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Translate at a flick of the wrist

The Wizcom SuperPen mobile text scanner and translator is a handy device that does exactly what is required of it.
By Arshad Mahomed, ITWeb contributor
Johannesburg, 25 Nov 2004

The Wizcom SuperPen mobile text scanner and translator is a handy device that does exactly what is required of it. Larger than the average pen, the SuperPen scans text via an optical interface.

The text can then be either stored as is, or translated into a variety of languages including Spanish, French, German, Italian and Turkish. Of course, the opposite is true since you can translate text from a foreign language into English. With a reported 97% optical character recognition accuracy rate, the SuperPen should meet the requirements of all but the most demanding of users.

Another nice feature of the SuperPen is that it ships with text-to-speech technology for English text. This enables visually impaired users to scan text and have it read back to them.

Unfortunately, the review model used a 9-pin serial connection to connect it to the PC. However, the retail version will ship with universal serial bus support to speed up downloads.

Users can also download a range of dictionaries that include anything from Chinese to Hebrew. With built-in Flash storage, the SuperPen can save up to 1 000 pages of printed text. The auto shutdown feature saves battery life that is already an impressive one month on average.

This is a device with a specific sales demographic, something not just anybody will require. If you want a mobile scanning and translation solution, then the SuperPen is the device for you.

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