High Technology Product Reviews | Trends and News

There's nothing new about a portable device that you can plug into a dock to use as a desktop unit too. Lots of laptops have let you do that for years. Somehow, though, the idea of a scanner doing the same thing seems like an exciting new trick, and it's the one feature in the Visioneer Strobe 500 ($399.99 direct) that's most likely to grab your attention. It firmly plants the scanner in two separate categories—portable and personal desktop document scanner. Ultimately, though, it's best appreciated as a capable desktop scanner first and a portable only as a decidedly secondary role. Specifications Maximum Optical Resolution 600 pixels Mechanical Resolution 600 pixels Maximum Scan Area Legal Scanning Options Reflective Flatbed No The scanner comes mounted in its docking station, which includes a 20-page automatic document feeder (ADF) and an output tray. The combination of the two is about the same size as a typical personal desktop scanner, with an 11.7- by...

Scanner technology tends to improve over time, benefiting consumers mostly through lowering the cost for a given level of capability. The Epson Perfection V300 Photo scanner ($99.99 direct, which includes a one-year parts-and-labor warranty) is a case in point. Coming a year after the now discontinued V350 Photo scanner, it is $50 cheaper and can run rings around the V350 in performance, particularly for scanning transparencies—both slides and strips of film. It's also comparable with, yet cheaper than, the Canon CanoScan 5600F, which is enough to warrant having the V300 replace the 5600F as Editors' Choice. Specifications Maximum Optical Resolution 4800 pixels Mechanical Resolution 9600 pixels Maximum Scan Area Letter Scanning Options Reflective, Transparency Flatbed Yes You won't find many differences in basics between the V300 and 5600F, but the few that exist are in the V300's favor. Both offer 4,800-pixel-per-inch (ppi) optical resolution; both have tra...

You'd expect a photo scanner at this price to scan up to four 35mm slides or two strips of 35mm film at a time, as the V600 does. You probably wouldn't expect it to also offer a 6,400 pixel-per-inch (ppi) optical resolution as well as scan medium-format film, including 120/220 and the entire range of panoramic formats up to 6 by 22 centimeters. But the V600 does that too. The unexpected extras help make it a great choice if you have medium-format film to scan and are on a tight budget. Specifications Maximum Optical Resolution 6400 pixels Mechanical Resolution 9600 pixels Maximum Scan Area Letter Scanning Options Reflective, Transparency Flatbed Yes The V600 fits in Epson's line between the less expensive Editors' Choice Epson Perfection V500 Photo, scanner and the more expensive Epson Perfection V700 Photo. Despite the evenly spaced model numbers, it's much closer in price and capability to the V500, but it offers some important extras. In particular, i...

Plustek is introducing the SmartPhoto P60, a compact and portable scanner which can convert old photographs into digital files with the touch of a button. It is the first photo scanner that the company is releasing to the U.S. market. The SmartPhoto 60 can scan at 100, 300, or 600 dpi. According to Plustek, it can scan a 4- by 6-inch photo at 100 dpi and import it into a computer in as little as 18 seconds. No additional software is needed to convert or upload photos. Once scanned, digital photos may be shared on-line, thru email, and on digital photo frames just like a photo created by a digital camera. The SmartPhoto P60 includes a protector sheet to keep old, fragile or irreplaceable photographs from harm while they're being scanned. The SmartPhoto P60 is powered through a USB port so it may be used anywhere with a laptop or desktop computer (Windows or Mac) and does not require external power.