Overhead projectors were a great idea, and there are tons of twenty year old ones still being lugged around middle schools that are dying to be replaced. The HoverCam X500 is here to oblige with a very modern makeover on the old monster cart machine. The X500 USB imaging device has a 5 megapixel sensor mounted on a swing arm that can either scan and recognize or monitor and project anything happening on a desk or surface under the camera. As a scanner, the HoverCam performs as a 600dpi equivalent scanner. Scans are snapped as photos would be, in an instant. No more waiting for the slow trudging of the scan sensor to run up and down the page. The USB webcam function is pretty straight forward though. It’s designed with a flexible neck so that it can be aimed at any subject and broadcast straight to the web. It also has a built in microphone with the camera all driverless via USB. The only thing it seems to be missing is some LEDs to assist in lighting.
The free software that is included with the X500 is called HoverCam Flex. The Flex is not surprisingly built on the Adobe Air platform, and is a desktop based application that connects directly to their web services. Images can be uploaded, saved, published, shared and OCR’d with a quick drag and drop. The HoverCam Flex service also provides quick integration with other cloud services like Google OCR, Picassa, DropBox and e-Fax. The benefits of the software alone might be worth the $199 asking price of the HoverCam X500. It’s available now through their website and Amazon storefront. Video demo after the jump.Permanent Link
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