The LEDs are a bit cryptic, so it pays to consult the diagram on the included quick start guide. Scan too quickly, and a red "X" lights up. The other indicators track battery strength, remaining memory, scan resolution, and color or black-and-white settings.

English teachers everywhere will be less than thrilled to see that Planon has dubbed the resolution modes "Hi Rez" (200 or 400 dpi) and "Standard Rez" (100 or 200 dpi).

The RC800 is powered by a lithium-ion battery, rechargeable via the included USB cable. The package also includes a leather carrying case, a CD that contains drivers and manuals, and DocuPen and Scansoft PaperPort LE software to handle optical character-recognition tasks. It requires Windows 2000 or higher.

Although the RC800 is nicely designed, the power and mode buttons on the review unit I tested were loose and wobbly, which made it feel a little flimsy for a device priced at $300.

Setup was easy, although I could have gone out for coffee in the time that it took the PaperPort software to install. Having road-tested a previous version of this product which scanned only in black and white, I found the addition of color a major improvement and quite good.