Scan Your Business Cards in Color

Success sometimes isn't a matter of who you know, but whose business card you can locate. I've used Corex Technologies' CardScan Executive business card scanner and electronic address book for some time, and found it an invaluable tool for searching, updating, and transferring those important names and numbers to my various digital address books.

Corex's newest update, the $299 CardScan 600c with version 6 software, adds some useful refinements--most notably the ability to scan in color--to a useful product.

Like earlier versions, this package contains a small, dedicated scanner and an on-screen, Rolodex-like application for managing digitized business cards. The 600c scanner is faster, sleeker, and smaller (by about a third) than the older 500 model, and it replaces the wire card catcher on the back with a foldout plastic shelf. To help shrink the dimensions, however, Corex abandoned the 500's parallel port--the 600c has only a USB connector. Adding color does not slow the unit's scan speed appreciably: The monochrome 500 scanner takes about 7 seconds per card; the 600c takes about a second longer to scan in color.

The 600c lets you switch back to monochrome. In my tests of a preproduction unit, doing that reduced the scanning time to under 4 seconds--which is helpful if you are scanning a stack of cards.

Also new is a Tools menu that helps you manage sync settings with your PDA and other applications.

SUMMARY

CardScan 600c PRO: Fast, accurate business card scans in monochrome or color. CON: Expensive compared to more flexible desktop scanners. VALUE: Not a must-have, but new features are welcome additions. List price: Scanner with software $299; software only $79 Corex Technologies 800/942-6739 www.cardscan.com