Ectaco C-Pen Handheld Scanner
Ectaco C-Pen 20 Handheld Scanner
Manufacturer: Ectaco
The C-Pen 20 is an affordable and reliable handheld data entry alternative to fixed desktop scanners. Letting you capture the exact segment of the text you need, it instantly inserts scanned data into the desired field within your applications. Seamlessly integrating with translation, word processor, database or spreadsheet applications, you can now scan and insert text from curved, laminated and patterned surfaces - something standard scanners just can't do. Significantly faster and more flexible than a desktop scanner it connects easily with your laptop or Win XP based handheld device and is lightweight and extremely portable. You can use the C-Pen 20 in the library, at the office or even on a plane. Able to read printed text in over 238 languages it lets you send a phrase or a whole paragraph from foreign books or documents to your PC for phonetic pronunciation or to speed up translation and learning. Now you need never again copy-type long sentences or number combinations from contact sheets, business cards or any other printed surface, eliminating the costly and time-consuming mistakes which often occur during manual data entry. In the warehouse, C-Pen 20 enables the creation of custom inventorying and tracking solutions that target the specific needs of your business. Now scan data from any surface directly into standard applications on your computer and continue to process it within the application of your choice. It couldn't be easier.
Lowest Used Price: USD 94.00
Lowest New Price: USD 103.97
- Selective data entry. Better data control.
- Increased scanning speeds. Portability.
- Scanning from irregular surfaces.
- Inventory/Tracking Solutions.
- Recognizes 238 languages. Learning aid.
Model: C-PEN 20
Once you get the RIGHT software for it, the pen works pretty good
The software that came with the pen and instructions were worthless. Would not work. The latest web software download for their product from their website also was worthless. The pen would not work. Gave up after a few hours of installing and uninstalling software. Support is unavailable but for email. The next day I received an email from their support with a completely different software. (why it is not on their website, I have no idea). However, with this new software the pen immediately started working. It works pretty darn good too. It is a little uncomfortable to hold, press button and push down, but you start getting the hang of it soon. I find using a clip board, scanning one line and then viewing on the screen works best. I also find it is faster to use this pen than trying to type myself (and I do type pretty fast). So it is worth it if you have a lot of text to scan. Here is the new software that works: [...] Also, the instructions are not good, but basically you open up your document (Word, Excel, etc) point the curser where you want to start and scan. The pen settings are on your desktop tray, open that to change (you may not want to start a new line after each scan, but that is the default setting) You can select a tab, space , new line or nothing after each scan. That's about it. I really do recommend this pen scanner, the accuracy is about 95% to 99% depending on how tired your hand gets.
Now Works with Mac!
I recently downloaded the beta driver for Mac OSX Snow Leopard and I'm pleased to report that the C-Pen 20 worked without a hitch. Now I just plug it into the USB port and begin using it. Of course, it works best on flat pages. Also, I underline with a narrow orange highlighter pen cartridge rather than pencil or dark pen and the C-Pen has no trouble recognizing passages underlined in that way.
Really functional, just don't expect any support on the installation
The C-Pen 20 exceeded my expectations. I've thought about buying one for a while, and resisted because I didn't think it would be reliable. In fact, the C-Pen gets almost all of the text I have scanned in English and in French right. I have to go back and check for some common subsitutions (: for c or t, U for li) but it really is remarkably accurate. The only text it doesn't like is underlined text.
My complaint with the pen is the tech support and installation. The installation guidelines are bare bones and offer no help for if anything goes wrong. (My particular favourite is the advice, "Do not attach pen before the software is installed." There is no follow-up to tell you what to do if you do...) I couldn't find any help on the net when I found that my netbook wouldn't recognize the pen, so I tried emailing the support. No reply.
In the end I worked out that you need to make sure that your windows is fully updated, otherwise it won't recognize that the pen is plugged in. I don't run Internet Explorer so I hadn't even noticed my windows was not updated. I spent about 8 hours installing different versions of the software and drivers from the web and the cd before I figured this problem out with windows help. It's a pretty basic point, so why not have a note on it in the installation guide?
The pen itself, and the dictionaries etc seem to work a dream.
New software
Get new drivers (Google Exacto C Pen 20) for Win 7 32 and 64 bit. They work well. Follow the directions exactly, and
make sure you delete the CD drivers and software and reboot before using the new ones.
I only deduct a star from this superior device for not being able to deal with English italics etc. ... they end up unformatted.
The accuracy is really very good.
I had great fun at Google Translate converting passages of French scientific text to English...it really works. The various
accents are handled well.
AMAZING FOR STUDENTS!!!
I WAS VERY SKEPTICAL WHEN ORDERED THE SCANNER. I READ HUNDREDS OF REVIEWS FOR DIFFERENT SCANNERS AND FOUND THIS TO BE A BETTER OPTION...I CANT TELL YOU HOW SURPRISED I AM AT THE SPEED!!! I USE IT FOR SCHOOL AND NEED TO ALMOST LITERARY RE-WRITE THE BOOK FOR MY OWN NOTES...THE SCANNING SPEED IS FASTER THAN ME USING A HIGHLIGHTER....SOME MINOR CORRECTIONS ARE NEEDED, BUT TOTALLY WORTH IT
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