KeyScan combines keyboard and scanner

Improbable? Perhaps. Curious? Definitely. KeyScan takes two of the most ignored computer peripherals, the keyboard and the digital scanner, and puts them together into one unit. Sure, this isn't a game-changing device like the iPhone, but it's an innovation that I've never seen before (though I'm sure it's been tried in the past). I imagine more than a few of you will be interested in it.

The KeyScan KS810 looks a lot like a standard keyboard: A sheet-fed scanner lets you insert documents for imaging into a slot in the upper right portion of the device. Docs are fed through the imaging circuitry, secreted under your right hand, and they come out the bottom of the device (small docs, like business cards, pop back out the top). That's pretty much the sell.

Only slightly larger than a standard keyboard, the KS810 scans media up to 8.5 inches wide and 30 inches long at a maximum resolution of 600 dpi. Software, including OCR capabilities, is (now) included in the box; once you get everything installed and running you'll have all you need to make scans reasonably easily and with minimal hiccups. While the software lacks polish and could use some UI help, it largely works as advertised, and can even be set to scan documents to PDF or to email without even having to push a single button. It's altogether very handy, especially considering you don't even need to turn away from your keyboard to do the job, and the resulting scans looked as good as they did on my flatbed multifunction printer/scanner.

My only real complaint with the KeyScan is that it requires A/C power to operate, which is a cabling headache; the company's executives told me this was due to the (two-port) USB hub in the device. But I'd gladly give up two USB ports not to have to plug another thing into the wall. Alternately, keep the USB ports, but just require a second USB connection to the PC in order to draw the power needed for all of this stuff. I need another wall wort like another hole in the head.

At $159, I'm not sure how big the market for a combo keyboard-scanner really is. It's priced in a gray zone where it's too expensive to replace a standard keyboard on a whim and also competes with some multifunction printers (at least one model is under $100), the popular choice for modern users to stick a scanner that only occasionally gets used. But if you love your current printer, but just want to add a scanner without giving up any desk space, the KeyScan's perhaps the best (and maybe the only) solution out there.