We live in a world of tech simplifying our daily lives, but how can they be made even simpler?
So many times, I have sat on either my phone or my laptop and wished that there was a little gadget that could make the task I was performing a little simpler or more enjoyable. Many obvious devices fall under this umbrella are things like: bluetooth speakers, cloud storage, wireless headphones and charging, and ‘casting’ things from Youtube or Netflix on your phone to your compatible television or streaming device. The list continues and is growing daily, however even with these luxuries, that have simplified our lives in ways previous generations could not even fathom, there are still moments where I have wished for an invention that could make things easier still, or to increase productivity during working hours. So all that was left was to hunt for some 21st Century ingenuity, and I ended up finding devices that answer questions even I’ve never asked!
The first on my list of impressive gadgets, and the focus of this post, is the Zcan Wireless. This device is a wireless computer mouse that doubles as a portable scanner. I can’t speak for any of you, but this device would have saved me so much hassle when it came to typing out lengthy quotes from academic material, or even when I needed to remember a particular page. It can even stem to just seeing something in a newspaper or a magazine and wishing to share it to friends. Yes, you could just take a photo on your phone or your laptop’s webcam, or even a digital camera – so where is the need for a scanner mouse? Well, and this is what impressed me most, the Zcan Wireless will detect the nature of what it is scanning, and will provide you different options based on what is scanned. For example, if the Zcan Wireless sees that you have scanned a paragraph of text, it will allow you to instantly edit that text as if you had already typed it up. Genius! Not only this, but it can even be used as a translator for its user too. If Zcan sees that the text you have scanned is in a foreign language, you can then use this text in the translating tool on your PC and remove that risk of typing letters incorrectly. Basically, I have no idea in the world how to write or type in Chinese or Eastern European so I know that if I was to even try, the translation I am provided will be incorrect or broken. And just to top everything off the device is a slim, functional mouse, so you are not even swapping your mouse for a clunky device with a few extra functions if you buy this product. You’re just buying the first wireless Smart Mouse. But at a price tag of around £150, this is certainly a device the average consumer will buy more so out of practicality than of luxury.
The final addition, from a more officious stance, this device can be used to scan documents without the limit of having to be near a scanner at home or at work. You can be working wherever you need to, with the ability so scan documents at your leisure from a device that fits in your laptop bag. For students, this means that even that handwritten notes from lectures and seminars can be scanned and saved to your laptop immediately – so when the inevitable happens and your paper notes get lost in a sea of course material, you have organised digital access to them. If only there was a way you could carry that second computer screen you need for work around with you then you could set up a productive workspace truly anywhere! Perhaps if you glance at the next post I will have the answer you weren’t even looking for…
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