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.