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Rather than trying to explain who Wizcom Technologies
is and what they do, here is a small snippet from their website, which
does the job quite nicely:
"WizCom
Technologies Ltd. has a multi-disciplinary R&D team comprised of
experts in image processing and image acquisition, linguistics and
algorithms, as well as experts in functional hardware design. The
Company develops, manufactures, and markets easy-to-use, intelligent,
hand-held electronic products for the linguistics educational and IT
markets. These products combine proprietary high-quality image
acquisition and image processing technologies with enhanced language
databases."
Wizcom
is one of the few companies who specialize in image processing
technologies and apply it to portable handheld scanners. Their
first hit product is something called Quicktionary. This
portable pen shaped scanner allowed people to scan in a word and
instantaneously view it's translation in a variety of languages. It
became quite popular, selling over 500,000 units.
The
product we're taking a look at today is Wizcom's latest product, the
QuickLink Pen. This is also a handheld pen scanner, but a much more
advanced one. It can capture any kind of printed text, store it
in it's flash memory and then transfer it to a PC, laptop,
text-enabled mobile phone or Palm devices such as a Palm Pilot.
You can store up a 1000 pages of text. It stores regular notes,
addresses, Internet URL's and tables and allows you to organize them
right on the pen. You can even upgrade the pen by free software
upgrades. What's amazing is how much functionality Wizcom packed
into such a small device.
We'll
be taking a look at most of these functions in detail, but more
importantly we'll examine how well the pen works and how useful it
really is.
Here are the specs for the QuickLink Pen.
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Features:
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- ARM 7 TDMI Processor
- Optic Head: 128 pixels
linear array image sensor - 400 DPI
- Captures up to 1000 pages of
data (8-1/2" x 11" x 12pt font)
- Recognizes 6-22 point size
text, italic, underlined, even inverted text
- Opticard allows manual text
input
- Auto detects text for
instant scanning. Just roll and scan.
- Uses either infrared (IrDA)
or the Serial Port (9-pin) to transfer data easily.
- Optical Character
Recognition at 97% (based on text size and font)
- Pen is both upgradeable and
expandable through software and hardware upgrades.
(ex. 4MB flash upgrade)
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Physical
Specifications:
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- Weight: 3 ounces
- Dimensions: 6" x
1-1/2" x 1"
- Ergonomically designed for
either left or right-handed use
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Comes
with:
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- 2MB ROM and 2MB integrated
flash memory
- QuickLink interface software
- Deatiled User Manual
- Tutorial Video on CD
- Quick Reference Card
- PC Data Cable (RS 232, 9
Pin)
- Carrying Case (plastic) with
Opticard
- 2 AAA batteries
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Applications:
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- Notes -- a form
information database with file management features
(Microsoft Outlook compatible)
- Address Book --
allows you to scan business cards and synchronize your
records (Microsoft Outlook compatible)
- Internet Links --
collects Internet addresses and transfers them to your
browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer Favorites compatible)
- Tables and Charts --
captures and maintain integrity of individual cells with
direct input into a spreadsheet (Microsoft Excel
compatible).
Optional upgrades:
- Connectivity to Palm Pilot
and other PDA's (free software download)
- Connectivity to Text-Enabled
Cellular Phones (free software download)
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The pen is no slouch in the feature
area; for something so small it sure packs a lot of
functionality. On the next page, we'll take a look at most of
it's features in more detail.
Next Page:
Features
in Depth/User Interface
Hardware
Pros Home Page
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