Sharp Printer MX-C402SC

Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America today introduces its Frontier Scan Centric Series MFPs, the first multifunction models on the market with selectable dual-feeding paths, for paper and “heavy media” such as business cards, drivers’ licenses and plastic ID cards, as well as the company’s proprietary Scan² technology. Ideally suited for small and medium-size document (A4) scanning applications, the MX-C402SC (color) and MX-B402SC (monochrome) models also offers a high capacity document feeder that provides a robust capacity of 100 sheets and ultra-fast color scanning speeds of 50 images per minute.

Both models offer features that will save significant amounts of time, effort and cost over their lifetimes. Enabled with Scan² technology, the new models’ document feeder scans both sides of an original in a single pass without having to reverse it, increasing workflow efficiency and protecting one-of-a-kind documents from damage due to excess movement or misfeeds. In addition, their selectable dual-feeding path design enables users to scan a wider variety of documents, including hard ID cards – such as drivers’ licenses and insurance cards – checks and traditional paper documents up to legal size. The Card Shot feature (in copy and scan modes) reproduces the scanned images of both sides of the card and places them on a single page directly from the document feeder.

Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA) today introduces its Frontier Scan Centric Series MFPs, the first multifunction models on the market with selectable dual-feeding paths, for paper and “heavy media” such as business cards, drivers’ licenses and plastic ID cards, as well as the company’s proprietary Scan technology.

“Our Frontier Scan Centric Series is designed for those customers in scan intensive environments, such as health care, mortgage, insurance and human resources offices, that require high performance and reliability for capturing data from non-traditional sources such as ID cards and drivers’ licenses, in addition to traditional paper documents,” said Mike Marusic, vice president of marketing and service, Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America. “The dual scanning paths and Scan²technology will dramatically increase the efficiency of workplaces that need to process high volumes of information.”

The Frontier Scan Centric series offers an integrated, retractable QWERTY keyboard, which is normally only available on much larger and more expensive A3 devices, for convenient data entry, as well as a full-color touch panel display with intuitive graphical user interface.

The Application Communication and External Accounting modules for the Sharp OSA^® platform are pre-installed in both the models, providing an instant and direct connection between the Sharp MFP and an office’s existing network and business processes. This allows document workflow to become even more automated, while enhancing document and device security and reducing costs.

The MX-C402SC and MX-B402SC are based on Sharp’s award-winning Frontier engine and multi-tasking controller to deliver a high level of performance and functionality. Common architecture makes these models easier to set up, operate, control, monitor and maintain, while providing multi-tasking network scanning, printing, copying and faxing functions with greater ease and efficiency.

For direct scanning and printing, both models support the popular PDF, JPEG and TIFF formats, as well as a Windows^® XPS option. Each model can perform PostScript^® 3, PCL 6 and PCL5 printing with true 1200 x 1200 dpi resolution and cross-platform compatibility.

Additional convenience features include Blank Page Skip, Color Drop Out, Image Preview and Image Check. A space-saving inner finisher can handle up to 10 sets of 30 sheet documents (with corner staples) with offset stacking.

Both models feature an environment-friendly design that supports Sharp’s Toner Recycling Program and reduces waste by utilizing a long-life, tri-component supply system. Each also complies with the International ENERGY STAR^® program, RoHS, Blue Angel and other energy efficiency guidelines.

Features Of the Frontier Scan Centric Series MFPs

• Industry’s first MFPs with dual-scanning paths for paper and “heavy media” such as business cards, drivers licenses and plastic ID cards
• Proprietary Scan² technology scans both sides of documents without “reversing” them, increasing reliability and reducing risk to one-of-a-kind documents
• ‘Card Shot’ scans both sides of card and places both images on a single page, directly from the document feeder
• Ideally suited for mid-volume scanning organizations such as doctors’ offices, financial services and HR departments

Read more »

Creative Live! Cam Socialize HD Webcams

Creative today announced the new Live! Cam Socialize HD 1080 HD web camera. Sporting a full HD sensor with 1080p resolution, auto focus wide-angle glass lens and built-in dual adaptive array microphones with beam-forming and noise cancellation technologies, the Live! Cam Socialize HD 1080 is a formidable tool for video chatting and more. 

The Live! Cam Socialize HD 1080 has built-in dual adaptive array microphones which form an adjustable beam angle that ranges from 20° to 180° and enable the optimal performance of a headset-free, far-field voice input by centering microphone sensitivity on the user's voice and reducing noise outside that signal. It dramatically reduces ambient noise caused when a speaker's voice reverberates from walls or ceilings. 

Live! Cam Socialize HD 1080 
The Live! Cam Socialize HD enables 1080p video capture and playback up to 30 frames per second. It also features:

•                 2-mega pixel HD sensor
•                 Auto focus, wide-angle glass lens
•                 Built-in dual adaptive array microphones with beam-forming
•                 Still picture image quality up to 12-megapixel (Interpolation)
•                 4x digital zoom
•                 Live! Central 3 software
•                 Live! Scan business card scanning software

The included Live! Central 3 software offers new touch screen control and multi-touch capability for users who are using touch screen-enabled Windows 7. It also lets users upload recorded videos to more social media links including You Tube, Photo bucket, KinKast, Tudou.com, Youku.com and Face book. The new Live! Scan software further enhances the already robust Live! Cam Socialize HD 1080 with business card scanning ability. By placing a business card in the cradle bundled with the Live! Cam Socialize HD 1080, the web camera captures the information on the business card into a file -- an extremely handy way of storing business cards electronically. 

