Review of Ectaco C-Pen 2.0 Handheld Pen Scanner

www.jasonstaples.com

...Excitedly (but ready to be disappointed by poor scan or OCR quality), I got the pen scanner ready, connected it to my computer, and tried it out. All I can say is that this thing is well worth the cost of around $100 for anyone like myself who is in a strongly text-based field. The pen (and the OCR software underlying it) works far better than I had expected. I can scan at about the rate I would highlight, and the text gets scanned right into any text editor or word processor with around 95% accuracy (the mistakes are easily found). It has an easier time with some fonts (and hardbacks, which lend to a flatter scanning surface) than others and does not alter typeface (ignoring bold or italics) but it is outstanding for building a searchable quote library for whatever one is reading...

Remarkable. This little device is changing how I record my research; I have actually devised a system of commenting on the book (or copying an earlier marginal quote) in a different typeface within the document in which I import the scanned text, allowing me instant access to critiques of specific passages or points that might otherwise stay trapped in a book on my shelf. I’d highly recommend this little device for anyone wanting quick access to quotes or wanting to take his/her library research with him/her on his/her computer.

The next step is to get something like this to plug into an iPhone or iPad—that would be a killer product...

Electronic dictionary and e-book ECTACO

ECTACO Ads.

www.cpen.cz, www.ectaco.cz, www.ectacoinc.co.uk, www.ectaco.es
alex.p@ectacoinc.co.uk