Vupoint Solutions Magic Wand Portable Scanner (PDSWF-ST44T-VP) with WiFi - TEAL/TURQUOISE

Great product. I used it to scan hundreds of genealogy documents this summer - photos, newspaper articles, archive material.... it was great. It takes a little time to get use to it at first - you should test it out a couple of times first before you take it on the road. I highly recommend it!

Served the purpose.

As many reviewer covered the main features of this device and its obviously most popular use of scanning (color) pictures, magazines and books I wish to share my experience of scanning documents only and transferring them by using the Wi-Fi option. Therefore, this is not a comprehensive review of all features one may want to know. I was aware about the limitations of any wand scanner before purchasing the PDSWF-ST44-VP. Also, that shortcomings like no capability of cropping, partial distortions due to unequal scanning speed or uneven surface, undesirable stripes (where the background appears) along the edges should not be rated as diminishing factors as these shortcomings just represent the current “state-of-the-art” of all handheld scanners. However, what was most promising was Vupont’s description of a. scanning in color or monochrome mode, b. choice of format, (jpg and pdf) c. three levels of resolution, (300dpi, 600dpi and 900dpi) as well as d. transfer option by USB, microSD or by Wi-Fi available for Windows and Mac OS 10.5+. All four features combined would serve my purpose of 1. scanning of more than 90% of documents in monochrome as to keep file sizes at minimum, 2. adopting a uniform format of all imaged documents (pdf) as some companies’ e-mail servers do not allow .jpg to pass,, albeit that work flow and my filing system also prefers a non-editable (or at least hard-to-edit) format. (pdf) 3. choose resolution depending on the importance and quality of the original document, e.g. birth certificate (eternal validity) or a driving license (long term and important) as opposed to a monthly account statement (temporary and replaceable) or invitation to a yearly general meeting of your HOA.(for the records only). 4. easy transfer to my MacBook Pro OS 10.6.8 or any smart phone by Wi-Fi. The latter would have the added advantage to let one preview a scan as to decide whether re-scanning is needed or not. (Since the device doesn’t have a screen to preview, unlike the model PDS-ST441-VP, which however offers no Wi-Fi capabilities. No “one-size-fits-all”. Either the one or the other.) My findings: A. Color vs. monochrome scans of documents: Much to my surprise and contrary to all my other scanners the file size of a single page letter size (or A4) document with a color logo and header and the rest of the text black (like a bank statement or invitation letter) are exactly the same. (393 kb with resolution 300dpi, 885kb with resolution 600dpi and 2MB in resolution 900dpi) My flat-bed HP scanner produced 395 kb in color and only 40 kb in monochrome, both with resolution 300dpi of the very same page. Supposedly, one has to send ten different documents by e-mail (e.g. an insurance claim with bills and prescriptions, etc.) the attachments would amount to 10 x 393kb = 3.93mb compared with my flat-bed scans of 10 x 40kb = 400kb = 0.4mb only. (Difference: 3.93 – 0.4 = 3.53mb or roughly 10-fold = 1000% !!!) The same volume would be needed on one’s storage media such as on a HD. Nowadays SSD’s do not offer generous storage capacities yet and are expensive too. Every kb costs money. (Even though one probably would zip the files as to save up to 20% of file sizes. Yet it cannot compensate for the 1000% oversized files.) Findings A: Monochrome scanning does not mean smaller file-sizes than those of color scans unlike other scanning software. Therefore, the use of the wand scanner for documents is limited to less than 10% of my cases when a color image is desirable. However, most of them are not produced in field but rather at home or the office where flat bed scanners are in abundance. B. Jpg vs. pdf format of documents: Here again I experienced that file sizes of scanned documents in both formats are almost identical. Jpg easily can be reduced but quality, i.e legibility may suffer, albeit it’s too much work. Findings B: PDF does not offer smaller file sizes than jpg. On Mac one can reduce pdf file sizes though by using the quartz filter of the Preview, but this would mean again additional work for every scan again and again. C. Resolution higher than 300dpi: It’s nice to have 900dpi for scanning eternal and low quality original documents like birth or old marriage certificates. However, for such delicate archiving most people would use a flat bed scanner anyway. The use of scanning documents with higher resolution seems to be limited to scan old book pages in libraries or in preparation of a court case at lawyers’ office or at similar odd occasion. Findings C: Higher than 300dpi resolution is hardly ever useful for scanning documents. It’s however absolute necessary for photographs, evaluation of which is however done by other reviewers. D. Transfer data: While transferring files by USB connection or inserting the microSD card to a notebook is flawless, (didn’t try to insert the microSD to my phone) the Wi-Fi connection simply cannot be set-up on my Mac. E-mails to Vupoint remained futile, (best advice: “change the batteries” whereby it was clearly a software problem, ha, ha, ha) and no reply to my very elaborated step-by-step inquiry after 8 days. So is their hotline too. (1-888-788-6888) The lady said I should not try my Mac but a Windows pc instead, which I did. I was able to open the “MAGICWAND” network after inserting the default password 123456789 into the pop-up window and keying the IP 192.168.1.2 into the browser’s address field. (It also worked when inserting “magic.wand”) I was able to see and download the scanned files. Vupoint’s label about system requirements: Mac OS 10.4+ is however misleading. As the hotline said, do not use your Mac. Very disappointing if that’s true. The ABBY OCR software is not compatible with Mac and is stated on the website too. Why do they not label the Wi-Fi in a similar fashion? Unless I missed something and the customer service is ignoring it. Findings D: The Wi-Fi does not work with Mac. Final conclusions: I. I have returned this scanner to amazon today. Reasons: - cannot scan monochrome documents with small file sizes - Wi-Fi doesn’t work with Mac. (One star has been knocked out.) - the use is limited to very rare occasion when color scans of documents are desirable ad hoc and no other scanner is available. - It’s like keeping a spare wheel in one’s car. One may not need it for years, but once it is needed it can save a lot of trouble. And it must have proper air pressure at that point too, just like the charge of the battery for the scanner! Flat tire, no drive, low bat, no scans. Does one has to carry a battery charger as well when traveling? AA size batteries used to be available all over the world. II. I have ordered the Vupoint PDS-ST441-VP today. (No Wi-Fi but with colored reviewing display. It is intended to be my “spare wheel”, just in case. By doing so I disregarded the not-so-helpful customer service of Vupoint, (for which reason another star has been knocked out) since the device is easy to operate and seems to be reasonably made. The clip-in tiny plastic tongs of the battery cover may not survive too many changes of the batteries though. I will either not snap it in but rather use a tape around or I wait till get broken and I still can resort to taping it. III. As I am mainly focused on scanning documents (paperless office and keeping only absolute necessary papers at home) while also being a Mac user, (not a devoted follower) this review may only address a small faction of would-be buyers. However I just wanted to provide some useful hints for those few.

