A Scanner for All Seasons

For serious scanning needs, Xerox’s Mobile Scanner beats a smartphone app or pocket-sized scanner.
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A Device Does Everything But Sing

Katie reviews HP’s Photosmart eStation e-All-in-one, with its detachable Zeen tablet.
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News Byte

Starbucks' Pay-By-App Test Grinds Away

Starbucks said today it was expanding its mobile-payment testing grounds to include 300 company-owned stores in the NYC-Long Island area. The system uses an app version of the Starbucks Card. The app displays a barcode that is read by the scanner at check-out. Testing of the app (available for the iPhone, the iPod touch and certain BlackBerrys) began late last year in Starbucks locations inside Target stores and a few outlets in Seattle and Northern California.

HP in Deep Duty

Hewlett-Packard is running into quite a bit of trouble abroad these days. First, allegations of bribery in Russia, and now claims of customs evasion in India. That country’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence this week claimed that HP ducked some $322 million in customs duties.

Pint-Size Peripherals Scan or Print at a Price

Katherine Boehret looks at two scanners that are portable and stylish, but at a price.
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Walt and Katie Take Some Gadgets for a Test Drive

Yesterday at CES, Walt and Katie Boehret got their hands on some as-yet unseen gadgets, including waterproof military laptops, games that teach kids how to play real musical instruments and yes, those uber-hip 3D glasses.

Amazon Remembers Forgets Barcode Scanner

There’s a new beachhead in Amazon’s campaign to commandeer sales from competing retailers: Apple’s iPhone. This morning the retailer uncrated Amazon Mobile, an iPhone/iPod Touch application that allows users to browse its wares and those of associated retailers like Target and Macy’s. The app supports Amazon’s standard features as well as an intriguing, but totally cumbersome, new one.

Three Machines With Three Functions

All-in-one machines that print, copy and scan are becoming much more compact and affordable — and easier to use. We test three.
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Some Handy Scanners Can Trim That Pile of Business Cards

Two new business-card scanners make it easier than ever to organize those cards piled high on our desks, but their software isn’t as easy to work with when manipulating the scanned images.
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