PenPower WorldCard Color Business Card Scanner (SWOCR0012) PenPower WorldCard Color Business Card Scanner (SWOCR0012)

Pros: Hmmmmmm. Can't think of any.

Cons: Very disappointing & frustrating. I even read the reviews that had an average rating of 4. Must have been submitted by the manufacturer.

I had to edit every card and often to ridiculous levels. Every entry needs to be checked because anything can be wrong. Often completely missed data and placed data in the wrong location. You would think certain info would be easy like where to put an email address. Not for WorldCard! I had some info end up as the person's name.

This device saves maybe 1/3rd of the time I would have spent doing this by hand. I expected much, much better performance than this.

Pros: We've had several of these units working well for years on Windows XP machines running browser-based medical software, scanning via an ActiveX control that just used it as a TWAIN scanner.

Cons: While a Windows 7 compatible update to the software is available and Microsoft says that the scanner will be recognized by Windows 7 without any additional software needed, it's recognizing it as an A6 flatbed scanner and ONLY their software is actually feeding cards - Windows just hangs attempting to scan.

Other Thoughts: If you're going to be running these with XP systems, go for it. The price is certainly right, and depending on what kind of software you're running on you may be just fine with these for a couple of years (until XP support ends).

I've not tried these with Vista.

For Windows 7, if your time is free or you wish to use their card scanning/organization software, go ahead and get these. Otherwise you may find yourself spending a log more $/billable time fussing with these than the cost difference with a newer and more compatible device.

Pros: Small size, looks good, good images from scanner, scans quickly.

Cons: Doesn't appropriately categorize information, lots of spelling mistakes, lots of missed information, syncronized with Outlook okay but there were some data issues (categories repeated instead of one category with multiple contacts in it). Customer Service rep was nice but instructions were not clear.

Other Thoughts: If you are a proficient typer, you are better off entering the information yourself (I timed it, and it took me 5 minutes less to do it myself with 10 business cards than scanning and correcting 10 business cards). If your a slow typer, this product is okay, but you will probably get frustrated with how many mistakes you will have to correct.

The website for the company is severly lacking. There are typo's on the site, and when filling out the online form for technical support, it asks you to select your operating system, and the latest Windows option they offer in the dropdown box is "XP". On the package there is a picture of a Palm Pilot. I don't think this company is investing in improvements and updating technology. Customer service responded to a question within 24 hours via e-mail, but the instructions were not clear. I might keep this product to scan old pictures, but will not be using it for business card scanning.

Pros: easy to install, accurate scan

Cons: sometimes a business card gets stuck, the data is put into the wrong field up on scanning (rarely).

Other Thoughts: really easy to install and use (windows XP) well worth the cost.

Pros: Very simple to use. It has an auto mode that lets you scan card after card. Once you are finished (i scanned 110 cards) you can review each card and edit before saving. I like the feature that lets you put the mouse cursor over the information and it shows you where it obtained it from the business card. Set your expectations. I took me about an hour to edit the cards.

Cons: It has trouble with Ph.D. For example, Joe Smith, Ph.D. enters the Ph.D. in the title field.

Other Thoughts: good buy for $100. worth the investment.

Pros: Small, no external power needed (USB-powered)

Cons: Very poor software. Hard to use. the scanner has lot of problems if you try to use it with other software like adobe acrobat or even windows in-built scanning software. VERY VERY hard to find drivers if CD is lost. Company website is awful and very slow download speed. Even OCR is poor quality and it generates a lot of errors.

Pros: Does exactly what you want a scanner to do when you want it to do it. Fast. It was a gift and the recipient is delighted. Even works well winding through corporate guidelines on a company computer.

Cons: Can't think of any.

Other Thoughts: Lovely small. It's a good thing.

Pros: Works good, image quality is good enough for what I use these for.

Cons: Doesn't always catch info on some business cards

Other Thoughts: I work for a bank and we use these for scanning drivers licenses to match with individual accounts, and where they are not intended for doing this they work well enough.

Pros: Hardware is fine. Scans quickly and efficiently.

Cons: Makes character recognition mistakes. Software is quirky. Difficult to use software. I returned this item and puchased a CardScan model, and it is infinitely better. The problem lies entirely with the software, and has nothing to do with the hardware. In fact, I think the Penpower hardware may be a little better and easier to use, but that's meaningless without decent software.

Other Thoughts: Don't buy this item unless you want to be able to scan in dozens of languages.

Pros: Great compact unit. Works with any scanner software also good for receipts. Very happy with quality.

Cons: None