A Digital Highlighter For The 21st Century
The digital highlighter is an invention designed with obsessive note takers in mind. Whether you’re in college, or you remember what that was like, taking notes by hand had the distinct drawback of creating double the work since you had to retype your thoughts to write your papers. This was perhaps why those without the compulsion to take notes didn’t bother, but for the rest of us, there was nothing that could be done about it. Well, the fine folks at Scanmarker must have felt the same way because they created the all-in-one multi-lingual digital text and image scanner.
What is It?
The digital highlighter essentially scans your handwritten text, or text in a book, and transfers it into any application that accepts keyboard typing, i.e. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The highlighter is a handheld scanner that attaches to your computer with a USB cable. It recognizes characters from 8 pt to 24 pt, and it has a scan field of 0.4 inches. This is most helpful for college students or anyone who writes for a living. By digitizing your notes, you can easily transfer your thoughts directly from the notes document into your report. Plus, if you were taking handwritten notes from a textbook, you can now just highlight the text in the book and skip the handwritten notes altogether.
Once you receive the package, you insert the disc that comes with the digital highlighter into your computer. You have to download the software to make it work, but once that’s done, you should be good to go. As a side note, just like all software, the manufacturer occasionally updates the software. You should check periodically to make sure the version you have is the most up-to-date. The highlighter works best when everything is updated.
What Other Features Does it Have?
Aside from the fact that it makes taking and transferring notes easier, it does provide other functions, as well. It also functions as a personal reading guide, which means it helps the owner enhance text comprehension, pronunciation, and the ability to read on his or her own. This is especially helpful for those with reading difficulties. The digital highlighter can also translate multiple languages, provides a text-to-speech function, has a dictionary and a thesaurus, and it can even read business cards. It has a lot to offer both students and working professionals, and it doesn’t have complicated internal components that wear down over time or require cleaning. It uses advanced patented image processing algorithms to scan text, which means it will last a good long while.
How Much Does it Cost?
The digital highlighter costs about $100 through Amazon, and sometimes Amazon runs out of stock. Despite the high dollar price tag, you get a lot of bang for your buck. This device saves you time, and makes studying and organizing a lot easier. You can always check with your local bookstore for used products that might be cheaper, but this might be worth purchasing a brand new one.
