Wireless Photo & Document Scanner for Tablets, Smartphones & Computers with Built-In WiFi

(Disclaimer – This blog contains my opinions and doesn’t reflect the opinions of any organizations that I might be affiliated with. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. I have not been paid to promote or review this product. This product was bought by me for a project that I was working on and this is my honest opinion based solely on my own experiences. Read More)

This is a review of the ION Air Copy Scanner. I found this product while searching for a scanner that fit this description. I was working an on ABC Book for a co-worker that involved friends drawing pictures for each letter. The template (which can be found here) I bought was found on Etsy from samanthaBdesign. This automatic download comes with 3 size choices (4×6, 5×7, and 8.5×11). I was looking for a scanner that would be good for all three choices. To give you a better idea of what I am talking about, I have pictured some of the completed pages below.

My Idea

The thought I had was to scan every picture into my computer, then to use an online company that makes pictures books (like Snapfish), to create a hardcover baby ABC book. My main concern was that I would have to go in and crop every image individually after I scanned it into my computer with my copier/scanner. Because I was doing 2 pages per letter, it would be 53 pages to crop. That was more time consuming than I had time for. You can see the size of each page when compared to a standard size 8.5×11 inch piece of paper (pictured below in red).

ABC Book Page Compared to Standard Sized Paper

I originally wanted to find this cool looking compact scanner I bought my mother 5+ years ago for her original iPad. This was because it was small, portable, auto-cropped and had a dock for the iPad. I knew it would be easier to scan on the go than having to go to my desktop. After some digging on the internet, I did find it. However, it only had a dock for the old iPad. So that was a no go.

Based on that product, I started searching for a similar product. I found scanners that you swipe across your document to scan. I didn’t like that idea because I was afraid that would require a lot of patience and a steady hand. It wasn’t really what I was looking for. Some of my finds were:

Then I found the ION Air Copy Scanner (pictured below). I was very similar to my mother’s scanner and scanned directly to an app on your phone or tablet. The reviews were okay (2.9/5 stars with 137 customer reviews) and it had Prime Free One-Day Shipping. So, I ordered it and was it great for my purposes.

ION Air Copy | Wireless Photo and Document Scanner for Tablets, Smartphones & Computers with Built-In WiFi

Things I liked:

Very small in size. It is – which is a little wider than a standard size piece of paper and just about – long. I was able to just throw it in my bag and go.
It is wireless- no need to carry any extra cables or to search for them. It creates it’s own wifi so you do not need an internet connection to use this.
Battery operated- I could literally scan anywhere.
Long lasting battery.
Auto-crops – saves a massive amount of time.
The Android app is very easy to use.
The app lets you watch the scan in real time.
It has ‘grab’ function that allows you to insert the sheet and it ‘grabs’ it into place until you fit scan on your phone.
This easily scanned cardstock paper without restraint.
The scanner has a size sliding bar- so you can adjust what size paper you are putting through (see below).

Things I did not like:

The charging cable is very very short and does not come with a power outlet. Wasn’t that big of a deal because it uses a standard – the cable that you probably have laying around.
Although it is wireless and operates using WiFi, you do not have the option to plug it in. That is only a problem because-
The app is not available on the newest iPad version. I was quite disappointed by this, but it was available on my Android. When you hook up to the wifi, my phone detected it and worked, however, it could not use the internet at the same time.
The app is easy to use, but it is a little glitchy. You are supposed to see It scan in real time. Occasionally I would not see it scanning on the app, at that time I knew that it was glitching and would have to restart the app. It would have been annoying if it happened frequently (which it didn’t) or if it took longer to restart (which it doesn’t). It’s just something to keep in mind, rather sit there waiting for it to come through.
It isn’t particularly cautious of whether or not the page is straight when it ‘grabs’ the document. This makes it easy for the page to be unevenly or crookedly scanned.
For my purposes, the clarity of the image was great. I don’t think this would be the best option if you are looking for the clearest image. It does state that it has, “high-resolution 600 DPI scanning.” It’s a good, quick scanner.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really liked this product. It was easy, quick and effective for my use. The biggest issue I had with it was that I could not use it on my iPad. Even so, it worked great on my phone. I just would upload the images to the cloud to access them on my iPad.

Stay tuned for my future post on how the ABC book turned out- Amazing!

To see more product reviews for craft related items click here.

Some more details on this product provided by Amazon:

Features

Wirelessly scans via Wi-Fi directly into your tablet, smartphone, or computer
Works with iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Kindle FireTM HD, AndroidTM devices, Windows Phone, Mac OS X, Windows 8, and Windows 7 PCs
Creates its own Wi-Fi network—no internet connection needed!
Scans any photo, business card, or document up to standard legal size (8.5″ x 14″)
Scans save as JPEG or PDF files on your device
High-resolution 600 DPI scanning
Battery Recharge Time: Approx. 4 hours (using a 10W power adapter, slower recharge time using a 5W power adapter)
Battery Capacity: Continuous use for 2 hours after fully charged
Auto Power Off: After 5 minutes of no use
Maximum Document Size: 8.5” x 14”
Minimum Document Size: 2” x 2″
Scan Resolution: Standard (300 dpi), Fine (600 dpi)
Speed of Scan:
- Approx. 12 sec./sheet at 300 dpi (at maximum document size)
- Approx. 40 sec./sheet at 600 dpi (at maximum document size)
Scan Thickness: 0.08 mm – 0.60 mm
Scans Per Charge:
- Approx. 400 sheets (at maximum document size) at 300 dpi per charge.
- Approx. 150 sheets (at maximum document size) at 600 dpi per charge.
File Format: JPEG or PDF (Mac/Windows app only)
Operation Temperature: 41°F – 95°F (5°C – 35°C). Humidity range 35% – 80% RH
Dimensions (width x height x depth):
- 10.7” x 2” x 2.75”
Weight:
- 1.3 lbs