FIGURE B

CardScan inserts the scanned text into its appropriate Contacts slot. Click picture for a larger image.

Of course, you get the chance to review the details and make any corrections or move details into different fields, if you think you're smarter than the CardScan software. You also get a picture of the card for your records, and if there's any good stuff on the back of the card, you can scan that in as well.

Choose a contact directory
CardScan has its own contact directory, which can be shared amongst licensed users. However, Microsoft Outlook 2000 had already been chosen as my contact manager, probably because of its close integration with Pocket PC. Somewhere along the way, CardScan recognized that I was an Outlook user, and so my copy of the program featured a prominent button that allowed me to transfer contacts into Microsoft Outlook, as shown in Figure C.

FIGURE C

You can easily transfer your contact information to Outlook. Click picture for a larger image.

CardScan also understands how to transfer contacts to other popular contact managers including ACT!, Ecco Pro, Goldmine, and Lotus Organizer.

To be successful, you really need to decide which contact directory is your master. Otherwise, you'll have CardScan, Outlook, and Pocket PC all trying to update each other, and the result may be duplicate contacts or messages asking you to resolve update conflicts. I found life easier when I decided that Outlook was to be my master directory, Pocket PC was my portable (and maintainable) copy, and CardScan would simply be used to pick up new card details. I disabled the CardScan ActiveSync Synchronization option in Microsoft ActiveSync, and let the standard Contacts Synchronization process take care of all of my contacts. I think this is a fairly sensible approach for Pocket PC users.

Share the cost
At a list price of $299 (with a street price of around $250), you'll need to collect a steady stream of business cards in order to justify this product.

Another possible way to justify the cost would be to share the device. Have a CardScan scanner and software set up on your administrative assistant's desk. In just a few seconds, your assistant can scan a card, check the details, and copy the contact into your shared contact database, where everyone in your workgroup can use it. By dragging the contact into your personal contact list, you can ensure that it'll be copied to your Pocket PC next time you synchronize. You can't get much easier than that. Every office should have one.

The old-fashioned business card isn't likely to die off any time soon, so those of us who have evolved to the next level of contact sharing will just have to wait for the others to catch up. Until they do, CardScan will make the wait considerably more bearable.

Peter Watt is a Systems Architect with Unisys in Wellington, New Zealand, specializing in the use of Microsoft technologies in the enterprise. He can be reached at peter.watt@unisys.com.