Review of the IRISPen Translator Executive pen scanner

Bios magazine reviews the $150 IRISPen Translator Executive pen scanner. The user simply runs the scanner across the foreign text (in a perfectly straight line) and the translated text is then automatically inserted into any supported spreadsheet, text editor, database or email application — it will even read the text back via one of several "pleasant" digitized voices. While they are keen on the concept of a handheld scanner with integrated OCR
technology and language translator, they find the device "time consuming and frustrating" to use. Bottom line: if you have the need to frequently capture short bits of translated text then this is the device for you. The scanner is also available in a middle manager Express model (about $110) which doesn't recognize barcodes,
hand-printed numbers, and presumably that life is too short to be workin' for the man.

[Via biosmagazine]