Mobile Technology

$150 Book Saver turns a 200 page book into eReader format in 15 minutes

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The Book Saver Book Scanner from Ion Audio can scan a 200-page paper book and convert it into e-Reader format in just 15 minutes
The Book Saver Book Scanner from Ion Audio can scan a 200-page paper book and convert it into e-Reader format in just 15 minutes
The camera frame is placed on top of the publication, pressing the button snaps the images of the two pages on display, the frame is raised and a page turned, and the process repeated
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Ion Audio is probably best known for creating those nifty turntables that help those of us who own vinyl records to conveniently convert them into a digital file format. Now, the company has used its digital conversion know-how to create a device that can scan a 200-page paper book and convert it into e-Reader format in 15 minutes. The Book Saver Book Scanner will allow you to quickly digitize your huge library of printed books or magazines for archiving on computer or to take on the road without weighing down your backpack or suitcase.

Many of my vinyl albums have never even made it to CD release, let alone become available in digital format for download from one of the many online stores. So it was with some relief that technology arrived which allowed me to record high quality digital copies of my treasured rarities and pop them onto my media player. One of those leading the charge was Ion Audio, who released record players with a USB cable that could be connected to a computer for handy digitization.

Now, the company is offering the same conversion convenience to owners of literary tomes. The Book Saver consists of an angled cradle, onto which is placed the printed novel, textbook or periodical requiring digital conversion. An upper frame sporting two cameras – one pointing at each page and each having a built-in flash – is placed on top of the publication in the cradle. A snap of each page is recorded at the press of a button, then the camera frame is lifted, the page turned and the whole process repeated until the last page is reached.

The digital conversion is stored directly onto an SD card, for onward viewing on an e-Reader or archiving to a computer. Whereas other devices that offer similar digitization can take up to seven seconds to scan one page, the Book Saver is said to capture its two-page digital representation in just one second.

Our team on the ground at CES were suitably impressed by the Book Saver, and are looking forward to its forthcoming release, when it will cost US$149.

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17 comments
Gadgeteer
Looks like this doesn\'t so much as convert the books as simply photograph them. If that\'s the case, the file sizes will probably be huge compared with actual ebooks. I also question the lighting uniformity of the flash. They\'re trading off quality for speed. I think I\'d rather have the Plustek Book Scanner. Slower, sure, but the image is higher quality and can be run through OCR to create a more compact image and text PDF.
Nigel Allen
@Gadgeteer. I\'m not sure that that is the case. From the product overview:
CONVERT TO MULTIPLE FILE FORMATS FOR USE ANYWHERE
I\'ve already asked for clarification.
N/
NoResponse
Wonder if the company producing it saw the \"DIY-High-Speed-Book-Scanner-from-Trash-and-Cheap-C\" (google it) web page. The product resembles what it describes.
Richie Suraci
Looks interesting, I will have to try one then decide how good it is.....
Akemai Olivia
How does Ion deal with pirated ebooks done using this gadget?
Paul Anthony
OCR? For 150 bucks I want it to turn the pages for me too.
Carol Wilkerson
This might be an option for family historians and genealogists who would rather not damage an old bible, journal or memoir. It\\\'s good to know the options.
rttedrow
A pirates delight capitalizing on the book publishers determination to preserve an outmoded business model and follow the music industry, lemming-like, off the cliff.
nehopsa
I wonder when some enlightened regulator steps in and bans it. Guns for shooting senators are saintly in the States and cannot be banned but this is not a gun. Therefore it is likely to be subjected to a ban shortly. I wonder if this product makes it to the market ever, for the same reasons.
quatermass
This device will scare the pants off book publishers! Just like CD writers upset music publishers. People will buy these and put copyright books out on to the Net, you mark my words...