My New Flip Pal Mobile Scanner Has Arrived!

My early Christmas present to myself is a new Flip Pal mobile Scanner. I first learned about these devices earlier this year and immediately wanted one. But as any mum knows, everyone else comes first. Finally another genealogy friend talked me into spoiling myself for a change, and I took the advice and ordered my Flip Pal. It arrived in the mail today!

I decided right off the hop that if I was going to get the Flip Pal, I was going to do it right the first time and so I purchased the Creative Suite program as well. This is optional. I do a lot of desktop publishing and I make all sorts of family treasure type of gifts like personalized calendars, newsletters, etc so I knew the additional cost was going to be worth while for me. 

The first thing that struck me was how super light-weight the device is. It weighs just over a pound. There is no fuss, no muss, no bother in setting it up. The batteries are pre-loaded. You just need to remove the protective paper that sits between them for shipping. Turn the on switch and you are in business!! No plugs, no wires, no cables. Just flip the switch and it is ready to go.

I recently inherited the job (ok, I offered) of scanning some old photos that were given to the local genealogy society. They are photos of people from here and the thought was that if we displayed them on the blog, we might be able to find the rightful owners of these treasured heirlooms. So, I set to work. In less than 5 minutes, I had scanned 12 photographs, both sides! It is so incredibly simple. Lift the lid, place the photo face down, push the button and seconds later, the photo is scanned. The display screen shows you where the scan is in terms of its progress.

The 2GB SD card holds up to 1250 images. More than the average family historian is going to need space for! Then it is as simple as popping the SD card when  you are finished. The Flip Pal comes with an SD- USB stick (commonly known as a card reader). If you want to save the pics on the SD card, you can. Just replace the card when you are ready to scan more photos. If you want to download them into the computer, place the SD card into the reader and away you go. If you want to re-print, take the SD card to your local photo finishing shop and you are all set.

I love my new toy. And I wasn't paid or compensated in any way for sharing my enthusiasm. I just really love the device and wanted to spread the word about how simple it is to use. Not to mention how valuable it can be for someone who has loads of old photos or documents to scan.

Happy Scanning - and here's to getting through our "to-do" lists!