Review: IntelliScanner SOHO

A few weeks ago, I mentioned an interest in reviewing a Macintosh-based portable scanning system.  I've received an IntelliScanner SOHO from the IntelliScanner Corp. Despite the omninous sound of the corporation's name, there's no tie to Blade Runner or even the recent Keanu Reeves flick.

The SOHO comes in a plastic tin that houses the scanner, a thin booklet with a few key barcodes and a software card. The software card has activation codes for a variety of the software products that come as part of the Express package.

Essentially the Express package is all the home tracking software, "designed to organize everyday household items like books, DVDs, wine, groceries or electronics," as a company representative told me when I was trying to decide between the SOHO or smaller mini scanner.

Also included with the SOHO scanner is a small card that contains the numbers 0-9 in barcode form as well as an "undo" barcode.

The SOHO scanner unit itself is about the size of an early 2000's cell phone, as can be seen in the following picture. It operates on 3 AAA batteries.

Before plugging in the unit for initial set-up, IntelliScanner wants to be sure you're comfortable with the scanning mode, so there is a bar code in the small booklet that should be scanned before connecting the SOHO scanner to the computer.

To scan, hold down the button on the top of the SOHO scanner, which causes the red laser line to appear; the line stays visible for about 3 seconds, then shuts off to preserve battery life. If it disappears, press the button on top of the SOHO scanner again, and try placing the scanner about 3-4" from the bar code. The only indication that it is safe to move about the cabin in an audible beep sounds when the barcode has been scanned and stored, accompanied by an LED on the top of the IntelliScanner that glows green.

Once this scan is complete, launch the software wizard to walk through the steps to connect the scanner to the computer.

The scanner itself does not have a USB connector, so content on the scanner is output on an included serial-to-USB cable that uses a 3.5mm (1/8") stereo connector - the same type used for earbud headphones for an iPod -  to connect to the base of the IntelliScanner SOHO.  DO NOT lose this cable as it is somewhat difficult to cost effectively replace. It would be nice to see the SOHO use a MicroUSB connector, given the prevalence of this type of USB cable for still cameras, portable hard drives, and Blackberry and other mobile phones.

Back to the software wizard: the first step is to choose an image that matches the type of scanner you have (the SOHO) and then next step is to plug the USB cable in to the Macintosh computer, checking first to see if the toggle switch on the USB cable's small in-line convertor is set to KBD rather than VCOM. Don't worry if it is set wrong, as the setup wizard will prompt in a BIG font to switch the setting.

Once the setup wizard states that the USB cable is connected correctly to the computer, plug the 3.5mm jack in to the base of the IntelliScanner SOHO. An audible beep will sound, indicating that the SOHO scanner has begun downloading information to the computer (typing, effectively, the numbers from the bar code that had previously been scanned.

Finally, once the software setup confirms the presence of the scanner, a code will need to be entered from the booklet to verify the scanner's ID. Once all this is complete, it's finally time to start scanning.  We'll take a look at a few of the software options from the Express package in our next review.

Scan everything, carry some of it around

As much as I refer to myself as borderline OCD, the concept of scanning and tracking everything I own and work with is - at first glance - highly appealing. As such, a walk-by at a national trade show led to a conversation about reviewing an "intelligent scanner" for Mac-based

"The major differences between the mini and SOHO," said Odessa Hines, communication specialist for the IntelliScanner Corporation, when I asked about the two handheld scanner options, "are the type of scanner, the scanner's application (home or business) and the software included."

While the mini is appealing for the sheer size of it, and we'll perhaps review it later, it's geared more toward home and household items.

"The mini is specifically designed to organize everyday household items like books, DVDs, wine, groceries or electronics," said Hines. "All of the mini's included software (except for the kitchen software) includes the web app for sharing collections online or viewing them on an iPhone as part of the included publish feature."

Opting instead for the SOHO, which covers both home and office inventory, I asked IntelliScanner to provide a SOHO IntelliScanner for review.

The SOHO scanner can hold 2500 scans before having to download the contents versus 150 scans for the mini, and IntelliScanner says that it includes software to "help businesses organize and inventory their assets" with potential integration into Filemaker Pro, Intuit's QuickBooks and Microsoft's Excel.

"As for a web / iPhone app for the SOHO, it's included with the media software, but not the inventory software," said Hines, meaning that the ability to catalog wine bottles and comic books and access them on your iPhone is either a higher priority or an easier milestone than the ability to carry key business inventory around.

"You can however, save your inventory database as an html file and load it to your website or in a browser for viewing," offered Hines.

The lack on an iPhone app for small business inventory seems a bit odd to me, especially given the company's success with its Daneizo (Latin for "to lend") library system software, but we'll take a look at this all once the SOHO scanner arrives.