BY EVAN KOBLENTZ
Technology Editor, TMC Labs™

Call It A Portable Document Center

There are two things that I hate about Hewlett-Packard's new CapShare device. One is the price. The other is that I didn't think of this idea first!

The CapShare is a scanner/document center device about the size of a Walkman tape player. Users scan documents by sliding the device's long bottom edge over the paper in a block-letter "U" pattern. After the initial scan, the image shows up on the device's LCD, providing three zoom levels. The device has enough memory for about 100 pages of data. Best of all, the device has an infrared (IR) port, which is used to share documents with any IR-compatible unit, like a laser printer, Windows CE device, laptop PC, etc. Scanning images is actually a much faster process per page than a flatbed scanner, and we were very impressed with the image display, although it's black-and-white. Power comes from two AA-size NiMH batteries, which are included with the device (so is a battery charger). Also included are a case, a serial cable, PC link software and a primitive built-in file organizer. The product costs about $700.

Part of my job as a TMC Labs technology editor is to find problems with products and to think of solutions. The CapShare system is not a CTI product, but it could be with a clever value-add. For example, PDAs as we know them will soon be obsolete, replaced with PDA/phone devices. So, you take your mobile communicator device in hand, and one side is a telephone/PDA interface. Why not have the back be a scanner? It's a great PC-less way of inputting documents into a mobile device. Even though you could do this now by sending the scanned document to the PDA using the IR port, you still need to carry two devices.

Beside a lower cost, the device can stand some other improvements as well:

• Most PCs do not have an IR port. As a back-up, there is the serial connection, but those connections are slow. Why not incorporate an RJ-45 Ethernet port into the device? It would be useful to be able to walk into your office and simply plug the CapShare into a hub and watch it request an IP address. Along this line, Supergold Communications is working on encoding/high bandwidth IR applications. They are located in Ireland; their telephone number is +353 1 677 9555. They don't have a Web site.
  
  
• There is sufficient room in the CapShare device for a much, much larger display, if only it were rotated 90 degrees.
  
  
• The CapShare unit's actual design makes it difficult to hold down the scan button without getting your fingerprint all over the display. Also, the button requires too much effort to press and to keep depressed while you scan. The button should be less sensitive.

With a bigger display, a simpler interface, a lower cost, and easier network connectivity, the device could cease being a cool gadget and become a useful road warrior's tool. If we begin to think of it as a portable document center instead of as a mini-scanner, other "true" CTI functions may shine through.

News That Will Matter
Aplio and InnoMedia are both making improvements to their Internet telephony SOHO appliances. Aplio is releasing a new version that will include H.323 compatibility and broadband access, which means that users can now initiate IP conversations with a NetMeeting client or with any H.323-compliant client, and even better, the new broadband features will allow for connectivity over a network, cable modem, etc. This should make its QoS issues much less relevant and the unit much more valuable. Meanwhile, InnoMedia has debuted a complementary routing device for their InfoTalk units, which is called the eXR. Unfortunately, InnoMedia has also raised the price approximately $50 per unit. Look for product reviews of both of these new Internet telephony appliance versions in upcoming issues of Internet Telephony magazine.

A Final Note…
TMC Labs has recently acquired Beta 3 of Windows 2000 (aka NT 5.0), and an upcoming CTI@Home column will discuss the SOHO implications of Windows 2000. Look for it!

Evan Koblentz welcomes your comments at ekoblentz@tmcnet.com.