The ultimate input device

[Tami]

The ultimate input device
By TIM GNATEK

What do you get when you cross a keyboard and a scanner? That is not the lead-in to a technology joke, it is a real peripheral: the KS810, due soon from KeyScan, of Herzlia, Israel.

This mix is no mutt: A form-fitting plastic bump and control buttons over the keyboard\'s function keys disguise a sheet-fed colour scanner that can read documents as large as 8.5-by-30 inches and scan a standard colour page in 25 seconds. Pages feed under the keyboard, so they do not interrupt your typing.

The scanner reads up to 4,800 dots per inch of document, a measure comparable to many dedicated scanners. But for those needing to digitize photos, business cards and sales receipts, the option of doing so without needing another desktop device might be just as impressive. What\'s more, with an Internet connection and a printer, the keyboard can be used as a fax machine or a copier.

The KeyScan keyboard requires a PC running the Windows 2000 or XP operating systems. Software is provided to attach scans to applications and to perform on-the-fly resizing or editing. KeyScan expects to sell the device for about $200 (U.S.) at its website (keyscan.com) next month, and in retail stores this summer.

Later this year, the company will release a keyboard that adds security to scanning with a built-in fingerprint and a smart card reader.

Dov Aharonson, a spokesman for the company, says that in addition to their space-saving advantages, these devices are always at the ready, so they are more likely to be used.

\"Even for users with the desk space, no one is going to put a flatbed scanner in front of them if they\'re just sending e-mails a few times a day,\" he said. \"But once scanning can be right in front of you, you\'d be surprised how often you use it.\"

[url=\"http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050317.gtscanmar17/BNStory/Technology/\"]source: Globe Technology[/url]