Read more »

Latest HP Laptop

HP released a whole number of new laptops last week, updating virtually their entire line with better hardware and more attractive looks.

HP has recently done a lot of work in updating their consumer products, including Pavilion notebooks, G-Series notebooks and Envy notebooks. Many of them have a redesigned brushed metal chassis as well as updated internals. As part of what might become a weekly ritual here at Laptopical.com, I'll walk you through some of the best new releases of this week. 

Read more »

Phase One IQ180 Digital Camera Back Gets 80MP Sensor

When it comes to really high-end digital cameras for serious pro-shooters they often come with a back containing the sensor and mechanicals as a separate piece from the body. One of the latest such high-end cameras is Phase One’s IQ180, and the thing has a massively high resolution image sensor.

The camera back also has a faster memory interface to allow for continuous shooting at really high resolutions. The back also gets USB 3.0 specification support to allow for transferring those photos to a computer faster. Plus, it’s got a high-resolution 290ppi (think Apple Retina Display) multi touch back for easily viewing and interacting with images on-screen. The device will land at the end of April at an unknown price. I would expect it to be in the many thousands of dollar range.

Read more »

IPod

They have been on the market since 2001, and it is hard to imagine our daily life without the ever-present iPod. Even as technophiles extol the benefits of the iPod's competitors, we continue to go back to Apple and their varied lines from Shuffles to Nanos, and the new Apple iPod Touch. But why do we do it?

Some of the credit for the iPod's success goes to iTunes and the MPEG-4. Not only is an MPEG-4 file nearly the same level of quality that one could expect from a CD track, iTunes makes it incredibly easy to purchase and download to both computers and iPod. Like many of Apple's products, there is a focus on making it user-friendly. ITunes works so smoothly with iPod that even the most basic of computer users can load their iPod’s full of their favorite songs, videos and even pod casts. However, putting music on a different brand of music player can become much more difficult when using iTunes, so using the familiar system to purchase and load music can be a hassle with anything but an iPod.

Apple's constant updates of the iPod have added to its success, as it adjusted to the ever-changing market and the capabilities of technology. Despite these additions, Apple generally keeps the iPod at set price levels, though the company might have been justified in increasing the cost for newer models. Additionally, regardless of upgrades, the basic operation of the system has remained the same, so as we have additional storage capacity and new media available, the way traditional iPod’s, the Nanos and the Shuffle operate is mostly the same. The Touch uses menus that are different from the wheel on the face of a traditional iPod, but still designed for ease of use.

Another of the main reasons that we as consumers keep turning back to the iPod, even as we may complain of the lack of changeable batteries or benefits of alternative brands, is that it is so popular. Its huge success, initially due to ease of access and the quality of the music tracks, has helped to ensure that we continue to buy it. It is familiar, either because we already own one or we have friends that own one, so there is a very small learning curve.

Read more »

Mobile HTC Leo Images Leaked, Shows the Luxury of 4.3-Inch Touchscreen

While HTC Leo leak circulated around the web for the past days now, what we’ve gotten here is the actual footage of the Leo boost by its 4.3 inch touch screen with a resolution of 800 x 480, a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor running the anticipated Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.5.

HTC Leo massive screen looks sleek and superb enough to exhibit that kind of thickness. We just wish a capacitive screen, which seems still have blur confirmation yet. Well if it turned out to be capacitive, then I see people throwing their smartphones or tend to switch their carrier just to grab this device. And so are you the one?

Read more »

The Nokia N8 vs. iPhone 4

Nokia’s newest mobile phone, the N8, is providing some stiff competition in the market for Apple IPhone. Both phones are the pinnacle model of each mobile phone producer’s line. Comparing both phones on different aspects can perhaps provide some insight into which mobile phone might be better for some consumers than others.

The shape of the                 Nokia N8 has been streamlined in the new design. It comes with a touch screen and is featured in a rainbow of colors including white, grey, blue, green and orange. Overall, the N8 weighs in at 135 grams and measures 12.9 mm thick. On the other hand, the iPhone 4 touts its thin profile in comparison to most other smart phones including the N8. However, the iPhone does come in a more limited range of colors; only black and white. The iPhone is slightly heavier weighing in at 137 grams with a thinner profile measuring online 9.3 mm thick.

Another feature to consider when comparing the N8 and iPhone 4 is the camera that is built in the phone. The Nokia N8’s camera takes photos with an unheard of resolution of 12 mega pixels for a camera phone. This is much more than the iPhone 4’s 5 mega pixel photos. Not to mention the N8’s camera also boasts a wide angle Carl Zeiss lens. Both phones do come with video editing software installed on the phone. This makes it easy to share both photos and video from both the N8 and iPhone 4.

Both phones feature touch screen displays that measure 3.5 inches. The N8 comes with a high resolution screen that pleases many users. With its resolution of 640 by 360 pixels it is slightly less than the iPhone which has a resolution of 960 by 640 pixels. While numerically this appears to be perhaps a significant difference, some users argue that it doesn’t make a major impact on the appearance of images using the two phones. Steve Jobs has spoken frequently about the revolutionary Retina Display that comes with the iPhone. Some favor the iPhone for this reason but others again report the difference between the two phones doesn’t appear to be too significant.

Read more »