Rating: 
Summary: Very flimsy USB connector
Review: The Canon CanoScan N650U is a terrific portable scanner, as described in the many reviews here. Be warned, however, that the USB port--where the USB cable is inserted--is extremely flimsy--it's already broken after about 3 months' use. The weight of the cable itself is enough to eventually break the connector (actually, the small circuit board inside the scanner on which the USB connector is mounted has broken loose). I use it a lot and bring it back and forth from work--I suspect this design just can't handle constant use. It clearly needs a redesign.
Rating: 
Summary: worse than i thought!
Review: the GOOD: lightweight, small, cheap, no power cord...the BAD: scans the flattest paper, 99.9% paper only! horrible software! FOR: beginners and only those scanning the flattest objects! i got the CanoScan N650U because of such overwhelming positive reviews, then i bought it and tried it - easy to install and started scanning. it is NOT AS GOOD as the majority online says it is. from the reviews i read, it was suppose to be quiet, fast and easy to use. well...it's not exactly that. i even contacted Canon, who said they would reply back with help in 2-3 days; it's been over a week. it's almost louder than my old scanner, a Umax Astra 1220S and crashes alot more on Window2000! the N650U scans at a good speed, though i had hoped faster for USB. while i do admire it's size and design, i despise it's scanning program and even it's scanning ability, or lack of i should say. the N650U only scans well if you have a perfectly flat object [99.9% paper material] on the surface. if u do not have a flat object and you scan, u will get the blurrest image!!! i'm talking about the slightest wrinkle in the paper, and the N650U will see it as a BIG blur! this scanner is ONLY for the flattest object, dont think of using it for magazines that are creased or such, you will get blurs at the crease. compared to my 1220S, the N650U is a lost cause! the photos scanned do not appear as clear as my 1220S and have white specks on the scans, even after i cleaned the glass surface! while the N650U saves space, it doesn't save the user from agony and professional use. it is overall a waste of money unless you are a pre-beginner at scanning and only scan flat paper images, which turn out decent. my 1220S does a good job of scanning everything! flat objects and 3D objects! the only reason i thought of buying another scanner is because i wanted to use the USB port rather than a SCSI port. and that my scanner is bulky compared to the N650U...but now that i've tried another scanner that seemed really nice but wasnt, i am definitely returning the N650U, then either stay with my old scanner or buy another brand. while the N650U looks beautiful on your desktop, it's not quite useful enough for a true designer working with graphics, drawings, etc. and for under 100$, there is NO such thing as high quality in this scanner. better to try another brand [first] and compare the results.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic Scanner
Review: This Canon scanner is amazing. It is very small and light. It has only one cable (USB supplies the power too). It took me no more than 5 minutes to install the scanner and its software. That is great compared to the UMAX I purchased & returned after over 5 hours of trying to install it. The scan speed is impressive also.
Rating:
Summary: Great Buy - High Quality
Review: This is a great machine at a good price. It is not even in the same league as my old parallel port scanner. The USB connection makes this unit very fast. The quality of scans from this machine are A+. Easy set-up and connection. Had it up and running in five minutes. Slimline design fits anywhere. Comes with full version software package where others (HP) come with only a trial version. Only drawback would be that the USB connection is not too secure. Buy this unit, you wont be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Great Scan for its Price!
Review: This is a terrific scanner for the price! ... , is by far one of the best scanners i have ever tested! The 42bit color is fantastic and the 600x1200 resolution is cool too! The scans of pictures comes out so great that it even scanned the dust that had fallen onto my pictures. The compact design is also a space saving device! Being lightweight, the scanner is virtually moveable to any computer in the house. The software is very easy to use and that all you have to do is plug the scanner into your usb port and install the software. Overall, this is one great scanner and should be picked up for the quality and the price.
