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Fujitsu's new ScanSnap offering, the iX500, isn't the first scanner to be useable via wireless, but it's undoubtedly one of the smartest. The philosophy behind the ScanSnap range has always been to do away with the need for a scanner operator - the knowledge worker is the user, and everything should be achievable with one touch wherever possible. The iX500 continues this approach and refines it, offering the same high quality capture to any device, completely irrespective of the device type or the nature of the connection

A new proprietary 'GI' processor chip is built into the scanner for onboard image optimisation. Among its functions are intelligent cropping, automatic rotation of documents which are inserted skewed or upside down, and indexing to automatically generate PDF key words for quick and easy searches. This architecture gets round the usual issue with wireless scanning: that as soon as the wires aren't there, the scan process itself is made much slower. The iX500 can scan at 25 pages per minute (A4 duplex), with the wireless connection having no impact on speed at all, even on mixed document batches. Images are sent to phones and tablets as PDF or JPG files as required.

Elsewhere in this little marvel PFU have taken the brake roller technology used in their volume fi-Series devices to improve document separation - and it still has the efficient and proven ultrasonic multifeed detection seen in other ScanSnap models. For energy-conscious users the iX500 will automatically power down after 4 hours of inactivity (the period can be customised if required).

The software bundle has been enhanced over previous ScanSnap offerings too: the business card handling is done by CardMinder whether on PC or Mac, and the ABBYY OCR engine has been updated for faster recognition rates and PDF creation. In addition the ScanSnap menu has been tweaked so that users can choose to see only their most commonly used applications ('Favourites') rather than the entire list, and the system will even recommend which application to pass a scan into based on the image attributes (for example business cards).

The iX500 will allow scans direct to the cloud, using services such as DropBox, Google Drive, EverNote and Sugarsync. New applications can be added to the ScanSnap Organiser menu with a couple of clicks, so long as the application supports either PDF or JPG file formats.

PFU says that the iX500 is primarily aimed at small businesses of up to 25 employees, with no particular scanning/document management expertise. A single scanner based in the reception area of such a firm can be accessed remotely by staff throughout the organisation, using tablets or smartphones (IOS or Android) as well as computers. The USB 3 connection means fast and reliable 'traditional' data transfer for non-wireless users too. The accompanying app, ScanSnap Connect, is available for free from the main Apple and Google stores.
More info: www.fujitsu.com/emea/products/

VERDICT
Perhaps the first scanner we've seen that is truly capable of scanning without wires to any device (tablets, smartphones etc.) without any additional hassle, the GI processor-centric architecture of the ScanSnap iX500 takes Fujitsu's capture offerings into a whole new potential marketplace.