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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.
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 An Essential Tool for Students and Researchers |
| Review Date: December 31, 2006 |
| Reviewer: T. Bryan, |
As a scholar who works with books and other printed sources a lot, I have long been on the lookout for an easy way to scan text into my laptop. I've tried using both flatbed scanners and digital cameras for this purpose, but I've found both to be awkward and time-consuming. That's why I was pleased to discover the C-Pen 20 - it's not perfect, but it does the job quicker and more easily than any of the alternatives.
PROS:
- It's easy to use; you just press the pointer to the page and a light comes on to let you know that the sensor is active. You then sweep the C-Pen from left to right at moderate speed as if it were a highlighter, and it converts the text on the page into electronic characters on your computer.
- The text instantly appears wherever the cursor on your screen is located, so you can use this device with just about any Windows program (e.g., Word, Access, etc.).
- The recognition rate is higher than I thought it would be; it's better than 99% on book-sized text. In practical terms, this means that you'll get one or two errors on average per paragraph, but these flaws are easily corrected (particularly if your spell checker highlights them for you automatically).
- It's small and easily portable, so you can take it with you to libraries and archives with a laptop.
CONS:
- The character recognition is sometimes thrown off by underlining and other marks on the page.
- You must use it with a PC or laptop that has a USB port (it doesn't run on batteries like some scanning pens).
- Even though it recognizes just about every major language written in Latin, Cyrillic, or Greek letters, it can't handle older typefaces (like German Fraktur). It also has trouble recognizing some symbols (such as footnotes).
- You have to scan each line of text one at a time, so it's not necessarily the best solution if you need to copy many pages of text.
The bottom line is that the C-Pen 20 has been an excellent investment for me, and I recommend it to anyone who's looking for an easy way to transfer printed text into an electronic medium. |
Great Product
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| Review Date: February 27, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Kevin V. Gresham, |
I feel completely compelled to write this review for the C-Pen 20. It far exceeds my expectation. I am a graduate student, working on a doctorate at Harvard University. It is a tool, or better yet, a weapon that has reduced my time tremendously. I wish I had it while going through my master's program.
I would say that it is about 90% accurate right out of the box without any training. I have had it about 3 weeks now, and with improved technique, I have increased its accuracy to about 95% - 97%. I have found it helpful to always perform the stroke left - right. It is easier for 2 reason, 1) that is the way humans read and 2) you don't have to readjust the position of your hand.
I would recommend it to anyone who has to do research, or persons who are in a profession where previous documentation is necessary.
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Great Product! Much Better Than I Expected.
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| Review Date: February 8, 2008 |
| Reviewer: H. L. Lyons III, |
| I am very, very pleased with this product. I took a chance based on other reviews I read on Amazon and I could not be more pleased. I have stacks and stack of magazines that I take content from. It was so tedious using a flat scanner because it would scan the entire page as an image, then I had to use an OCR program to get the text out. Another problem I had was the fact that most of my articles are printed in newspaper-style colums, and my OCR program could not maintain that format, so all the text would just be jumbled and I'd spend an eternity moving text around. The CPen has been a lifesaver for me, because now I can scan the text I need and it goes right into Wordpad. What's really nice is I can scan pretty fast and the accuracy is exceptionally good, though probably not as accurate as they claim. I think they claim 99% accuracy and I would give it a solid 95% which is more than good enough for me. I was impressed with the wide range of font sizes it can scan. I'm never gonna give mine up. In fact, it actually makes me want to work now, when I used to dread the whole process. Installation is simple, even for idiots like me. The price was very good too. Bottom line, this serves me quite well. I have no complaints at all. |
dream pen
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| Review Date: July 12, 2007 |
| Reviewer: J. Ho, Bethesda, MD, USA |
| Got my C-pen recently, and already have transferred so much text from books into my computer. It's a wonderful device with very well worked out software to ensure seamless operation. I would never need my flatbed scanner and OCR for scanning texts anymore, which is quite an unwieldy operation most of the time. Hope this product doesn't get discontinued anytime soon. I hope to be using it for a long time. |
Excellent tool for your thesis
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| Review Date: October 18, 2007 |
| Reviewer: Joseph N. Mentey, trenton |
| A great tool in my opinion. Much better when compared to all the other pens in the market. Really saves a lot of time and money. Although there are a few mistakes in reading text, once the pen goes through the learning phase, these minor errors can be resolved. Overall, I give a 5/5 for this pen...go ahead and order one for yourself... |
Best buy for " Ectaco C-Pen 20 Handheld Scanner ", Lowest Price Ectaco C-Pen 20 Handheld Scanner + Free shipping. Get Ectaco C-Pen 20 Handheld Scanner Now! |
April 11th, 2010 | 
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