Every once in a while I get caught in the product feedback loop. Late last year, many of the podcasts to which I listen and many of the tech web sites that I visit were discussing the Doxie One. I already had purchased a ScanSnap S1500M for my office, but was hoping to find something a bit less pricey that my wife and I could use for our house to cut down on our paper files. I went to Doxie's site where they told me that the Doxie One was "everything" that I needed to go paperless for "just $149." Sounded good to me, so I pulled out the credit card and just a short time later, it was delivered.
Because it scans to a 2 GB SD card (included with purchase), the Doxie does not need to be connected to your computer to work. It can also be powered by batteries for "plug-less" use.
After you have scanned your papers/images, etc., you can either take the SD card out the Doxie and insert it into your computer (or even your iPad via Apple's camera connection kit) or connect the Doxie with the SD card to your computer via USB, in which case the free Doxie software (more on that in a second) will read the contents.
Sounds like a great product, right?
Wrong.
For me, the two most critical aspects of a scanner are (a) how easy is it to use and (b) how clearly does it scan? Let's look at each of these aspects.
Ease of Use
The Doxie doesn't have a "start scanning button" on it. The only button on the machine is the power button. To start scanning, you insert the paper into the feeder and then the Doxie pulls it through. The problem with this is that it doesn't give you the opportunity to insert the paper in an even way into the Doxie. If one side of the page is grabbed by the Doxie, it will create a crooked (or worse, illegible) scan. I found scanning 8 1/2 x 11 pieces of paper to be somewhat difficult. It was much easier scanning smaller items, such as pictures and receipts. Thus, if you plan to scan bank statements, tax forms, or other types of regular-sized papers, the Doxie may prove a bit difficult. However, if you plan to scan your old photographs or receipts, it may be the right scanner for your needs.
The Doxie One, powered on.
Clarity of Scan
Once I became comfortable feeding papers into the Doxie, its scan quality was quite good. I have provided a scan from the Doxie below. As you can see, it provided a clear representation of the paper. The words are legible (to the extent that my handwriting ever is legible). Additionally, I was pleased that a scan of a piece of paper with handwriting was only 10 kb in terms of file size. If you truly intend to go paperless, files can accumulate quickly, which makes file size a critical consideration.
This is a scan from Doxie. it took me two actual scans to get this centered enough to work. 10 kb file size.
For comparison's sake, I have also included a scan taken with my Scanner Pro app for my iPhone 5. As you can see, the scan with the iPhone has a bit of a yellow hue to it. Black pen was used on the paper, but it appears almost blue in the scan. However, the text is faithfully reproduced. The file size is significantly larger than the Doxie, as the Scanner Pro app created a 250 kb file (25 times the size of the Doxie file.)
The Scanner Pro app was fairly easy to use, though I cannot imagine scanning numerous documents at any given time with it. It is perfect for the occasional scan that you need to upload to dropbox or email to a friend. Also, keep in mind that the Scanner Pro app is $6.99, while the Doxie is $149. Thus, the question you have to ask yourself is whether the Doxie is worth 20x the Scanner Pro app.
This is via the Scanner Pro app on my iPhone.
Conclusion
The Doxie One is a mixed bag. I found it moderately easy to use. It produced a fairly high quality scan with a small file size. However, the scanner did feel a bit overpriced at $149. It certainly isn't meant to replace a high capacity scanner, like the ScanSnap S1500M. I could imagine this being a good entry-level scanner to determine if going paperless is a viable for you. It permits scanning regardless of location. Also, if your main computer is an iPad, it would allow you to try to move toward a paperless home. However, the Doxie One would not be a good scanner if you planned on scanning a large volume of papers at any given time.