Archive for October 13th, 2009

Planon’s DocuPen XSERIES Scanner looks like something out of a spy movie.  All you do is pass the thin, pen-shaped scanner over the document you want scanned.  With MicroSD card support, the DocuPen can hold up to 2GB of data, which you can upload to your computer via USB or Bluetooth.

The DocuPen has a small screen that displays the pen’s menu and options.

It’s a cool device that packs a bunch of functionality into a tiny form factor.  If you need to do a lot of quick scans, this device seems like it will work well.  However, it may be tedious to use for scanning many files.

Also, the DocuPen must be held fairly steady when scanning.  The device has rollers to aid scanning, but still you need to manually keep the device flat and scan at a relatively stead speed.

HTC passed their PB81100 device through the FCC today.  Word on the street is that this is the highly anticipated HTC Leo, aka HD2.

FCC data does confirm that this is a Pocket PC phone.  However, the test report only mentions two GSM bands, GSM 850 and GSM 1900.  This is peculiar because the Leo is a quad-band device, and usually all four bands would show up on the test report.

This bizarre looking device from Philips is actually a mood lighting system that can display any color on the colorwheel remote (above right).  You can control the light color manually, with the included remote, or set the system to automatically change colors as specified intervals.

This does seem like a cool device to put in your living room.  Although, as you can see in the video below, the color change may give you a bit of a headache.

Although the FLYTECH K938 is made for hospitals, I wouldn’t mind having one of these at home.  The device is an all-in-one Windows XP touch screen computer, phone and card reader that can be mounted right next to your bed.

Sure, the electromagnetic radiation from this thing probably isn’t great while you’re sleeping.  And the 1.0 GHz Celeron sounds frustrating.  But email checking and tweeting in the middle of the night might just make it worthwhile.

Bluetooth headsets are a dime a dozen on the FCC, and frankly most of these devices are crap.  But I have to say, I really like the design of the i-Tech Clip Music 802 – it seems like a nice compromise between Bluetooth audio and telephony.

The body of the Clip Music 802 is, you guessed it, a clip.  I suppose this looks a tad tacky, but really the benefit here is you can clip it to whatever you like – you’re not forced to use a lanyard.

Another thing I love about this device is the 3.5mm audio jack.  This allows you to use any headset with the Clip Music 802 – a big improvement over the integrated stereo Bluetooth headsets that don’t give you any choice in the matter.

Finally, the Clip Music 802 has a standard mini USB charger – a huge plus.  This means you don’t have to carry around a proprietary charger, all you need is a mini USB cable attached to your PC.

The only problem with this design is that the mic is on the clip itself.  This makes it easy to poorly position the mic, resulting in poor call quality.

I-Tech rates the Clip Music 802 at 5 hours of music or talk time, and 130 hours of standby.  That’s not great either – but not unheard of among Bluetooth devices.