documents. If you have the right distance and the right lens (around 28mm seems pretty good, though 35 is better if you good enough light to be able to hold it steady).
It is true, at the 18mm end of the stock Rebel lens, distortion is a little of a problem, but if you go higher up, it's less fisheye. Good quality 18mm and 14mm
Re:There's a reason scanners are big (Score:2)
9 inches long, about as big around as a Red Bull can. Big thick SCSI cable that weighed more than the scanner connected it to a little parallel port SCSI board the manufacturer had bought in bulk from AT&T. Did black and white at like 200 dpi, cheesy 256 greyscale at less.
If the paper was thin, the scanner wouldn't grab it. If the paper was thick, it sounded like the scanner was going to have a heart attack. If you weren't scanning some
Re:There's a reason scanners are big (Score:1)
Check this passage:
My camera does that :) (Score:1)
It's not perfect, but my camera -- a Casio EX-Z120 -- actually has exactly this feature built in. Casio calls it "Business Shot";
What about this? (Score:2)
I think you could get away with a 256x256 sensor (real cheap IC) that is hooked up with a plastic lens to read a 1/2" square area at roughly 300dpi.
It could break the image up into tiles, and autocorrelate them as you scan to build up the document on the fly in the onboard memory. An ARM core with a few meg of onboard RAM and flash, maybe a DSP, it shouldn't take much to make that possible in a mouse-sized, lightweight device.
Put a few LEDs on top
Camera "scanning" (Score:2)
It's intended to take pictures of whiteboards and business cards and an angle, and does an admirable job of finding the edges and correcting for perspective. The camera itself isn't high-enough resolution to do a great job with a sheet of paper, but for smaller items or things with large print (as I said, business cards and whiteboards) it does a pret
Re:Camera "scanning" (Score:2)
Re:Your signature (Score:1)
What about the people who did apply patches and are lying? Perhaps "claims" should be replaced with "experiences" or "has".
Re:Your signature (Score:2)
Re:This is old news. NOT (Score:1)
This is incorrect, it is not old news. (Score:2)
I've got an RC700, and the only difficult thing about it was the basic instructions being unclear, with no simple explanation on how to clear the memory.
Other than that, it has come in quite handy, and even intimidating...when looking up public records at government offices, the clerk tends to panic when you whip it out of your sleeve and start scanning the paperwork into it. Especially when it is one of those "cannot leave the counter to
When size matters... (Score:5, Funny)
Hey baby..
I'm just more technologically advanced.
"Constant?" (Score:2)
I'm confused now. Is it a constant, or isn't it?
Re:When size matters... (Score:2)
Just goes to prove too much technology isn't a good thing.
Re:When size matters... (Score:2)
Re:When size matters... (Score:5, Insightful)
I remember looking at old futuristic art from, oh, the 30s through the 50s. The future was big. Big buildings, bridges, ships, and later big airplanes and spaceships. Big cars, big roads. I suspect that for the typical person from that period, "futuristic" would be more closely associated with "big" than "small".
Re:When size matters... (Score:2)
Re:When size matters... (Score:2)
Some things are more useful when they're bigger (the examples you cited). Some things are more useful when they're smaller (anything that you have to carry).
Then there are some things that have a Goldilocks size - like a cell phone. The current ones that can only be held between the thumb and pinkie and dialed with a ballpoint pen are one such counter-example.
And the iPod inVisa - "it floats!".
Is that a... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Is that a... (Score:2)
Are you SUURE this is a good idea? (Score:4, Funny)
And he even did it with the scanner used in a Fax machine. Totally awesome techie feat, not to mention impossible. The greatest line ever, though: "Ten thousand songs, ten thousand account numbers. It can't tell the difference." I fell out of my chair.
Re:Are you SUURE this is a good idea? (Score:2)
a zip disk perhaps would have been more appropriate?
MEGAbytes?!?!?! (Score:2)
Exactly how many digits is your bank account number, and why the hell do you bank there?
Re:Are you SUURE this is a good idea? (Score:2)
The number for the account at the bottom of my checks is fourteen.
Let's say we store 50 characters of name identification because we feel like sending everyone a form letter thanking them for the money we're stealing.
Tab inbetween them.
Null at the end.
In character format, this comes out to 75 bytes, with one extra null for delimitation. This comes out to a grand total of 750,000 bytes, or 730k'ish of data for 10,000 accounts.
You and everyone you hav
Re:Are you SUURE this is a good idea? (Score:2)
Re:Are you SUURE this is a good idea? (Score:1)
Useful in class/workplace (Score:5, Insightful)
Already, most handouts in class can be found online. This will just make it even easier to keep everything on your computer for easy retrieval--especially through SEARCH (spotlight, google DS, vista, etc.).
Can't wait till they technology is cheaper and more efficient.
