VuPoint Solutions Magic Wand Wi-Fi PDSWF-ST44-VP

Similar in many ways to the VuPoint Solutions Magic Wand PDS-ST415-VPS ($90 street, 4 stars), the VuPoint Solutions Magic Wand Wi-Fi PDSWF-ST44-VP ($130 street) offers one key addition: Wi-Fi support. The Wi-Fi counts as significant in this case, because it helps solve the one underlying problem with most wand scanners. And it's enough of an improvement to make the PDSWF-ST44-VP Editors' Choice.

Wand scanners?like both VuPoint Solutions models, the PlanOn DocuPen Xtreme X05 ($369.99 direct 3. 5 stars), and the Pandigital Handheld Wand Scanner (PanScn08) ($109.99 direct, 2.5 stars)?all let you scan without a computer. They save the scans directly to memory instead, using a microSD or microSDHC card in the case of the PDSWF-ST44-VP, and they let you move the files to a computer later.

Not needing a computer makes wand scanners highly portable. However, not being able to see the scans means you may not find out that a given scan isn't usable until you're back at your computer, and it's too late to rescan. Adding Wi-Fi solves that problem by making it easy to look at the scans on, say, your smartphone while you can still rescan if you have too.

Basics, Setup, and Scanning
Among the features the PDSWF-ST44-VP shares with the PDS-ST415-VPS are its 900 pixel per inch (ppi) optical resolution and its 1.2-by-10.1-by-1.2-inch (HWD) size, although at 7.2 ounces it's a touch heavier. It also comes with the same capable OCR program, Abbyy FineReader 9.0 Sprint. And like the PDS-ST415-VPS, but unlike most of its competition, it doesn't come with memory to scan to. Prices on microSD and microSDHC memory cards are low enough that buying one doesn't add much to the total price, but you should keep the additional cost in mind when you compare prices.

Setting up the scanner is simple. Install the two supplied AA batteries and plug in a memory card with a maximum 32GB capacity. In addition, you can optionally install Abbyy FineReader Sprint on your computer.

Scanning is easy too. As with all wand scanners, you place the scanner at the top or side of a page and then sweep down or across. Rollers on the bottom of the scanner make it easy to sweep smoothly and evenly.

The PDSWF-ST44-VP offers three settings buttons: one to cycle between 300, 600, and 900 ppi, one to choose between JPG and image PDF format, and one to choose between color and mono. One minor issue is that the current settings for file format and color mode can be hard to read. They're at the very top of the 0.8-inch LCD, a little small for easy reading, and hidden in the shadow of the bezel from most angles. However they are readable with a little effort, just not as readable as I'd like.

Another minor issue is that there's a button to format the memory card, and erase all data, in the same cluster around the LCD as the three settings buttons. The positioning is a little dangerous, since you can accidentally hit Format instead of a settings button. If you then hit the Scan button with the intention of starting a scan, it will confirm the Format command instead. On the other hand, if you simply look at the LCD screen to check the settings before scanning, you won't have a problem. Hitting Format puts a big F in the middle of the LCD, where it's hard to miss.

In any case, to scan, you choose your settings, hit the scan button, and scan while keeping an eye on the scan status light. If you move too fast, it will turn red, telling you that you need to rescan.

As I've already pointed out, the Wi-Fi connection lets you look at the scans on your smartphone or tablet to confirm they're okay. My preferred choice is to connect by Wi-Fi and use my smartphone browser to look at the scans. VuPoint also offers free apps for Android and iOS devices, but for my tastes, the browser on my Android phone worked better than the app and was easier to use.

Scan Results
As is the case with the PDS-ST415-VPS, the PDSWF-ST44-VP comes with software that's suitable for only two applications: optical character recognition (OCR) and document management. On my tests, it did well with both tasks.

On our OCR tests, the combination of the scanner and FineReader Sprint read our Times New Roman test page at sizes as small at 10 points without a mistake at the default 300 ppi and at 6 points without a mistake at 600 ppi. On our Arial test page, it read the text at 8 points without a mistake at 300 ppi, at 6 points with 600 ppi, and at 5 points at 900 ppi. Also very much worth mention is that even though the scanner creates a separate file for each page, FineReader combines the multiple pages into a single Word file or searchable PDF file.

The scanner doesn't come with photo software, but I tried scanning some 4-by-6s just to get a sense of the photo scan capability. Briefly, the quality is good enough to let you scan a magazine article and wind up with recognizable images of photos, but it's not suitable for much more than that.

The VuPoint Solutions Magic Wand Wi-Fi PDSWF-ST44-VP is best appreciated as a highly portable document scanner. Not only is it far better at OCR and document management than most wand scanners, the Wi-Fi support lets you find out if you have a poor-quality scan while you can still do something about it. Taken together, this combination of features puts it way out in front of its competition and also makes it an Editors' Choice.

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