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Germany, Berlin
1 Level
742 Review
15 Karma

Review on PenPower WorldPenScan: Digital Highlighter, Multilingual Reading & Portable Translator – All-in-One Solution for Speech-to-Text and Scan-to-Translate by Matt Charlton

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Phew, doesn't look very good.

I have just ordered and received this item. This is my third PenPower product. As soon as I received it, it was removed from the Revain website with a note that Revain doesn't know if it will ever return. Doesn't sound good and doesn't inspire confidence. But in any case I will go to a short review based on only a few days of use in a limited situation. First, the product is thwarted by PenPower's usual warning that the product can only be used on a computer or tablet, defeating any hope of any real utility as a text input or handy translation device. This restriction also removes language or TTS-oriented features. But it's been like this for years, so maybe they enjoy shooting themselves in the foot. More important is the fact that the software for use with Windows is NOT available on the company's website. With the previous two PenPower products I bought, I only used the PenPower driver for input and then used other companies' software to use the product. Aggravating. With this pen scanner, the most basic software is included with the scanner so I was able to use it straight away, not even a driver was required. But here the whole problem turns into an extreme disappointments and disappointments. The damn scanner seems to be working really well. So far it's working so well that I falsely hope the previous issues have been resolved. Without exception, the input was smoother and more accurate than with the other two products. However, the explanations in the documentation are completely inadequate for the first-time user. In my case, I had to deal with most different topics beforehand, so the learning curve wasn't that steep. But a complete first time user may be disappointed. I'll try to update this review after using the PenPower Go for a few more days, but it looks like I'll be forced to continue using the scanner's pen input function only and then turn to other companies contact Use the text I type with the PenPower Go product. If the input function stays as smooth as before, it will do for my needs, since other companies offer very good TTS functionality. But it would be nice to have all the solutions in one place. Incidentally, I use this product to enter a lot of technical material (popular science, i.e. scientific-technical vocabulary, but no mathematics or scientific formulas) in a simplified way. Chinese and use this input in Chinese without translation.

Pros
  • STANDALONE OR SCAN TO PC/SMARTPHONE is the most advanced handheld scanner with 2.98" LCD touch screen. You can use it on its own anywhere - in the library, in the classroom, in the office, or on the go - and review the results right on the pen. You can also use it with the app and easily scan text on your PC or smartphone. Win/Mac/Android/iOS are supported.
Cons
  • silent