Re:Useful in class/workplace (Score:1)
Re:Useful in class/workplace (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Useful in class/workplace (Score:2)
And that's just one example. Many engineering documents and specs (I mean for real structures and products, not necessary consumer-grade hardware or software) are kept in paper form, again for
Re:Useful in class/workplace (Score:3, Insightful)
The computer works best when you think of it as a box that does wonderous things that you used to use many pieces of paper for.
The stream, for those that still get paper in, should be "recieve paper -> Scan document -> archive or discard paper -> Create product -> print product." You start having a paperless
Re:Useful in class/workplace (Score:2)
It ain't all that paperless.
What usually ends up happening is that they generate the same amount of and sometimes more paper... but in different ways than before.
Re:Useful in class/workplace (Score:2)
It ain't all that paperless.
Then they're not working in a paperless office.
A paperless office is a large place, with one department for "incoming paper," a seperate print shop, and NO ONE ELSE HAS A PRINTER.
If you've got a printer installed on your PC, your office ain't paperless.
Re:Useful in class/workplace (Score:2)
Paperless office - hrmmm, that old myth. We use more paper since the advent of computers than we did previously. A significant use of which is printing out email.
While I work for a business which provides digital archiving solutions, personally I still request bills and bank statements in hardcopy.
Hardcopy can provide a trigger to pay the bill, I can write a recipt number on it, file it for referring to later, fax it to someone should there be a dispute. Digital files tend to either be untrusted (too easy
Re:Useful in class/workplace (Score:2)
I remember my first scanner (Score:5, Interesting)
Now I have an 8.5 x 11 scanner that does 2400 dpi in a single pass and it only cost me $89 on sale at Best Buy.
Amazing what happens in a dozen years...
RS
Re:I remember my first scanner (Score:2, Interesting)
The worlds smallest playable violin is only 4 inches long, but you're not likely to see people lining up to buy it. There is an international standard now for the "correct" size of a violin, because:
For every technology there is a right size. A working automobile the size of a peanut would be a remarkable bit of manufacturing technology; and useless.
KFG
Re:I remember my first scanner (Score:3, Insightful)
It's like saying "the world's smallest boulder is so small that it fits in a hat box!"
I've got a motorcycle that runs circles around most cars -- it is bigger than a peanut, but accelerates faster than a supercar and still gets 40 mpg. (my other bike is faster than 85% of all cars, but gets 90 mpg and is 1/5th the cost of a stripped civic). The only reason you would think it's useless is because it isn't a car. But, it does ever
Re:I remember my first scanner (Score:1)
I miss my RD400. Note that I didn't say "vehicle," I said "car." Yes, I constrained the technology, but to what it is. I didn't constrain other technologies to accomplish the same or similar ends.
Nowadays I just ride a bicycle, because even though it won't "run circles" around a car, let alone a motorcycle, I find it to be a superior technology. For minimalism I've got a skateboard, because even though I can make a fully functional, 4" long bicycle my
Re:I remember my first scanner (Score:2)
Good point. Unless you're saying I'm fat and am never going to be skinny
I guess we should have come up with better examples -- some things are constrained by human form factors (car, violin, piano), and others aren't as much (mp3 player, sheets of paper).
Re:I remember my first scanner (Score:1)
The single volume dead tree OED came with a magnifying glass. The magnifying glass becomes part of the size of the piece of paper, because the paper is useless without it.
If you find you need to use a tripod to achieve high quality scans with your digital camera, the tripod becomes part of the size of your scanner.
The size of the scanner is dependant on the size of the piece o
Re:I remember my first scanner (Score:2)
Re:I remember my first scanner (Score:2)
Speaking as a violinist: If the violin is 4 inches long, it ain't playable.
Then again, I guess that was your point.
Useful to genealogists (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Useful to gynecologists (Score:2)
Re:Useful to gynecologists (Score:2)
Such a shame the new world eschewed proper spelling in favour of
Re:Useful to genealogists (Score:2)
If they're brittle enough to need avoiding a photocopy you don't want to run anything over the pages in physical contact either.
If your camera isn't that high of a resolution, tile the pictures use something like Autostitcher to glue them together.
You're a guest in the community's library and you have no right to damage the community property just because you're feel
Re:Useful to genealogists (Score:2)
The reason they don't want them scanned is the paper is fragile, exposure to light or being handled is likely to accellerate the decay.
They are trying to preserve the record so it is available to be viewed by generations of people at a later date. 'Covert scanning' as you propose is a form of vandalism and exactly the type of attitude that causes these sort of items to be placed in closed collections.
Re:Useful to genealogists (Score:2)
WTFC? (Score:3, Insightful)
Honestly, is there anyone over the age of 12 that's still impressed with anything in the Guiness Book of World Records? And even if so, why is a record of "Worlds Smallest Scanner" even worth recording? It'll be beaten as a matter of course when the R900 comes out.
usable with Linux? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:usable with Linux? (Score:1)
You seem to have answered your own question in the same post.
