The flat bed digital camera?

Updated 28th March

HP has announced a mini flat bed scanner that is designed to be used on the road and without the need for a host PC. The new HP Photosmart 1200 scanner can be powered via its USB 2.0 (12Mbits/sec 'full-speed' not 480Mbits/sec 'high speed') port if connected to a host PC, and has optional battery slots as well as compact flash and SD/MMC card slots. In some ways, you can consider it the flat bed equivalent of a digital camera.

The Photosmart 1200 is silver-fronted and its dimensions are 26x18x3 cm. Listed specifications reveal a respectable 36-bit colour sensitivity and a maximum optical resolution of 1200 pixels per inch (ppi). Features include multiple photo scanning, plus individual scan times as short as 14 seconds. For use with

Tim Potter, HP’s Image Capture Product Manager, commented: “We continually introduce innovative designs and technologies to help revolutionise the market and make digital imaging accessible to our mainstream customers,” adding: 'The HP Photosmart 1200 is perfect for those of us who don't want to visit the high street every time we need copies of photos belonging to us or our friends and, it is perfect for transferring old snaps to CD or PC too.'

Key features of the Photosmart 1200 include:

*Compact Flash & Secure Digital or Multimedia slots (SD/MMC)
*Automatic photo optimisation
*Pre-select functionality - for storing images whilst visiting friends, for example, to download or print via memory card slots at a later date
*USB 2.0 cable option
*4x AA battery powered operation (optional)
*Detachable lid - for scanning thicker items, like books
*Easy to use quality level selection - (*for the majority of copies, ** for enlarging the photo between two and four times and *** for enlarging the copy up to poster size)
*LCD screen - highlighting battery life, number of images stored and where they are stored, if print-share has been activated and quality level selected
*Easy scanning - of larger documents such as maps or magazine articles, to be scanned in sections and then reassembled using ArcSoft Panorama Maker 3 software
* Editing and resizing of digital images and scanned documents - with HP Photo and Imaging software
*HP's Instant Share software for sharing of photos via email
*Easy archiving and personalised photo show creation - (with music) using HP Memories Disk Creator

Pricing and Availability:
The HP Photosmart 1200 photo scanner has an estimated street price of £99 (inc VAT) and is available now.

www.hp.co.uk