What may distinguish HP’s new Scanjet 300 Photo Scanner, may not be its price tag. The new product is most probably, the first brand of scanner that is plug and play.  It is easy to connect, as it comes equipped with a USB cable that can be connected directly into the PC, once the scanner software is installed.

This flatbed scanner weighing 1.76kg performs photo and document scanning at a high speed with high resolution of 200 dpi.

It could be an ideal solution for business and home users who want a compact, easy-to-use scanner. The compact design enables the scanner fit into a little space in any home or office. The HP Scanjet 300 can copy a photo in approximately 11 seconds and a one page document in 14 seconds at 200 dpi. Not only does it copy the document, it also saves a copy of the scanned document in a folder where they can be easily accessed at the click of a button.

The HP Scanjet 300 comes with Optical Character Recognition, OCR, which allows the user edit text in scanned documents and ArcSoft PhotoStudio 6 photo-editing software that enables one crop and organize images for printing in multiple sizes.

The USB cable is a selling feature as most scanners are powered from electrical sources; whereas the HP Scanjet 300 powers straight from your PC, saving energy. Apart from being Energy Star compliant, the HP Scanjet 300 helps save time with four, easy-to-use control buttons on the front-panel. These one-touch buttons enables one scan photos and documents, save scanned documents in PDF format and send the scanned documents directly to the printer.

The picture quality is clear, the scanner has automatic and manual settings which can be used to change the quality of the lighting and other image elements at will. The Scanjet 300 boasts of a scan-to-cloud functionality that allows one send scanned images and documents directly to email. However, this feature functions optimally in high Broadband areas. Another challenge is that the scanner is a bit fragile as its outer shell is made of plastic; one has to be extra careful it does not drop.