Re:usable with Linux? (Score:2, Informative)
"Please note that these files are drivers only and do not include any scanning software. They will allow you to use your DocuPen with your mac if your mac has OS 10 and a TWAIN compliant imaging software such as Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Acrobat Writer among others."
Unfortunately, no mention of Linux, so it is not an interesting product, afterall.
Re:usable with Linux? (Score:3, Interesting)
I wonder if somebody tried this scanner with Linux? Also this scanner can use microSD card to extend its memory. It may store the files on the card in some usable format.
Re:usable with Linux? (Score:2)
I am suprised we don't get Mandriva / Fedora / Debian compatibility listed though.
Re:usable with Linux? (Score:1)
Author must be out of products to review (Score:2)
ot - your sig (Score:1)
Only if you're not getting much of it..
Most consumer stuff is crap (Score:4, Informative)
Now, if you show me a pen scanner that makes images good enough to ORC or recognize a bar code and I'll sell a million of them for you. But for now, I love to have an ultra-reliable, self-feeding, double-sided, 60+ ppm scanner whenever I need to scan anything worthwhile.
Re:Most consumer stuff is crap (Score:2)
Re:Most consumer stuff is crap (Score:2)
I don't use it to commute to client sites for computer work.
But you won't see me pulling stumps out of the ground with my Subaru either (the tow hooks are actually just cheap sheet metal - DAMHINT).
So, right tool for the right job at the right price and all that.
Re:Most consumer stuff is crap (Score:2)
Also, all of the examples they give on the website are for mission-c
All I want from scanner manufacturers (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:All I want from scanner manufacturers (Score:2)
Of course it helps to be a big bank to be able to afford such systems. SoHo prioced scanners can be nice, but they generally aren't full-duplex and the ADFs tend to jam if the paper quality isn't 100%.
Re:All I want from scanner manufacturers (Score:2)
And I found it in like 2 minutes
http://search.ebay.com/XDM2625D [ebay.com]
The Xerox DocuMate 262 Color Duplex Sheetfed Scanner & Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) for Windows/Windows XP is Double the speed in duplex mode @ 50 ipm and includes OneTouch scanning for up to 9 functions.
MODEL: XDM2625D-WU VENDOR: VISIONEER
Seems it's not just the people you think are running the show who are morons.
Re:All I want from scanner manufacturers (Score:2)
You mean like the Kodak i40? I'd say it does just about everything you mention, and has a nice supply of included software to boot.
At the office, w
Re:All I want from scanner manufacturers (Score:2)
Expensive to buy, I bet, but the bosses liked it because it cost something like $40 a month to lease including all supplies (except paper) and all maintenance.
No, I mean something in sub-$400 range (Score:2)
Re:No, I mean something in sub-$400 range (Score:2)
Well, the sub-$400 is going to be tricky. The Fuji SnapScans are going for around $495 retail and have pretty good reviews (I think somebody said something about not being real TWAIN scanners, though).
I can say from experience, the single-sided Kodak i30 is about $600 (with software, cable, and even USB interface card if you have a really old computer), it's seriously fast and as small as a typical inkjet printer. We use it for electronic case filing (ECF) with the Federal court. The Kodak i40 is doubl
Re:All I want from scanner manufacturers (Score:1)
Ask and ye shall recieve (Score:2)
It's a dandy little box. You just put a stack of papers into it, and it scans them - both sides at once. It doesn't seem to care much about bent corners, or creases, or folds, or slightly-off sizes. And when it does begin to misfeed for whatever reason, it has the remarkable ability to shake the paper stack until
Re:All I want from scanner manufacturers (Score:2)
Personally... (Score:1)
Re:Personally... (Score:2)
Hmm. . . (Score:1)
Designers seem to keep making devices smaller and smaller just because they can. Some devices are becoming so small it's making them virtually unusable.
Future Review: New scanner released that's the size of a needle, unfortunately the review has been delayed because we dropped it in a haystack.
3 Things Smaller Isn't (Score:1, Redundant)
Better.
Cheaper.
Easier to Use.
Inspiron 700m Screen Scanner - Why Not? (Score:1)
Re:Inspiron 700m Screen Scanner - Why Not? (Score:2)
Double take (Score:2)
I suppose I'm the only person who thought that said penis-sized color scanner. It was a boggle trying to figure out why that would be the unit of measure and who would calculate the standard.
You could spin that out to suggest there was a replica at some government office, made out of titanium or something, that was the internationally recognized standard. That could help out anyone getting caught with a vibrator in their desk. They could simply explain that was their 1
Scanners only getting smaller? (Score:2)
Those looked a bit like a T-shaped overgrown mouse (now figure that out) and required at least two passes to scan an A4 sheet.
Asimov? (Score:2)
Re:Horray for useless technology? ahem! (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:When I read the review... (Score:1)
Now There's Something Interesting... (Score:1)
You could scan by author, subject, heck even personal request. PDF it. Upload it. Sell it. Profit.
Boo-ya.