Brother, can you spare a dime?
By +Dax Radder
Brother DSMobile® (DS-600) Document Scanner
Another resident of the burgeoning portable color scanner genre is the Brother DSMobile® DS-600. Brother’s entry has been around since 2004 and it is starting to show its age.
Although just like your favorite uncle who’s getting old and forgetful, but is still lovable , the Brother DS-600 has its faithful followers who love and adore it. The problem is, the younger kids are a bit more hip and the competition is catering to them.
For the most part the DS-600 still does a yeoman’s job (yeoman’s job, what’s that? Look it up!) of scanning and filing, but it is much slower and requires a few more steps to complete the job.
For instance, included with the DS-600 are two plastic feeding sheets, ostensibly to help with scanning thinner, smaller documents like receipts. Have you ever tried to put a small receipt between two pieces of plastic? Quickly? Nah, I didn’t think so. Also, just how long would it take for those plastic feeding sheets to become lost, or crinkled and generally unusable? Not long, my friend, not long.
Another area with the DS-600 that is betraying its age is the scanning speed. On the spec sheet for the DS-600, the color scanning is listed at 3 pages per minute or 20 seconds per page. Now, comparing that to the competition, you’ll see that there is a gap of roughly 12.5 seconds. It’s kind of like the difference between Rory McIlroy teeing off and Charles Barkley trying to teeing off.
Mac and Windows 7 compatibility is also a troublesome area. Several users have noted difficulties in installing either one or the other. Brother’s website click here will walk you through the drivers you need to download. I suggest that Mac user’s carefully read this to head off any problems.
On a more positive note, the Brother DS-600 is:
- light- about 12oz.
- small-about the size of an aluminum foil box.
- scan-ability- from business card size and up.
- drivers- is loaded with TWAIN and WIA.
- DSmobileSCAN II- can save documents into Adobe Acrobat, TIFF or JPEG files.
Other features include:
- can scan in black and white or color
- up to 600 dpi (dots per inch) optical scanning resolution
- USB cable included
- soft carrying bag included
Brother DSMobile® DS-600 Scanner
The Bottom Line
With that being said, the Brother DS-600 scanner is still a player in the portable scanner market based upon the fact that it is roughly $50 less than the other top-rated scanner (so yes, evidently Brother can spare a dime!).
If you are on a serious budget and don’t want to fork out extra money for a better and faster scanner, then the DS-600 is the right portable color scanner for you.
My Rating
The Brother DSMobile® DS-600 Document Scanner receives a rating of:
3 stars out of 5
Price Comparisons
While I make every effort to keep these price comparisons up-to-date, retailers do change their pricing frequently. Please use this comparison as a guide only!
Amazon.com………………………………………………………………..$134.06 (free shipping with no tax)*
Walmart.com……………………………………………………………….$149.98 (plus shipping plus tax)
NewEgg.com………………………………………………………………..$139.99 (plus shipping with no tax)*
Staples.com…………………………………………………………………$149.99 (free shipping plus tax)
*no tax is dependent upon your state residency.
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Click here to try the Brother DSMobile® DS-600 now.
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Specification Sheet
| Image Sensor | CIS (Contact Image Sensor) |
| Optical Resolution | up to 600 dpi |
| Paper Sensor | Electro-Mechanical |
| Paper Thickness | 0.1 mm – 0.8 mm |
| Scanning Area | Maximum 8.5″ x 14″ |
| Scanning Modes | 24-bit color, 8-bit (256 levels) gray scale, 1-bit monochrome |
| Scanning Speed‡ | (8.5″ x 11″ letter size @ 200 dpi): 5 pages/minute (monochrome), 3 pages/minute (color) |
| Two-sided (duplex) scanning | No |
| Searchable PDF | Yes |
| Daily Duty Cycle‡ | up to 50 scans per day |
| Maximum Paper Capacity | 1 sheet |
| Daily Duty Cycle‡ | Maximum number of scanned pages per day can be used to compare designed durability between like Brother products. For maximum scanner life, it is best to choose a scanner with a daily duty cycle that exceeds your scanning requirements. |
| Scanning Speed‡ | This device supports single sheet feeding and the numbers presented are for comparison purposes only and rate what the device is capable of. |
| Cable Length | 6ft detachable cable |
| Interface | USB 2.0 (High Speed) is recommended for best performance |
| Power Used | 0.01 W Sleep Mode, 0.2 W Stand by, 2.0 W During scan |
| Scanner Size | 11.1″ (L) x 1.9″ (W) x 1.6″ (H) |
| Scanner Weight | 0.7 lbs. |
| Software Included | DSmobileSCAN II, Presto! PageManager® 9 |
| Compatibility | Windows® 7, Windows Vista®, Windows® XP, Mac OS X 10.3 – 10.7 |
| Carton Contents | DSmobile 600 Scanner, Soft Carrying Bag, USB Cable, DVD-ROM with software and drivers (DSmobileSCAN II, PageManager® 9, TWAIN & WIA drivers), User Manual (Printable from DVD-ROM), 2 Plastic Feeding Sheets (for scanning thin, small items like receipts), 2 Calibration Sheets,1 Cleaning Sheet |
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Brother DSMobile® DS-600 Document Scanner
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Click here to try the Brother DSMobile® DS-600 now.
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