Rating:
Summary: Good Scans, Compact Size, Nice Price - Great Entry Level
Review: This is my second scanner from Canon. I owned the first Canoscan that came out a few years ago, and it served me very faithfully. Upon upgrading my system, I felt the need to get a new scanner with USB. I came back to the Canoscan models. This unit was incredibly easy to install (both hardware and software). The USB plug acts as both a port connector and a power cord! The unit is very slim and compact, takes up hardly any desk space. The software pack comes with a limited edition of Adobe PhotoShop 5.0-- for those of you who do not know, Photoshop is a professional photo editing package. All in all, a very nice scanner package. 42 bit color and great 600 by 1200 DPI. Also, the scanner has the ability to scan items up to 1" thick-- like books. The scanning is easy, you can open the software or you can use the 'one touch' button on the scanner. There are different settings, so you can customize what the scanner does when the one-touch button is used-- copying, faxing, scanning, etc. The scans are crisp, and the USB is much faster that traditional parallel port scanners. (I speak from experience) Most people consider this an 'entry-level' scanner, but IMO, unless you're scanning satellite photos and trying to find the missle silos (haha)-- this is the scanner for you. If you ARE looking for something with a little more *bang*, I also recommend the CanoScan N1220U- same size, same software, but higher DPI and a sleek metal casing. (costs more!)
Rating:
Summary: A snap to install and use and produces stunning images
Review: This is one of the easiest to install and use add-ons I have ever purchased. I took it out of the box, plugged it in, inserted the CD ROM into my drive and it magically installed and was ready in a matter of minutes. It produces stunning images with either a push of a button or few clicks of a mouse. I have scanned everything from a passport page, complete with hologram, to a metal plaque. Each of these present unique challenges to copying and scanning devices because of reflections and the strange things holograms cause, but this scanner made completely faithful reproductions. The software that comes bundled is adequate, but I discovered that my copy of Paintshop Pro version 7 will automatically recognize the scanner and allow me to scan directly into that program. From there I can use the Adjust feature to quickly set quality and save the scanned image in any of the dozens of formats that Paintshop Pro supports. I really like the small size and sleek looks of this device, and the quality of both the scanner itself, and the images it produces are exceptionally high. It meets all of my needs, which are many since I produce a lot of documentation and need scanned images on many occasions. It is also useful for scanning and faxing from your computer, adding even more value. I think this scanner is one of the better values in computer peripherals and I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Easy to Use and Easy to Afford
Review: This is the first scanner I purchased and I was a bit nervous. I didn't want to spend much money since I was going to use the scanner for personal use... just scanning pictures to share with friends and family. When I received the scanner, it was installed pretty quickly. One thing that almost scared me was that I need my windows 98 disk, I didn't know where it was and thought I was through but I did find it and the rest of the install was a breeze. Instructions to use the scanner were even easier to get through... click this button to scan, done. I was up and scanning photos within minutes. The thing I enjoyed most was the fun things you can do with the pictures once you scan them. The Adobe PhotoShop that actually comes with the scanner has great and fun things you can do to the pictures to enhance them or make them more fun (distorting or aging). It is truly amazing how clear the photos scanned; I could even scan a newspaper article and could read it clearly. Great purchase!
Rating: 
Summary: Piece of junk. Doesnt work with USB Add -on cards
Review: This piece of junk doesn't work with USB add-on cards and canon (and this retailer) doesn't tell you that until you buy the item and read the fine print in the box. Poor tech support from Canon. Macintosh buyers beware- stay away from this product.
Rating: 
Summary: works OK but some limitations
Review: Unlike some of the others with this unit, I had no trouble installing and using it (one I got the right drivers, that is -- J&R Music world initially sent me the wrong disk, grrr). Though it runs a little slow, it does make reasonably clean scans, and makes MUCH less clutter on and behind my desk than most other machines, which is why I bought it. People need to know, however, that the lens has crummy depth-of field, which means that anything that is not dead flat against the glass will look fuzzy. My previous scanner could make acceptable images of small three-dimensional objects; this one won't. Also, the color balance is kind of off, too blue-tinged. With my Paint Shop Pro, I need to subtract a little blue and add a little red to the scans to make them look like real life. I assume that both these problems (poor depth of field and color imbalance) come from the dim scanning lamp neccesitated by the low power available to the unit.
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