scanR Whiteboards Released for the Palm Treo 700w

[Darius Wey]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://scanr.com/treo/' target='_blank'>http://scanr.com/treo/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"scanR, Inc. today announced scanR Whiteboards for the new Palm Treo 700w smartphone from Verizon Wireless running on Windows Mobile 5.0. The new application from scanR makes it easy to capture notes written on whiteboards and scan them into useful digital files. Using the 1.3 megapixel camera in the new Treo 700w smartphone, people can take a picture and wirelessly send it to any email address where it is received as a scanned PDF file. This saves time and eliminates the chances of missing key information by providing an exact scan of the original notes from the whiteboard, freeing people to interact more during a meeting and quickly share notes afterward. The scanR Whiteboard application was designed exclusively for the new capabilities of the Treo 700w, such as improved camera quality, ease-of-use, and multimedia messaging. scanR uses advanced image processing technology to overcome frequent challenges such as low lighting, shadows, blurring, and skewed orientation to provide consistently high-quality scans in a wide range of conditions."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/wey-20060110-scanR.jpg" /><br /><br />This seems like a very nice application for Treo 700w users wanting to turn any whiteboard image into a PDF. If you manage to give this a go, do let us know how it works out. <a href="http://www.handango.com/ampp/store/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=179100&productType=2">Handango</a> is offering it for $19.95, with a free trial version available if you wish to test it first. On a side note, you can also try the service for free <a href="https://www.scanr.com/act.aspx?type=try">here</a>. It appears to perform the same job as the Whiteboards application, so you just might be able to save yourself $19.95 by using this alternative. [Affiliate]

[Phillip Dyson]

Could this be using this free jpeg2pdf (http://www.freewareppc.com/graphics/jpeg2pdf.shtml)library?

I would like to see a pdf converter plugin for some kind of printing solution on my PocketPC like I enjoy on my desktop. That would be worth buying.

[JamesM]

This would be very useful to me. I have tried to take a picture of a whiteboard with my cameraphone to distribute as meeting minutes, but the results were unusable. The added step of converting to .pdf is brilliant IF it works.

Will this work with other Pocket PCs with cameras? I won't be getting the Treo 700w anytime soon...
-JamesM

[Darius Wey]

Will this work with other Pocket PCs with cameras? I won't be getting the Treo 700w anytime soon...

Yes, you can try it for free, here: https://www.scanr.com/act.aspx?type=try

This is a quote from their FAQ: "scanR is currently free for use with standard camera phones and email accounts, and will always maintain a free service. scanR for Palm Treo 700w is a premium service that makes it easy to capture and send whiteboard scans. We plan to introduce other premium services soon. In addition, your mobile carrier may charge you for sending and receiving picture and text messages."

[Kursplat]

That sure is cheaper then $249 for this: http://www.polyvision.com/products/wbp.asp.

I bought it before the price went up, but it was still about $100. Very slick software. You can take the picture at an angle without flash and it cleans it up beautifully.

How does this service do with shots taken at an angle? BTW, angled shots allow for using the flash without huge flares in the picture.

[Sven Johannsen]

Note that this doesn't do the processing on your device. You take the shot, send the picture via e-mail and get the processed file (pdf) back via e-mail. Probably a pretty useful thing, but likely not something you want to do with that whiteboard from the proprietory new product brainstorming session.

[Phillip Dyson]

Note that this doesn't do the processing on your device. You take the shot, send the picture via e-mail and get the processed file (pdf) back via e-mail. Probably a pretty useful thing, but likely not something you want to do with that whiteboard from the proprietory new product brainstorming session.

Good catch Sven. I didn't pick up on the fact that it was an external service.