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Fingerprinting by radio waves

Some of us at Crave are known for our obsessions (we like to call them "quirks"), among them gadget security and, specifically phone safety. So we're compelled to mention a new mobile phone from Willcom, even though it will be available only in Japan for the time being. This model, brilliantly named the "WX321J," has a fingerprint scanner that doesn't require direct contact: Its authentication system uses radio waves instead, to avoid moisture and other possible interference. Other than that, Slashphone says the features are pretty standard. But we can't get past the … Read more

HP's six-channel scanner hits North American shores

Although it was released overseas last fall, the Scanjet G4050 photo scanner--with its industry-first six-channel scanning technology--will make its North American debut this week at CES 2007. I got a chance to test one before I headed off to the show in Las Vegas, so check out my review of this newly released model, complete with image samples.

If James Bond needed a scanner

Here's yet another stocking stuffer for the 007 wannabe in your family. When he/she is on a mission and doesn't have a miniature spy camera to photograph secret documents, the "DocuPen RC800" might well come in handy.

Portable scanners have been around for years, but this one claims to be the smallest ever made. It isn't really pen-sized--unless you happen to have unusually large hands--but it's close enough, weighing only 2 ounces and scanning a full page in 4 seconds. The drawbacks are the price ($300 or $350) and a few usability issues … Read more

3D scanning for our future lives

As we enter our second lives, we're seeing the floodgates beginning to open on 3D technologies. Unfortunately, a lot of the equipment on the market today comes with futuristic price tags--but competition is helping already.

Take this 3D scanner from NextEngine, for example. Sci-Fi Tech, which reported the item first, says it can scan an object in about 2 minutes and then "render it onscreen for you to stretch, rotate, or break apart in any number of applications, many of which are provided," with accuracy to 0.005 of an inch.

The cost still isn't cheap--$… Read more

Copier-DVD-latte combo needs a bong

It's not often that the sight of a product photo forces us to turn away. But it was necessary to avoid getting flashbacks to our "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" days.

The last thing you'd expect to trigger psychedelic memories would be a piece of office equipment, but this is no ordinary machine. And we're not just talking about the crazy magenta daisy motif, either. Konica Minolta is working on a prototype that combines the usual functions (copying, printing, scanning, faxing) with a slew of other features, including a DVD player, LCD screen, speakers and even … Read more

Kodak thinks scanning takes way too long

Man, don't you hate it when you have to stand around your office's scanner unit for, like, 10 minutes to scan that 200-page document? I mean, that's a whole 3 seconds per page--what a waste of time. What would you pay for an industrial-strength scanner that could cut that down, say, by a factor of 10? Kodak thinks you might pay upward of $100,000. Yes, that's five zeros. (It's actually a bit more, but what's another $5K when you've already dropped 20 times that amount?)

The Kodak i1860 can process 200 pages … Read more

Handheld 3D scanner for only $40,000

Because of a few small details like trademark infringement and copyright violations, it's not often that you see a company boasting about its efficiency in reverse engineering. But that's one function that OhGizmo points out about this handheld 3D scanner from Z Corp.

"Reverse Engineering: Speed, accuracy and ease-of-use for aftermarket product design" is one of the company's bullet points about the ZScanner 700. Not that there's anything necessarily illegal about it. As the Web site points out, the scanner can be used for such worthy functions as medical education, digital archiving, and computer … Read more

Stealing from Vogue?

For the fashion mag hags looking to steal spread ideas from each other, this may be just the thing.

The DocuPen RC800 from Planon, scans in 24-bit color with a resolution ranging from 100 to 400 dpi, as well as in black and white. There have been several highlighter/pen scanners for text, but this one goes a bit further, allowing the user to capture color graphics and images.

Planon says that the DocuPen RC800 can scan a full page, with graphics or photos included, in just 4 seconds. The device, which works with Windows and Mac OSX or higher, … Read more