Your wallet-sized scanner and scanner mouse still too big for what you use an image scanner for? How about one that’s as tiny as a thumb drive? If that’s more along the lines you’re thinking of, then you want this USB Mini Scanner.
Measuring just 3.5 x 1 x 0.78 inches and weighing 2 ounces, this is as out of the way as a scanner gets. While you’ll likely torture yourself using it to scan a coffee table hardcover, it should play perfect for digitizing business cards, pictures and other smaller printed material.
The USB Mini Scanner needs to be connected to a Windows PC to work, so it’s not exactly the most mobile gadget around. Still, if you find yourself regularly needing to scan small items while working out of your laptop on the road, we can’t imagine a more convenient, more minimalist solution. Well, taking a photo with your iPhone is probably more minimalist, but we doubt you can hold still like a mannequin to really get that image right (unless, of course, you’re a robot — if so, we concede).
Features include a 300 dpi contact image sensor, 2.12-inch scanning width, 47.25-inch scanning length and a 39-inch cable so you don’t have to do the scanning so close to your laptop. Speed seems reasonable, too — it can digitize an 8-inch long document in around 2 seconds. All images are stored directly on the PC by way of the included software (needs to be installed).
Thinkgeek has the USB Mini Scanner available now, priced at $79.99. This thing should make a cool gift too!