Love! So convenient.

It took a while to get it down but now it is a necessity. I gave it three stars because learning to get a good scan can take a while and you def need the adapter etc. have still not been able to work out the wifi portion but that is probably me not the device.

worked great while in school gave me opportunity to scan papers

All in all this unit works great for what I purchased it for (scanning pack slips for my job). It did miss a couple of my expectations but I would definitely recommend it for the price. PROS -Quick scanning (less than 2 seconds for 8.5 x 11 in black & white) -Easy to use -Good battery life (got over 100 scans on the included batteries) -Good overall images CONS -Wireless requires you to connect directly to it. It is NOT like having a wireless flatbed scanner on your home network. -Using a PC only allows you to view the files on the unit. You cannot delete and can only save if you do so through a viewing program -Wireless eats batteries -When shut off, it defaults to JPEG and COLOR but the resolution stays at what you have set it at -Cannot set a default file name scheme

Bought this model for its wifi feature. Works ok except the connection comes and goes plus while you are connected you cant be on the web since the wand is connected to a different server. Have to get used to learning how to sweep scan without pausing or else the image comes out distorted.

I got this for my husband who scans color plates and photos from old anthropology books in his presentions. This little handheld scanner does a great job, makes beautiful copies and is smooth and easy to use, but I am seriously thinking about returning it because the wi-fi feature does not work on either my PC or my iMac, and that was the whole point of getting a wi-fi scanner. Neither computer recognizes it at all. The problem may be with my Cisco valet router which requires entering a code into the device in order to set it up on the router but that cannot be done with this scanner. I will keep trying for a few more days and see if I can get the wi-fi going, but if not, I will have to return it. If you bought a Mercedes Benz and were unable to drive it off the lot because there were no fuel injectors you would be ticked. The fact that there was no memory card included with the scanner is not mentioned at all in the product description, and it cannot be used at all without one. A memory card was mentioned below the product as one of the items often ordered with the scanner, so a more astute buyer might have picked up on that. It did, however, include two AA batteries. Also, the VuPoint website has no information other than product descriptions, so it is useless for the person having problems with the scanner.

Works very well and am happy with how fast I got it.