Feature: Reader Mailbag--Camera Phones, Handheld Scanners, and Headphones

I love it when readers report to me on their experiences--positive or negative--with mobile computing products and services.

Lately, my in-box has been piling up with informative product recommendations and good questions. So this week's feature includes three e-mails from readers regarding camera phones, handheld scanners, and noise-canceling headphones. Stay tuned for more reader mailbags in future issues.

The Nokia 3650 Camera Phone: Almost Picture Perfect

"Just read your article [about camera cell phones]. I personally use the Nokia 3650 and absolutely love it," writes Nick Graf of North Riverside, Illinois. "The circular keypad took a little getting used to; but after about a week, I could fly through it as fast as a conventional keypad.

"Having the 16MB MultiMediaCard card provides plenty of storage for pictures," Graf continues. "And you can upgrade the cards. I found a 512MB MMC card on EBay for as little as $50."

The phone's Bluetooth connectivity is another bonus, according to Graf. "I was able to pick up a Bluetooth connectivity module for my home computer for $10, also off EBay." Graf transfers data between the phone and his PC via Bluetooth. "It's quite speedy and problem-free," he says.

A few features Graf wishes the Nokia 3650 had include a flash (for taking decent photos at night), and higher-resolution images (the camera captures only 640 by 480 pictures). Also, the 3650's high-color display (4096 colors) pales against the 65,000 colors other camera phones display.

Graf also notes that Nokia has released a downloadable software update for the 3650 that lets it capture sound along with video.

AT&T Wireless and T-Mobile are among the wireless carriers offering the Nokia 3650. For more information about the phone, read "Great Gadgets for the Holidays."

Nokia sells a gadget that beams pictures from a Nokia 3650 onto a TV screen. For information on the Image Viewer, see this week's PDAs & Gadgets section.

Handheld Scanners

"I'm an attorney who spends time examining documents in the law library," writes Gregory Bilyeu of Mount Vernon, Washington. "In this high-tech day, I'm still fishing for quarters for the copy machines. I've looked high and low for a handheld scanner that would work on books and other bound documents. An article on handheld scanners, both self-operating and those that must be attached to the notebook, would be very helpful."

Bilyeu wants a handheld scanner that can capture, say, half a page or more at a time. Such scanners have appeared on the market from time to time. Long-defunct Caere used to sell one, as did Hewlett-Packard, with its discontinued CapShare models (introduced in 1998). I found a few HP CapShare scanners for auction on EBay at around $400 to $500 each, but that's about it. If anyone knows of a currently offered handheld scanner capable of capturing more than a few lines at a time, please let me know.

Meanwhile, a Google search located several handheld devices that scan a few lines at a time. Be forewarned, however: I have no experience with any of the following devices and can't vouch for their quality. Be sure to check the retailer's return policy before buying.

WizCom InfoScan. The company describes this device as an "electronic note taker." You glide the pen across text in a document to scan it. The pen stores up to 500 pages of printed data, according to the company, and doesn't need to be connected to a computer during scanning.

Once the text is stored, you can transfer it to a PC using an infrared, serial, or USB connection. The pen's optical character recognition software translates the scanned text into editable text for use in a word processing program, the company says.

The pen measures 6 by 1.5 by 1 inches and weighs 3 ounces. It comes with 2MB of integrated flash memory for data storage and 2MB of ROM. Two AAA batteries power the device. It sells for $120, only in North America.

WizCom Technologies offers other pen-style scanners as well.

IrisPen Express. I.R.I.S. sells a number of handheld, pen-style scanners. Its IrisPen Express is USB-powered, so it must be used with a PC or Macintosh with a USB port. The device scans up to 3.15 inches per second and recognizes up to 1000 characters per second, according to the company. It recognizes text in 55 languages and can scan gray-scale images as well.

The pen measures 5 by 1.41 by 0.94 inches and weighs 3.84 ounces. It costs $130, and is available at the I.R.I.S. Web site.

C-Pen. C Technologies offers both portable (meaning no computer connection is required to scan) and desktop models of its C-Pen handheld scanners.

The basic portable model, the C-Pen 600C (about $189), is used like a pen highlighter. The data can be transferred to a PC (via serial cable or IR) or to a PDA (via IR). The device includes a dictionary, address book application, and the ability to take digital notes. The C-Pen 600C measures 5.5 by 1.37 by 0.94 inches and weighs 2.82 ounces. It operates on two AAA batteries.

For further details, and to find online retailers, go to the company's Web site.

An Alternative to Bose's Noise-Reduction Headphones

Steve Loewy writes: "I'm a music enthusiast, and I've used the Bose QuietComfort noise-canceling headphones [$300]. In my opinion, they're the best.

"But I've found something that's much less expensive and almost as good--the Plane Quiet headphones [$80], from a company called Outside The Box Group. These headphones are much better than competitive models from Sony, Brookstone, and others."

You can use the headphones to listen to an airplane's in-flight entertainment or to your own CD, MP3, or DVD player. An included two-plug adapter allows two people to listen to the same audio source (the second party must have their own headphones, however). One AAA battery powers the active noise cancellation. The Plane Quiet comes with a lifetime warranty and 30-day money-back guarantee if purchased from the manufacturer's Web site.

Loewy says the headphones are comfortable to wear and fold compactly for travel. "I use the headphones in the gym, too, and they dramatically cut the outside noise," Loewy says. "By the way, I have nothing to do with the company. I discovered the headphones in a review in a travel newsletter."

I hadn't heard of Plane Quiet until Loewy's e-mail. Based on the research I've done since, however, I'm definitely going to check it out. The review Loewy mentioned is from The Travel Insider.

To compare the Plane Quiet to Bose's headphones, check out the Bose site.