Wine Collector 1.0
Company: Intelli Innovations
Price: $179.00 USB scanner version
$279.00 Bluetooth scanner version
http://www.intellisw.com
Intelli Scanner Express Package includes IntelliScanner Express reader and software bundle: Media Collector, Wine Collector, Auction Automator, and Home Assets
$249.00 USB $349.00 Bluetooth
Bar code scanning technology is no longer limited to commercial applications. Intelli Innovations is a North Carolina software firm that produces bar code scanners and bundled software applications for consumers. Intelli’s software that’s bundled with their handheld bar code scanner is a database that allow the consumer to easily organize home assets, wine bottles, books, or digital media. Intelli’s UPC bar code scanner is compact, and comes in USB or BlueTooth models. Each software application is specialized for one purpose, so if you want to use your scanner for multiple purposes, you’ll need to buy each specific application, or buy the Express combo package.
The Weeks divisions of MyMac.com Labs spent several hours evaluating Intelli Innovations’ Wine Collector package.
First, let it be known that, while I appreciate a good bottle of wine, I’m in no way an expert oenophile. My massive wine stock totals around 20 bottles. For me, a spending $25 retail for a bottle of vino is spending a fair bit. But since we’re talking about scanning wine bottle bar codes, you don’t have to read Wine Spectator to benefit from Intelli Innovations Wine Collector.
Opening the shipping box reveals just the handheld scanner, and a few pieces of paper. No installation CD is to be found: one of the pieces of paperwork has the registration code for software you download from Intelli Innovations’ web site. Not a broadband subscriber? Fear not, the Wine collector download is only 2.8 MB, so you won’t grow old while downloading if you have to use a dial-up collection to get it. Requiring an Internet Connection to install is a bit annoying, although it does guarantee that you’re getting the most current version of your application. Given the need for Internet access to access the Wine Collector database, this requirement is not a significant inconvenience.
Once unStuffed, the software starts right up. Plug in the USB scanner, and it will beep when your Mac recognizes it. No driver was required: Mac OS X Tiger recognized it right away!
Wine Collector is a simple database designed for cataloging wine. Each record is for a particular kind of wine, and each field holds specific data. Fields include Winery, Name Type, Color, Vintage, Size of bottle, Country of origin, region, cost, etc. You can add text notes for tasting opinions, ratings, and add images (graphics of the label) as well.
Wine Collector has the ability to perform “Smart Searches” a la iTunes. You can create and save searches for wine that meet specific characteristics, and the search results updates a new bottle are added to the collection.
Owners of large cellars will appreciate the fields for the physical location and position of each bottle. Needless to say, I left those fields empty.
As with iTunes, you can choose to display as may fields in the display as you like.
To add a wine to the database, click the Add Wine choice in the File menu, or type Apple-N. A small dialog box appears, asking you to scan the bar code on the label. Point the scanner at the bar code, press the button on the scanner, and within a second or three, you’ll hear a beep, and see the bar code in numeric form in the dialog box. Click the dialog’s Start button, and the software will connect to an Internet wine database to locate the information on the wine.
Intelli Innovations does not reveal details about the database, but it was able to provide data on all but a few of my bottles. The few that were not listed were “low-price specials” that no self-respecting wine aficionado would be caught dead imbibing.
The main issue with the database was that it invariably failed to fill in the “Vintage” field; the vintage usually appeared in the Name field. It was not difficult to add it manually. Otherwise, the database was quick to access, and comprehensive. Not owning a wide variety of bottles, my testing wasn’t exhaustive. If you do have that rare bottle, and it’s not recognized, you can manually enter the data. A later conversation with Tech Support indicated that this is not uncommon, as some vineyards use the same UPC bar code for different vintages, and this makes it difficult to get the right vintage into the database.
The scanner was generally reliable, although once or twice it refused to recognize a bar code. Unplugging and replugging the scanner fixed this momentary loss of consciousness.
It’s good that Wine Collector is easy to use, as documentation is virtually non-existent. You get absolutely no paper or electronic documentation. The application’s Help menu refers only to scanning issues, and provides very little useful information. The Intelli Innovations web site looks great, but there’s no useful support information at all.
Calling the 800 number for Technical Support gives you an earful of voicemail, asking you to leave a message that may take up to three days for a response. Three days is a long time when you need Tech Support. I left my question on tape; it took until late on the second day to get a response. The polite technician was able to answer my question in a timely manner. When I complained about the lack of documentation, he agreed to email me a one page PDF help file, which turned out to be not very impressive. You may also leave emails for Support, but I did not try that avenue. While live Tech Support may be difficult for small companies, there’s simply no excuse for not having useful help files and FAQ’s on the web site. The answer to my easy question about determining the optimum maturity date should have been made available on their Web site. That should not be too much to ask, given Wine Collector’s $179.00 price.
Conclusion
Wine Collector is an easy to use scanner and database combo. Scanning is quick and easy, and the database will give you searching and sorting capability over almost any aspect of wine data you can imagine. The scanner can be used with any of Intelli’s software applications including Collection, Wine Collector, Inventory, and Xtagger.
If you have a big wine collection, Wine Collector will help you stay organized and informed about your cellar’s contents, with little more effort than pointing a bar code scanner at the bottle’s label. Some entries may require slight editing to get the right vintage date.
I was not impressed with Intelli’s support. Their lack of information and help on the web site is not good, especially given the cost of the package. Hopefully, you’ll not need support, as the database is easy to use.
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