Think of the HP Digital Sender 8100C (US$1,300 street) as a fax machine for the e-mail age--or, more simply, an e-mail machine. Just as a fax machine turns a stack of paper into a fax, the 8100C turns a stack of paper into e-mail. More precisely, it scans the pages, converts them into a PDF or TIFF file, and sends the file as an e-mail attachment.
Unlike a fax machine, the 8100C attaches to a computer network, using a 10Base-T connection. Installation in a corporate environment went smoothly on our tests. We skipped the option to use DHCP and instead followed the straightforward instructions for entering an IP address, IP Subnet, IP Gateway, and SMTP server address though the 8100C's front panel. HP says it plans to make setup instructions available on its Web site for other kinds of connections, including DSL and ISDN.
Once the unit is installed, sending e-mail is similar to sending a fax. The 8100C offers both a 25-page automatic document feeder and a letter-size flatbed for pages that won't make it through the sheet feeder. The top control panel has an added mini-keyboard in QWERTY format. To send an e-mail, type your user name and a subject line, enter one or more e-mail addresses, and hit the send button. Users can also set the e-mail attachment mode for color, black and white, or photo.
HP has packed in a great deal of flexibility and convenience features. For example, the unit can be set to use TIFF or PDF or to allow users to choose the format for each e-mail. Similarly, users can choose to have the 8100C send them an e-mail when each attachment is sent, send them a BCC, or send nothing at all. Note, too, that the unit has enough memory to store 4,096 user names, 200,000 e-mail public addresses, 256 private e-mail addresses for each user, and more.
Alas, the HP Digital Sender 8100C suffers from some notable design flaws: The keyboard is too small, and the Backspace key is where the Enter key should be, so touch-typists will regularly delete when they mean to enter. Nonetheless, the HP Digital Sender 8100C can help businesses slash their phone bills and send higher-quality images by switching from fax to e-mail.
Product:Ã,Ã, HP Digital Sender 8100C
Rating:Ã,Ã, 3 Star
Street Price:Ã,Ã, US$1,300
Company:Ã,Ã, Hewlett-Packard Co. www.digitalsender.hp.com
Requires:Ã,Ã, TCP/IP network with SMTP server
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