FLAMING HOT! $49 Epson Perfection 610 Scanner at CompUSA

[beer]

Today's ad has an Epson 610 for $49 in it, after $50 instant savings. Read my thread in Off Topic here regarding my personal story with it:


http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=38&threadid=316038

This is a FLAMING hot deal. This is a generation after the award-winning 636U, and a generation before the current 640U. The 640U came out only about two months ago, I believe. So this scanner isn't much more than 4 months obsolete, which isn't much for a scanner.

Furthermore this scanner is one of CNet's top pics. Read the review here.

I got mine installed easily and it's amazing. Scanned an 8x10 at 300 DPI in <20 seconds, cold start.

 

[beer]

I can't believe no one thinks this is ahot deal!

 

[FrontlineWarrior]

I think it's hot, I just already have a scanner.

 

[beer]

lol
I had an old Microtek parallel POS...V300...not even Win2k drivers...talk about a POS!

 

[thommy]

You can't get worse than my Umax parallel port scanner. It took 45 seconds to warm up and then 4-5 minutes for a decent scan.

 

[stroligo]

I mentioned this initially last Thursday at www.overclockers.com/tips312. With a few caveats, it is a good deal

The scanner has been discontinued; the current model is now the Perfection 640U (not that it's much better). The 610U has been around for at least a year, there's reviews going back to a year ago.

You don't have a lot of flexibility in scanner settings, and the bundled software isn't too good.

For $50, though, this is a great deal for casual scanning, a lot better than what you normally get for that price; it's faster than most USB scanners in its class, never mind parallel. The unit itself does a very good job, and it's gotten very high user ratings at CNet. If I had to chose between this at $50 and a 640U at $120, choosing the 610U is a no-brainer. I personally decided to wait for a deal on the 1240U, which can handle 1200X2400 and is faster, but that's overkill for most casual use.

I've been at a few CompUSA the last few days, though, and these are nowhere to be seen. There were plenty of 636Us, and the newer models, but not that.

 

[freeman]

You can also get Epson 636U for the same price $49. Two SKU numbers are listed in the ad.

How does Epson 636U compare with Canon 630U (speed, color image)?

 

[MontyBurns]

The 636U doesn't even use the same scanning engine, and is considerably worse than the 610U. I'd avoid it. (See Cnet reviews.)

 

[Souka]

Hmmm...

I had the 636U, got the 1200U as part of a deal cheap.

Both scanners are excellent. No warm up time, great color representation, excellent shadow reproduction, and resonably quick.

These scanners have cold-cathode tubes, not the lame LED technology...*IMHO*


I dunno about the 610U model, but that's my thought on the other scanners in the line.

 

[MontyBurns]

reviews say 610u is much faster than 636u. so if the 636 is fast, this should be awesome.

 

[stroligo]

The Epson spec sheets say the opposite; they say the 636U is twice as fast as the 610U (or 640U), 8.1ms per line vs 16ms. I know what the CNet review said; don't know where they got that from.

 

[dchilder]

I've been trying to get the 1200U Photo. I missed the 1240 Photo on Amazon with the $50 off... Does anyone know if the 1240 is as good or better than the 1200U? The engine seems to be different, even a little slower based on Epson's web site. Thanks,

DC

 

[stroligo]

The new Epson models substitute plastic for metal, weigh less, maybe less sturdy. The 1240U doesn't have an on/off switch; lamp goes off after 15 minutes of non-use. Per Epson numbers, the 1200U is a little faster: 6.5ms per line vs. 7 for the 1240U.

On the other hand, the 1240U has 42/42 bit color depth compared to the 36/24 of the 1200U and has a few more convenient buttons.

 

[DealyDo]

I have the 1200U and had three 1240U scanners that I e-bay'd. I did an inspection of the 1240U and compared it to the 1200U before I sold them. I opted to keep the 1200U. The software packeage for the 1240U seems to include more stuff and it has quickscan buttons on the front of the scanner. On a negative note-It is lighter and incorporates more plastic inside. I noted that the runner for the scanner mechanism was made of plastic versus the metal runner/rail on my 1200U. All in all I think the 1200U was more solidly built.

 

[HappyFace]

I have the Epson 610, it's great! Scanning a full color photo takes only a few seconds, and the output quality in incredible. It retails for $150, so $49 is an excellent deal.. Jump on it before this scanner gets away from you..

 

[TakedownCA]

Too bad every CompUSA in my area is already sold out.

 

[peeps]

COMPUSA had the 636U stacked 12 high this morning in Compton. Nobody seemed even slightly interested.

 

[rigmah]

my compusa only has the 636U in stock. is it worth the 50 dollars?

rigmah

 

[tigerbait]

I have the Epson 636U. Unfortunately, I bought it for around $100 about a year ago. I have been very satisfied with it. Warms Up quick, scans quick. Image quality is as good as I'll ever need. I'd say it is definitely worth $50.

 

[beer]

In the links I gave in my first post, I linked to a CNET review of the 610. The 636U is a generation older but in many ways, it is just as good.

 

[tommyli]

I live in Canada,
How long is this promotion lasting?
I will personally drive down to Seattle, WA to get the scanner if I have to.. But it would have to be this weekend.

Does anyone know if they'll still be in stock / same price $49??

Thanks
Tommy

 

[stroligo]

Did CompUSA say it would sell the 636U for $49.97 because they don't have the 610U? Alternatively, the 636U was priced at $99.99 the week before, did you mean it was worth the extra $50? The 636U scans quicker than the 610U, gives you more control at the scanner level.

 

[beer]

Scans quicker?
BS. Show me proof. The 610 is a generation later.

 

[freeman]

Can someone get this straight? Which is the newer model, 610U or 636U?

According to Epson website, 636U is faster than 610U. Check the tech specs.

 

[tigerbait]

I think the 610 is newer, but the 636U is a better model than the 610. The successor for the 636U is the 640U. BTW, the review on CNET is for the 636, not the 636U. This could explain why it rates the scanner as slow.